Travel E-business By: Eric Frankum

Hospitality E-Marketing

Hospitality E-Marketing

• Website Design• E-marketing Strategies• Search Engine Optimization

• Online Channels• Future trends

I. Social mediaII. Mobile marketingIII. Other

•Measurement and Analytics

Hospitality E-Marketing

Online channels are where hoteliers need to focus their efforts.

More than 1 billion people use the internet every day and 91% of US online buyers state that researching online makes them feel more confident about their purchases.1

The internet offers the simplest way for consumers to find and compare hotels. It also produces the best marketing return-on-investment.

5 Important Elements

Website Design Basics

Visual Appeal

Storytelling uses product experiences to take people on an emotional journey appealing to their wants and needs for something more personal and connected. It grabs their attention and pulls them in.2

 Storytelling touches on three key steps during the travel process: (1) Inspiration, (2) Research, and (3) Planning.3

The best way to convey your hotel’s story is to provide online photos, virtual tours, and videos in a way that will:

• Inspire visitors• Give a vivid mental image of your product• Create a lasting impression

Develop and distribute visual content that tells your hotel’s story

1) Inspire Visitors

Visual Appeal

At an early stage of the travel process, consumers are seeking high order emotional benefits and inspiration. That means story telling, vivid mental imagery and romance.4

The best way to inspire travel shoppers is with content. If they don’t see anything that catches their interest and makes them feel inspired, they’re not booking your hotel.

Target your content to appeal to your guest segments

Know who your current guests are, what they value and how your hotel makes their trips successful.

For example, if you’re a luxury golf resort frequented primarily by retirees, written content and photos describing the golf courses, spa services and other relevant amenities on leisure travel and destination websites may be effective options for reaching this audience

Deliver Inspiration Visual Appeal

Leveraging web services, content & applications from variety of sources provide a rich, immersive and informative experience

2) Give a vivid mental image

Visual Appeal

High- quality, large high-definition images, zoom, virtual tours with 360 degree spin and videos emulate the experience of actually being in the hotel.

Providing visually-rich experiences and the opportunity to examine details more closely online, helps communicate value and increase confidence in hesitant and wary consumers.

It is important to help tourist imagine what a destination will be like. Travelers tend to be interested in content elements such as pictures, graphics and maps that convey a “sense of place.” 5

When travel shoppers can picture themselves at your hotel and feel comfortable, that’s when your story is most effective.

“38% of US online leisure travelers surveyed avoid staying at hotels because

they don’t see photos, video or written content that would make them

feel comfortable”6

-Forrester Research

Give a vivid mental image:

By delivering the optimal visual experience, hotels can differentiate

themselves and increase conversions. 7

3) Create a lasting impression

Visual Appeal

Travel shoppers will look at your hotel and compare it against your competition, so you need to know who you’re up against in order to increase sales from your online efforts. Evaluating your hotel against your online competition will reveal ways to improve your position in the marketplace. Start by focusing on the one or two hotels that are your primary competitors and ask yourself:

• Why are we competing with them?

• What content do they have available to travel shoppers?

• What are their strengths and weaknesses?

When producing content, ensure that what makes you unique and the reasons why travelers want to sty at your hotel are the central focus8

Create a lasting impression

Visual Appeal

Austin uses a consistent “live music” theme

throughout its website. Talking virtual people are

present to grab the attention of the viewer as

seen in figure (9).

Demand Generator Content

Develop a content strategy

There are three important sources of information essential to developing a content strategy:

1) a clear brand position (the single-minded idea that sets your destination apart from your competition)

2) an offerings list (an inventory of everything your destination or resort has to offer), and

3) a keyword list (all the words and phrases that consumers are using to search for destinations and offerings similar to those you have to offer)10

Today, consumers want to be sure that the hotel of their choice includes the right location and area attractions based on their needs for each unique visit. Therefore,

it is vital that every website include information about local attractions, area business and events. This information is used in the customer’s buying decisions, as well as improving the opportunity to show up in more searches under more key

phrases11

http://www.nycgo.com/

Demand Generator Content

Before making a hotel decision,

consumers need to be able to explore the property and delve into more

detail (textual and visual), more

closely.12

NavigationThe website and the design must be user friendly and provide basic and credible information.6

Research found that customers ranked “rapid information” and “user-friendly system” as most important to potential customers and e-buyers.13

Tools needed to do this are:I. Navigation Toolbar

II. Secondary Navigation Toolbar

III. Calendar of Events and Event Listings

IV. Special Deals & Offers

V. Interactive Maps

VI. Trip Planning Elements

Website Design Basics

Navigation

Best Practices: www.snow.com

Website Design Basics

Navigation

www.snow.com/

Website Design Basics

Navigation

www.snow.com/

A proper navigation toolbar gives the capability to target articles, pictures,

and information geared towards those specific needs and showcase why

destination is uniquely attractive based on those needs.

Visitors will often decide whether to stay or leave a website on what they

see without scrolling. So, its important that you include key content in the

window that is viewable before people have to scroll.14

FlexibilityWebsite Design Basics

The website platform must be flexible enough to keep up with the most modern programming techniques allowing hoteliers to keep up with the rapid changes of technology. 15

Platforms that cannot quickly adapt to the rapid changes, such as proper viewing and the rapid influx of new browsers such as Chrome, IE9, Safari and mobile systems, will quickly outdate a hotel website.

Integrate new map technology

FlexibilityWebsite Design Basics

Pair 360 view map with regular map to help

traveler or tourist find direction and location of specific places not for

touring purposes

360 View Map

Example: New Map Technology User generated review &

recommendations connected to map:

Link websites to surrounding businesses and integrate user-generated content,

reviews, and recommendations into the

map. This strategy can help target Staycationers, and gain the support of local

businesses by drawing local consumers looking for places to eat, stay, and visit on their

staycation.

ScalabilityWebsite Design Basics

Facebook, Blogs, Twitter: be prepared to support the

future and adapt to the growing needs of the

changing market place

7 Step Travel Process

Website Design Basics

Figure by Robert Cole

Seven-step travel process

InspirationWith a an empathetic understanding of your customers

needs, you can determine what combination of external experience components you need to deliver, in order to trigger a delightful experience.

Use digital media and rich content to try, to replicate the “experience of the brand so that the customer will momentarily "get the feeling" and through this be persuaded to buy the product or service.16

Engage visitors, be unique, authentic and fun

Seven-step travel process

ResearchYouTube is now the number two search engine.17 This is a

testament to the type of content that users are searching for

A study by Forrester Research revealed that for 56% of travelers, hotel videos have a positive impact on booking decisions, for 45% traveler-written reviews on third- party sites have a positive impact on booking decisions and for 44% pictures taken by travelers posted online have a positive impact on booking decisions.18

http://www.littlepalmisland.com/LittlePalmIsland_movie.aspx

Seven-step travel process

Research

The hotel needs to understand that it is one part of a broader set of events, activities, context and interactions that are going to contribute to the overall experience of the guest of which the hotel is going to be judged; and in which people are then going to say this is the type of hotel where I want to be at and tell my friends about.

The way to differentiate your hotel, is by really understanding what the experience is your travel guests are looking for.

One of the best ways to prepare yourself is to look at your hotel less as the product itself is or the services you have, but for a moment walk a mile in the brain of your guest and understand what the experiences are they are looking for at your hotel18

EXPERIENTIL MARKETING

Seven-step travel process

Research

There are 3 different types of videos:

• Professionally-shot videos that promote your hotel and the

surrounding area. Attempting to shoot promotional videos yourself and placing them out of context risks making your hotel appear low-budget.

• Hotel produced video clips about special promotions, events

taking place at your hotel, nearby dining and shopping, or interviews with guests produced using a digital camera, video camera or flip camera.

• Guest produced videos and photos are inevitably going to be

posted online. But, not all guest videos are created for the purpose of a review or will be detrimental to your hotel’s image20

• Virtual tours allow guests to explore your hotel’s features and

amenities from different angles and views.

ResearchVideo Optimization

1. Optimize with key words

2. Distribute video on video sharing sites

3. Implement a linking strategy

4. Encourage viewers to share your videos21

Seven-step travel process

Planning

• The planning process transforms the vast information collected in the research phase into a travel plan

• Third part itinerary planning tools should be used to in assisting Travelers

• Hospitality websites must provide more than property-specific or brand information-must incorporate destination & event content

• Web services enable integration and seamless updating of external content & access to content aggregation from multiple sources22

Planning ToolsSeven-step travel process

Joie de Vivre hotels are in the business of selling hotel rooms, but on their website they market the experience of California

– this is much more valuable to the

customer..

http://www.jdvhotels.com/

Planning Tools: http://www.australia.comSeven-step travel process

Seven-step travel process

Booking

Booking Applications Monetize the Marketing Strategy

• Driving conversion remains the most critical priority for most sites

• The presentation and navigation of the booking process has not changed substantially over the past 5 years and remains textually based.

• Upgrade opportunities and effective presentation of value added promotions at the point of sale are key tools to aid conversion.23

Seven-step travel process

Booking

Intercontinental Hotels Integrates its search and reservations feature across the

lower prominence but does not distract viewers from the images displayed above

Seven-step travel process

ValidatingGuest consult their networks for answers

This is where your Social Media strategy pays off by developing a strong vocal group of relevant supporters

The World

The New Social Network

Weak Ties

Strong Ties

The Net Generation: A Strategic Investigation (08)

Thee Categories of Influence Networks

Best Friends

Twitte

r

•Ideal Scenario:

Hotel fully engaged with guest, understanding of itinerary, knowledge of guest interests, tool to communicate in real time

Provide guest with relevant value, authentic travel experience

Mobile holds the key to

engagement…Guest travel experience

• Use guest room portal, SMS messaging & Smartphone applications to provide real-time push, pull and trigger based communication

• Upgrade/ cross-sell/ value-added/ co-op promotional opportunities

• Utilization of guest room broadband/ entertainment platform as conduct for guest traveling life- home life integration23

Sharing

The consumer owns your Brand

• Travel experiences will be shared regardless of property participation. Valuable opportunity to reinforce positives & resolve any issues

• Sites like Flickr, Facebook and YouTube are great platforms for giving your hotel a personality and sharing information and experiences with consumers. Having a presence on these sites is also good for your online visibility, especially with Google now displaying photo and video content in

its search results pages.24

Seven-step travel process

Online Travel Agents

• Think of OTAs as marketing vehicles versus reservation engines.

• By not having content, let alone listings on OTAs, hoteliers are preventing

themselves from selling more hotel rooms at higher rates through other channels, including their own.

• A study conducted by Cornell University in partnership with Expedia and JHM Hotels in fall 2009 found that while listed on Expedia, hotels received a 7.5 – 26% lift in bookings on other channels (call center, brand.com, other sites) and were able to attain higher rates (approx. 2-3%) on those channels.

• This is why ensuring that your hotel is well-merchandised on all digital channels and marketing vehicles is an effective way to sell hotel rooms online.

• By distributing visual content to thousands of sites and linking to it from

your social media accounts, hotels can not only improve their positions in search results and drive more traffic but also increase the likelihood of converting that traffic and increasing reservations. 25

Commit to Social Media

Commit to social media, it’s not just a fad Social media has become a part of everyday life.

Over 44% of all Internet users are active on social media sites.

Social media has helped the internet evolve into a public, interactive, communication tool used by consumers to voice their opinions and share their experiences – and they do it whether you’re involved in the conversation or not.

But it’s better to be involved. Put in the time to engage in the conversation about your hotel online. Your view from the hotel is just as important as your guest’s perspectives.26

Social Media

Visual merchandisingA successful online strategy should be focused on both driving traffic to websites, but also converting it when they arrive. SEO, PPC and many Social Media activities are primarily focused on driving traffic and creating awareness online, while visual merchandising is what helps convert traffic and close the sale.

Multiple-languages

Make your content available in multiple languages

A new report  recently released by the China Internet Network Information Center reveals that online travel

booking in 2009 increased 77.9 percent, a growth rate that exceeds online shopping (45.9 percent),

online banking (62.3 percent) and e-mail (29 percent).

Also, the number of Internet users has increased by 86 millions compared with the end of 2008.

Attract international travelers through the following search engines:

Google (US), Baidu (China), Yandex (Russia), Naver (Korea)

Characteristics of Services

Services

Intangibility

Variability

Inseparability

How does the Internet help to manage services?

Website Design Basics

How does the Internet help to manage services?

I. Tangibilizing the service products

• Virtual tours & Photos http://www.vegas.com/resorts/virtual/index.html• User-generated contents• Videos

I. Managing perceived risk

• Building strong brand image http://www.wynnlasvegas.com

• Providing more clear picture for the experience

Website Design Basics

E-Marketing Strategies

E-marketing strategy = channel strategy

E-marketing Strategy

• “Customer communications and product distribution are supported by a combination of digital and traditional channels at different points in the buying cycle” (Chaffey et al., 2009

• Internet marketing is most effective when it is integrated with other communications channels

• Multichannel Marketing

Typical E-Mktg Objectives (Sultan & Rohm, 2004)

• Cost reduction and value chain efficiencies (Reduce service call)

• Revenue generation (Direct sales)

• Channel partnership (Partnering with distributors)

• Communication and branding

Benefits of online marketing

• Sell : Grow salesWider distribution, Wider product range than in-

store

• Speak: Get closer to customers Two-way dialogue: forums, surveys, chat rooms

• Serve: Add valueProviding extra benefits online, inform new product

• Save: Save costsOnline communication: reduce staff, print &

postage costs

• Sizzle: Extend the brand onlineImproving branding: providing new offers, new

experiences

E-marketing Strategy

Situation Analysis

E-marketing Strategy

• Assessing the current contribution of the Internet to the organisation

• Customer research

• Resource analysis

• Stage models of the internet marketing capability

• Competitor analysis

• Intermediary analysis

• Assessing opportunities and threats (SWOT

analysis)

• Business effectiveness

Cost-benefit analysis

• Marketing effectiveness

Qualified inquiries, sales, online market share, brand enhancement, customer service

• Internet effectiveness

Unique visitors, repeat visits, duration, subscription rates, conversion rates, churn rates etc.

E-marketing Strategy

Situation Analysis: Current contribution of the Internet

Online Consumer Analysis & Segments

Assess customer demand • Access to Internet• Proportion of customers influenced by internet channel• Proportion of customers who buy direct online• => Secondary research or Primary research

Identify different target segments

Understand target consumers.• online media consumption• buying behavior• type of content & experience they will be looking for

E-marketing Strategy

o Online consumer behavior models

o Customer demographic/psychographic characteristics

o Website usage style and level

• Personas: A thumbnail description of typical website users

Demographic, psychographic, webographic characteristics

Primary persona: a representation of the typical site user

• Customer scenarios (user journeys): Alternative tasks or outcomes required by a visitor to a website. Typically accomplished in a series of stages of different tasks involving different information needs or experiences.

E-marketing Strategy

Situation Analysis:Customer research

SWOT Analysis

E-marketing Strategy

Strengths

• Existing brand• Existing customer base• Existing distribution

Weaknesses

• Brand perception• Intermediary use• Technology/skills• Cross-channel support• Churn rate

Opportunities

• Cross-selling• New markets• New services• Alliances/co-branding

Threats

• Customer choice (price)• New competitors• New competitive products• Channel conflicts• Social network

Decisions for strategy development

E-marketing Strategy

Decision 1: Market and product development strategies

Decision 2: Business and revenue model strategies

Decision 3: Target marketing strategies

Decision 4: Positioning and differentiation strategy (Mktg mix)

Decision 5: Multichannel distribution strategy

Decision 6: Multichannel communication strategy

Decision 7: Online communications mix and budget

Decision 8: Organizational capabilities (7S framwork)

Search Engine Optimization

SEO Tips• Start with keyword

research.

• Customize your SEO plan to your property and clientele

• Emphasizing the unique attributes of your property will differentiate you from the competition

• Create a sitemap and use data to make decisions, including leveraging sources such as Google webmaster tools.

• Promote content on other sites

Inbound Links• Page Title• Clean URL• Headers & Content• Description

Outbound Links• Premium links that relate

to your site’s content and are hosted on reputable sites

• These links show search engines that your site is reputable and relevant.

Local search for SEO:• Claim your listings on the

search engines and beyond (Yelp, CitySearch, etc.)

• Be consistent, use the same address and phone number across the web.

• Monitor and manage you and your competitor’s reputation

Search Engine Optimization

1. Local/Maps Search Results. Google will often show local results

(see below example) when geographic modifiers, like city or

state are used in searches. To increase your odds of showing up at the top of local results, you’ll want to claim and optimize your listings

in the Google Local Business Center.

Search Engine Optimization

2. Image Results. By optimizing your images, you can

increase the odds that you’ll show up in Google’s Image

results (shown to the

right)

Search Engine Optimization

3. Adwords /Pay Per Clicks. If you have your

Google Merchant Center account set up, and are running paid ads through Google

Adwords, you can opt to show your name in

the paid results (highlighted in yellw.)

It’s a great way to stand out from the text

ads.4. However, organic

search results (shown to the right) receive more traffic and 75% more clicks

(HubSpot)

Search Engine Optimization

5. Video Results. Videos are a great way to draw more visitors into your site. So make sure to optimize your videos and make

it easy for search engines to show them (as seen in the

example below.)

•B2C (business to consumer); B2B (business to business)

•C2C (consumer to consumer); C2B (consumer to business)

Domains

tab

Major Online Marketing Domains

Source: Kotler et al., 2010

Intermediaries Analysis

• Online intermediarieso Search engines: Google (US), Baidu (China), Yandex (Russia),

Naver (Korea)

o Potential online media and distribution partners

• Online Travel Agencies (Expedia, travelocity)

• Mainstream news media sites or portals (Times, Google news etc.)

• Price comparison sites (Farecompare, Sidestep, Kayak)

• Social media sites (Bloggers)

Multichannel buying models

Producer + Consumer = Prosumer

OfferMeTrip is an online site that allows customers to imagine their ideal

vacations by describing their desires in terms of location, activities, length of stay and place. A network of approved travel agents can react by offering customized

trip itineraries around the customer’s parameters.

• First introduced in 1980 by futurist Alvin Toffler in his book The Third Wave

• Mass Customization or Personalization of Products – Active Role of Customers

Co-creation

Long Tail

A frequency distribution suggesting the relative variation in popularity of items selected by consumers

The growing trend will continue to be an

increase in the amount of looks over books

Channel Management

Online Channel Structure

e-Customer Relationship Management (e-CRM) Approaches

•Using the website for customer development

•Applying e-mail marketing

•Data mining to improve targeting

•Online personalization or mass customization facilities

•Recommender systems

•Online customer service facilities

•FAQ, Chat support etc.

• Social Media

1. eMarketer, The Future of Online Retail Doesn’t Look…Too Bad, June 24, 2009, http:// www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007142. Figure on slide two: Cullen, Kathleen. “Best Practices for Maximizing Your Hotel’s Online Revenue and ROI” HSMAI.com 2. Collins, Robert. New Marketing Labs, “In Search of Storytellers” (2010) 3. Cole, Robert. RockCheetah LLC, “Web 2.0 Technologies in the Hospitality Industry” (2009) http://prezi.com/qct23lpz19yw/web-20-technologies-in-the-hospitality-industry/ 4. Cole, Robert. RockCheetah LLC, “Web 2.0 Technologies in the Hospitality Industry” (2009) http://prezi.com/qct23lpz19yw/web-20-technologies-in-the-hospitality-industry/ Figure on slide seven: http://www.morganshotelgroup.com/#/home/ 5. Lee, W., Gretzel, U. and Law, R. (2009). “Quasi-Trial Experiences through Sensory Information on Destination Web Sites.” Journal of Travel Research, 0, 1 -14 6. North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US), Forrester Research, Inc., February 2009.  7. Boni, Paolo. “Online Merchandising: The Secret to Selling the Hotel Experience Online” www.vfmleonardo.com Figure on slide nine: www.experiencewa.com/ 8. Boni, Paolo. “Online Merchandising: The Secret to Selling the Hotel Experience Online” www.vfmleonardo.com Figure on slide Eleven: http://www.austintexas.org/ 9. Collins, Robert. New Marketing Labs, “In Search of Storytellers” (2010) 10. http://www.createwanderlust.com/destination-website-design 

 

Works Cited

11. Cullen, Kathleen. “Best Practices for Maximizing Your Hotel’s Online Revenue and ROI” HSMAI.com 12. Adobe Scene7 Viewer Study, What Shoppers Want, January 2010.  13. Han, J.H. and Mills, J.E. (2006) “Zero acquaintance benchmarking at travel destination websites: what is the first impression that national tourism organizations try to make?” International Journal of Tourism Research, 8(6), 405-430. 14 The Tourism Company, “Design Tips for Tourism Destination Websites” (2010)http://www.thetourismcompany.com/topic2.asp?projectid=1127&topicid=6 15. Cullen, Kathleen. “Best Practices for Maximizing Your Hotel’s Online Revenue and ROI” HSMAI.com Figure on slide twenty-one: Cole, Robert. RockCheetah LLC, “Web 2.0 Technologies in the Hospitality Industry” (2009) http://prezi.com/qct23lpz19yw/web-20-technologies-in-the-hospitality-industry/ 16. Bernstein, Laurence. “Experiential Marketing – What It Is and Isn’t” http://vtv.vfmleonardo.com/experiential-marketing-what-it-is-and-isnt/ 17. Cahill, Adam. The New Age of Search Strategy. ClickZ. Nov 5, 2009. http://www.clickz. com/3635563  18. North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US), Forrester Research, Inc., February 2009. 19. Bernstein, Laurence. “Experiential Marketing – What It Is and Isn’t” http://vtv.vfmleonardo.com/experiential-marketing-what-it-is-and-isnt/ 20. Boni, Paolo. “Online Merchandising: The Secret to Selling the Hotel Experience Online” www.vfmleonardo.com 21. http://www.toprankblog.com/2009/10/video-seo-basic-tips/ Figure on slide 26: http://www.ourawardentry.com.au/bestjob/index.html 22. Cole, Robert. RockCheetah LLC, “Web 2.0 Technologies in the Hospitality Industry” (2009) http://prezi.com/qct23lpz19yw/web-20-technologies-in-the-hospitality-industry/ Figure on slide 32: Tapscott, Don. “Grown up digital” (08) pg 198

Works Cited