Tim Peter's presentation to HSMAI's New York City chapter about trends shaping digital marketing and distribution for travel executives. Covers mobile, OTA's, and key trends for 2016.
• Meet the “Net Set”
– Largest demographic… or
will be by end of this year
– Natively mobile: 86% of
consumers aged 25-32
own smartphones
– More smartphone-owning
Millennials expect brands
to have a mobile-friendly
website or app (55%)
than a social media
presence (39%)
• The “Net Set” travels
– 32% of US travelers
– Business travel, too: largest
share of workforce (34%)
– Approximately 20 million
(~45%) still to enter
workforce over next 3-4
years
– 49% “plan/book” on
mobile devices
– Half of Millennials travel
with children
“Much more importantly than a
source of transactions, mobile is a
chance to plumb the end-to-end
user experience… Say you are
looking for an accommodation
on an iPad but then you book on
a PC. But, then you show up at
the hotel with your iPhone. All of
that is plumbed to an account...” –
Darren Huston, Priceline CEO
“I think of mobile in the short
term as a positive to drive
some bookings, but really in
the longer term it is
increasing our value to the
customer that would be very
difficult for an independent
hotel to do.” – Darren Huston,
Priceline CEO
“Sights, sound and
motion get attention
and inspires. A product
manager for a
prominent OTA told me
that despite all the
conversion testing they
run, the one universal
truth is ‘pretty pictures
sell hotels.’” - Robert
Cole
Action Yes/No?
Media channels selected?
Media channels align with target customer?
Image? Is it shareable?
Headline? Is it shareable? Will it fit in a tweet?
Copy? Snackable? Sharp?
Hashtag? Shareable?
Can hashtag be turned against us? (“Bashtag”)
Mobile?
Which social channels are used by target customer?
Monitoring in-place?
Tracking in-place?
URL shortener?
Social integration scorecard
• Why not put them to work for
you?
– 100 room hotel
– 60% occupancy
– 1.4 guests/room
– 31,000 annual “storytellers”
• “Treat each one like a VIP
travel writer…. because they
are” – Adele Gutman, Vice
President Sales, Marketing,&
Revenue at Library Hotel
Collection
Pricing Power
(ADR)
Demand
(Occupancy)
Performance
(RevPAR)
All +0.8% +0.2% +0.96%
Upscale +0.67% +0.19% +0.83%
Upper Midscale +0.74% +0.42% +1.13%
Midscale +0.89% +0.54% +1.42%
Measured change in pricing power, demand, and performance given a 1% change in online reputation
Source: Cornell Center for Hospitality Research
Review quality leads to increased RevPAR
• Real-world says so too
– Achieved top positions in
TripAdvisor, Yelp, social
channels for multiple hotel
clients
– Occupancy index improved to
95-105
– ADR index improved to
107-180
– RevPAR index improved to
109-169
– Growth above comp set
– Reduced or held OTA share
below 10%
• Key takeaways:
– Invest in content quality
and velocity: Snackable,
shareable, sharp
– Grow your reach beyond
Google and metasearch –
they’re the same thing
– Use data to learn and
grow
– Guest experience drives
rate and return