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2010 is the year of Direct Sales and Independent Hotels
By Patrick Landman (the full report from
http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=D17760_0_11_0_M)
A few months ago we wrote an article stating that the hotel franchise model
is dead. Looking at the innovation of the last year in online marketing and
distribution we can take this statement a bit further. 2010 will be the year
of the independent hotel and direct sales!
So why will be 2010 be the year of DIRECT SALES and the
INDEPENDENT HOTEL?
First of all this is kind of a contradiction. The reason that 2010 will be
the year of the independent hotel is partially to thank to the resurgence of
the OTA and Travel Merchant model. The current economic challenges in the
market have allowed 3rd party travel agency websites to regain a larger % of
online travel distribution.
The OTA distribution channels have made the franchise chain complacent. They
easily produce the same number of bookings and revenues or more that the
franchise chains. Looking at the paid advertising section of search engines
like Google and Yahoo, the strong presence of OTA's reflects this.
Shopping around on any of the travel agency websites, we have started to
notice that more and more hotels listed on the first are independent
properties, or belong to local or smaller hotel groups. Something tells us
that the global chains and larger hotel groups have been pushing quite
persistently over the last few years to bring commission levels down over
the last few years that the OTA's prefer to list properties with which they
yield a larger margin.
But also on meta-search sites like Trivago and even Bing Travel independent
hotels are starting to floart to the top more and more. On some sites and
destinations they even significantly outweigh the number of ‘big brand'
chain properties. Just check TripAdvisor for the top 20 hotels in London,
Paris and San Francisco. The independents are starting to rule the
charts....
And even when doing a search in Google for Hotel London, Hotels Amsterdam,
hotels in New York, etc gives comparable results. Independent hotels seem to
dominate the online real estate.
So why does it seem that independent hotels have gained the upper hand? It
is quite simple actually. Even though chains and large hotel groups offer
many advantages (reduced purchasing cost because of scale etc), they also
lack the focus to market a particular property or destination. Too many
layers of management and difference of interest and priority between
internal departments and management steers the chain in another direction.
Their online positioning usually is mainly focused on the brand or flag.
Many corporate rules and guidelines within chains and hotel groups prohibit
or withhold individual properties to develop their own direct marketing
strategy. After all the chain takes care of the marketing side of the
business, right? The lack of decentralization and empowerment of the
properties is a huge handicap for them.
The above is all about commissions and marketing investments and efforts.
But in this new age of Web 2.0 (or Travel 2.0) there is another factor we
have to take into consideration when it comes to marketing.
Yes our guests are making huge efforts to market our hotels to their
friends and other travelers. They use websites like TripAdvisor, TravelPost,
and IGoYouGo to spread our story. And this word is so important, ‘story'.
For your guests to write about their experience at your hotel and post
images and video online on hotel review websites, travel communities and
social network you have to be remarkable. As Seth Godin simply puts it
remarkable means:
The hotels who have the highest scores on review websites and get
mentioned often on VirtualTourist.com and TRavBuddy.com are the ones that
are different. But different in what way?
- Authentic friendliness of the staff
- Amazing location
- Exceptional personal attention
- Impressive original food
- Exclusive service
- Simplicity, no frills
- Unique design
- Warmth and true hospitality
It doesn't matter, as long as you give your guests a unique experience that they would want to share with their friends and the rest of the world. You need to offer them something special.
So when we are talking about independent hotels or small and local hotel groups, we are not talking about just any product. It needs to be good quality and value for money you offer (please note quality does not equal luxury).
But why do independent hotels get more traction online that similar quality product offered by the big chains? First of all consumers like to be treated as individuals and for their specific needs recognized. This is easier of course for a ‘boutique' hotel than a design hotel belonging to a chain counting over 1000 properties. It's simply another world. This is by the way confirmed by the latest move of Marriot. They have just launched a brand called ‘.....' which is to exist of flagship properties.
Secondly independent hotels or small groups tend to be more flexible and creative when it comes to marketing. This is born from a need being the ‘underdog'. And with some of the technology and solutions that have been rolled out by search engines like Google and Yahoo, review websites like TripAdvisor, travel communities like IGoYouGo, and Social Networks like FaceBook and micro blogging sites like Twitter there are more tools at hand for guerilla marketing and creative strategies.
This is why the independent hotel will excel in 2010. They will not be hold back by corporate rules and management approval layers. The independent hotelier can and will do whatever is necessary to fill his hotel.
Having read success stories online over the last year from fellow bloggers and from our own experience in designing hotel websites and implement hotel internet marketing strategies this is exactly what is happening. Independent hotels have been quite successful in driving direct sales to their own website and reservations center.
What interesting developments have we seen this year or what tips do we have for hotels? Here is our 2010 punch list;
1. Opensource CMS: For more flexibility in managing the content of your
website you should use an opensource content management tool. It will allow
you to launch new pages and change structure without depending on your web
designer. (Joomla / WordPress / Drupl)
2. SEO: pick your keywords carefully, in your meta-titles and description
focus on search behavior and not on product and brand. Sell what your
potential guests are looking for!
3. Landing Pages: Pick themes, launch a page for every special offer and
market segment or search. Think niche marketing and search engine
saturation! Cater to each potential market segment on an individual basis.
The long tail of travel seo works!
4. Languages: An easy way to expand your reach. What at the main tourist
feeder markets for your destinations? Are you missing any languages?
5. Google Local Business Center: A great way to improve your listing and
traffic. Powerful marketing tool which is only just starting to show its
potential. The implementation of Google Maps Favorite Places gives you an
idea where we are heading. Click here:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/explore-whole-new-way-to-window-shop.html
6. Google Webmaster Tools: Register your site map. Ideally you should
have an XML sitemap that pushes your menu structure out to the search robot.
If you are lucky Google will pick-up your menu structure and show site links
below your URL when people look for your hotel specifically.
7. Click to Call, Chat, Call Back: Be hospitable and available on your
hotel website. Assist potential guests to increase the number of bookings.
Remember phone conversion is higher than online as it is more personal. So
let them call you! You can use a simple service like Skype or look at
solution offered by companies like eStara:
8. Tourist Guide: Become a travel agent instead of a hotelier. Don't push
your product but sell the destination. Use maps, Google loves this!
9. Events: What is going on in town while your guests are staying with
you. Include it on your home page. Make an event section and show it in
confirmation emails. No need to do it all by yourself, pull event calendars
in through RSS feeds from your local tourist board website or sites like
10. Video: Integrate videos into your website. Shoot your hotel room with
your own camera and put the videos on YouTube and list them afterwards on
your site. It helps you in 2 ways. We all know pictures say more than a 1000
words. Well videos kind of have a multiplied effect of this. Secondly it is
a great SEO move. Make sure you pick your keywords smart in YouTube! Oh yes
don't forget to add the videos to you Google Local Business Center listing.
11. Review Monitoring: Make sure you know what people write about you.
You can set-up a control panel for free using RSS feeds from review
websites, Google Alerts, Yahoo Pipes and Netvibes.
12. Review Response: Thank everyone that write something about your
hotel, positive or negative. They are your guests. Engage and show them you
care and value their feedback. Keep in mind potential guests will notice
that you are involved.
13. Review Stimulation: Email guests after check-out, ask them to write
about their experience on review websites like TripAdvisor or TravelPost and
you hotels FaceBook profile. This way they help you to spread the word.
14. Review Recycling: Filter out the positive stuff. You can use
Delicious and create a feed you can send to FriendFeed, FaceBook and
Twitter. Just like the movie companies on their posters, ‘New York Times
says: Best Movie of the Year'. Good thing is, you did not write it! This
works, we tried it!
15. Blog: Integrate the blog into your hotel website and become a tourism
journalist. Write about interesting and original things. Cover events in
your city or destination. Please don't write about your hotel' it's usually
boring. Except of course if you have something really original will spark
interest. But it has to be really really special!
16. Online PR: Those interesting articles you write for your blog can now
be placed on tourism news websites with links to your hotel website. There
are also many blog syndication pages. It is one of the most effective SEO
strategies. Moreover if you started to get recognized of a provider of great
content you will be branding your hotel in the strongest possible way.
17. RSS: Use Feedburner to distribute your blog by email and RSS
Syndication
18. Listing Websites: List your hotel on as many free listing websites
that allow you to put in a link to your hotel website. Please do not
participate in link exchange. Start with WikiTravel, Yelp, VirtualTourist,
19. Web 2.0 BroadCasting Station: Link all of your profiles from social
networks, photo and video sharing websites and book marking website to save
time. This way you don't have to post the same thing over and over again.
FriendFeed is the mother of all 2.0 websites. It allows you to link up all
the others... You should be on FaceBook, Twitter, Flickr, Delicious, Digg,
...
20. Mobile: Start with a simple mobile website so you can be found if
people look for your hotel. Have picture and click to call button.
Simplicity should do the trick for now.
21. eCRM: Personalized confirmation emails, pr-arrival and after
check-out emails work. But again they need to be personalized. Include
weather forecast, events during the guest's stay, restaurant suggestions
etc. Step 1 though is making sure your reservations office and front desk is
capturing email addresses! Make sure you build a proper DB and develop a
plan for
And now the most important point we would like to make. Budget appropriately for online or internet marketing. Your hotel website should generate 40% of your sales. So why not allocate the same percentage of your total marketing budget to it.
Reduce the spending on traditional sales and branding items like brochures, letterhead, etc. Hospitality starts online and so should your marketing.
You can increase direct sales easily by investing strategically and by using the latest innovations in your hotel website design and internet marketing.
2010 will be the year of Direct Sales and Independent Hotels!
So, don't waste your time, contact us now!!!
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