There are now more than one billion international travelers, making the travel industry a benchmark for web globalization innovation and excellence. Join John and Clint as they identify emerging globalization trends (both positive and negative) in the travel industry. This presentation is designed to help you guide your web, marketing, and mobile teams to drive positive, efficient change. Check it out to learn: • Best practices in web globalization • Profiles of industry leaders websites • The hottest languages on the web today • Mobile considerations to save time & improve user experience • How to make the most of social & user-generated content

1. 1
Global Customer
Lifecycle SM
The Best Global
Travel Websites
…and Why

2. 2
With You Today …
JohnYunker–Speaker
President
ByteLevelResearch
@johnyunker
ClintPoole–Moderator
VP,CorporateMarketing
Lionbridge

3. 3
Lionbridge – Travel & Hospitality Practice
Experts in Multilingual
Communication
Travel & Hospitality
Practice
MoreThan
Translation
The Largest in
the Industry
Offices in 26
Countries
Trusted
Advisors
DedicatedTravel
Specialists

4. 4
Agenda
• The leading travel websites
• Best practices: Language, design, global navigation
• Website profiles
• Hotels.com
• KLM
• Hertz
• DiscoverAmerica.com
• Social and mobile developments
• Q&A

5. 5
Is any industry more global than travel?
• Each year, more than one billion
people travel internationally.The
number will reach 1.8 billion by 2030.
• By 2015, emerging economies will,
for the first time ever, receive more
international tourist arrivals than
advanced economies — reaching
one billion by 2030.
• By 2030, five million people will cross
borders for leisure, business or other
purposes every day.

6. 6
Is any industry more challenging than travel?
• Ecommerce challenges: Different currencies, payment
methods, fraud mitigation
• Customer support challenges: Language, time-sensitive,
time zones (follow the sun)
• Platform challenges. Users may purchase ticket on PC and
expect to use it on smartphone
• Geo challenges: Location-specific services;Travelers may
have slow wireless connections
• Social challenges: Travelers may get “social” when they’re
unhappy

7. 7
US-only companies must also think global
• China and Brazil are quickly
becoming major exporters of
US tourists
• How does your website
respond when it detects
visitors from outside the US?
Canada 23.39 3
Mexico 14.34 1
United Kingdom 3.84 2
Japan 3.73 1
Brazil 2.06 15
Germany 1.92 2
China (excludng HK) 1.81 23
France 1.5 3
South Korea 1.36 9
Australia 1.21 7
India 0.86 19
Italy 0.84 1
Venezuela 0.79 17
Colombia 0.75 24
Argentina 0.69 12
Spain 0.62 2
Netherlands 0.59 0
Sweden 0.48 8
Switzerland 0.47 -1
Taiwan 0.38 33
Country of Residence
2013 Visits to the
United States
(millions)
2013 vs. 2012
% Change

8. 8
Benchmarking Methodology
Localization & Social
25%
Global Navigation
25%
Global/Mobile Architecture
25%
Global Reach
25%

9. 9
Leading Travel Websites
From 50 companies across the
following sectors:
• Airlines
• Cruise Lines
• Hotels
• OTAs
• Rental Cars
• Review/Meta Search
• Visitor Bureaus
1. Hotels.com
2. Booking.com
3. TripAdvisor
4. Kayak
5. KLM
6. Hertz
7. Expedia
8. InterContinental Hotels
9. MSC Cruise Lines
10. Delta
11. British Airways
12. Starwood Hotels
13. American Airlines
14. Royal Caribbean
15. Hyatt

10. 10
The language benchmark continues to rise
Source: The Web Globalization Report Card
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Average Number of Languages

11. 11
Overall Language Leaders

12. 12
Travel Sector Language Leaders
41
38
29
26 26
24
22
20
19
17
16
15 15
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Languages

13. 13
What languages should you support?
Native languages of the
2.7 billion Internet users

14. 14
Global consistency; local flexibility

15. 15
Global templates; different brands

16. 16
What’s your global gateway strategy?

17. 17
Country Codes Work
Of the 50 websites reviewed, 18 websites do an
“average” to “above average” job of supporting
country codes. Notable websites include:
• Air New Zealand
• Enterprise
• Expedia
• Fairmont Hotels
• Hilton
• Kayak
• Travelocity
• TripAdvisor

18. 18
The global gateway should be prominent
and consistent

19. 19
Geolocation works, but use it carefully
Of the 50 websites reviewed, 20 use geolocation to help
direct users to local content based on their location.

20. 20
Don’t overtranslate your gateway

21. 21
Use a “universal” global gateway

22. Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Hotels.com

23. 23
Global Consistency

24. 24
Mobile Website and App

25. 25
Geolocation and language negotiation

26. 26
Global gateway + currency gateway
What about the flags?

27. 27
Wave Flags with Caution (if at all)
• Flags should not be used to indicate
language
• Flags carry significant culture
baggage – positive as well as
potentially negative
• Flags limit reach
• Flags do not scale well
• Flags can convey a sense of “home”

28. Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
KLM

29. 29
New, responsive global template

30. 30
Translation, mobile and social investments
KLM is the language leader, with support for 26
languages, followed by American Airlines and British
Airlines, with support for 15 languages each.

31. 31
Global gateway has room to improve

32. Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Hertz

33. 33
Responsive, consistent global template

34. 34
Responsive, consistent global template

35. 35
Hertz on the Phone
• As real estate shrinks,
functionality expands
• Visuals are a luxury, not
always a necessity
• Responding to the device
is step one of many

36. 36
Gateway Needs Work

37. Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Discover America

38. 38
Global Consistency

39. 39
For the most part…
www.gousa.cn

40. 40
The global gateway and flags

41. 41
Local-language blogs aid in search

42. 42
Local Social Platforms

43. 43
User-generated content can be as valuable as
company generated content

44. 44
Mobile App Language Leaders
• Few companies provide language parity across their
websites and mobile apps
• Booking.com, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia are
the language leaders in mobile apps
22
30
21
17
36
34
21
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Booking.com Hotels.com TripAdvisor Expedia
Number of Languages
2013
2014

45. 45
Web Globalization Best Practices
• Support 30 or more languages
• Solicit local requirements/use cases early on
• Maximize design template and code re-use
• Provide a consistent and prominent global gateway
• Be locally relevant (and functional)
• Support local-language social networks
• Support platform parity (between mobile and desktop)
• Focus less on merely translating words and more on
localizing for usage scenarios

46. 46
Global Customer
Lifecycle SM
Q&A / Thank You
twitter.com/Lionbridge
www.lionbridge.com
facebook.com/L10nbridge
blog.lionbridge.com
twitter.com/johnyunker
www.bytelevel.com
globalbydesign.com