An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape

An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape

HSMAI – Management Company Sales & Marketing Roundtable October 10, 2013 | Arlington, VA

Image Credit: gnuckx | (cc|flickr)

Session Overview

• Channels

– OTA | Meta | Hotel Websites | Mobile | Call Center

– Time Constrained – Consolidation, Ad Spend, Analytics

• Concepts

– Parity | Personalization | Engagement | End-2-End

– Time Constraints – Reviews, Images, Video, Creepy Line

• Conclusions

– Seeking: Simplicity | Autonomy | Loyalty

– Reality: Complexity | Layered Attribution | Disruption

HSMAI Sales & Marketing Roundtable An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape Robert Cole ● RockCheetah | 1

Online Travel Agencies

• Travelers Like OTAs

– Cross-Product & Cross-brand Shopping | Discounts

– MMGY’s Digital Elite – 53% Prefer Using OTAs

• OTA Share Growth Misleading

– Supplier Direct Growing | Shift from Offline

– Meta-Search Share Growing | Largely to OTAs

• Content Management

– For Targeted LGBT Promotion, Does Hotel Align?

– Important to Audit & Update Upstream Content


Meta-search

• Meta-search Is Advertising

– Different Dynamics – Bidding Determines Position

– Conversion & Analytics are Critically Important

• Where Traffic Goes

– Kayak Sends 57x More Traffic to OTAs than Hotels

– TripAdvisor Sends 11x More to OTAs than Hotels

• Watch Google – Focus is on Context

– Hummingbird | Knowledge Graph | Carousel

– Hotel Price Ads? Knowledge Graph Works Better?


Hotel Websites

• Require Seamless User Experience – Cross-Platform Support

– Dynamic Content Management

• SEO Is Not Dead – Site Architecture

– Menus & Navigation

– Content Management Strategies

• Semantic Web – Open Graph – Facebook | Schema.org G-M-Y

– Relationships with Social Platforms | Authorship


Mobile


• Responsive Design Fills a Gap – Content Layout Adapts to Screen Size/Orientation

– Consistent Cross-Device Experience

• Mobile Apps with Purpose – Must Be Downloaded

– Must Be Used

– Must Be Relevant

• OTAs & Meta-search Beating Hotel Brands – Not Hotels in Top 15 Hotel App Downloads

– Also Trailing (Badly) in Satisfaction

Call Centers

• The Mobile Connection

– Frequently Forgotten: Smartphones Are Phones

– Spontaneous Use / Last Minute – Click to Call

• Alignment with Localized Content

– Auto-Identify Call Center & Language

– Dynamic Content Create Dynamic Complexity

• Data Integration

– Provide Custom Phone Number for Web Session

– Capture Web Browsing Activity & Link to Call


Rate Parity

• Resale Price Maintenance

– Illegal in UK | Questionable in EU

– Legal in US | Can’t Be Detrimental to Consumer

• Proposed UK Office Fair Trading Solution

– Rate Parity Continues for General Public

– Does NOT Apply to Returning Customers

• Discounts/Rebates to Frequent Guests

– Good for OTAs – Wider Breadth of Product

– Bad for Hoteliers – Discounts to Best Clients?


Guest Personalization

• Frequent Guest Number is Insufficient

– Brands Frequently Exclude OTA Stays

– May not Qualify for Points, but Stay Data is Lost

• Ultimately Requires Itinerary-Specific Personas

– Guest Has Multiple Personas – Spouse/Kids/Friends

– Need to Understand Purpose of Trip

– Trip is Work of Art | Guest = Artist | Hotel = Frame

• Big Data Changes Everything

– Predictive Analytics Identify Patterns

– Cue / Response / Reward Reinforces Behaviors


Guest Engagement

• User Experience – Targeting Consumer Fairly Easy – Website Content Dynamically Adaptive – Use Technology to Empower Guest

• The Proven Formula for Guest Satisfaction – Provide Value – Anticipate Needs – Exceed Expectations

• Bluetooth 4.0 (Low Energy) Changes Everything – Smart Motes / Beacons Interact with Customer – 300 Foot Range | Triangulate Location | Transfer Data – Powerful with Wearable Devices | Gear or Glass


End to End Experience

• Seven Step Travel Process – All Impact Distribution – Inspiration

– Research

– Planning

– Validation

– Booking

– Travel

– Sharing

• Trip Starts Departing Home & Return Home Ends – Hotel Traditionally Focal Point of Itinerary (% of Time)

– Who Knows Destination Best with Access to Traveler?


The End Game

• Guests Seek Simplicity & Convenience

– Save Time & Money | Add Efficiency & Entertainment

– Respect Privacy & Intended Nature of Relationship

• Loyalty is Earned

– Discounts & Point Incentives are Transactions

– Loyalty is Emotional | Willing to Pay More for Brand

• Disruption is Inevitable

– New Technologies Increase Speed / Reduce Cost

– Innovation Strives to Improve Efficiency | Bust Rules

– Dawning of Sharing Economy | Reduces Margin Needs


An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape

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Robert Cole

twitter: @robertkcole

phone: +1.262.309.9560

email: [email protected]
