From Mobile to metasearch and Google to guest services, customer behavior and expectations of accommodations are changing. Whether you are marketing vacation rentals, hotels, timeshares or a bed and breakfast, here are some emerging trends and action items on things your organization can do to increase room nights and improve the guest experience.

1. 2014 Industry Trends
Hospitality and
Accommodations
Amy Hinote, VRM Intel

2. 2014 Industry Trends
1. Multiple Screens/Devices (Smartphones, Tablets, etc.)
2. Big Data/Cloud Technology
3. Marketing Automation/Integrated Platforms
4. Metasearch/OTA’s/Distribution
5. Social Media/Reviews/Online Reputation Management
6. Google (Recent Developments)
7. Guest Services
8. Emerging Markets

3. Multiple Screens/Devices
(Smartphones, Tablets, etc.)
In the U.S.:
56% own a
smartphone.
42% own a
tablet.
Pew Research Center

4. Multiple Screens/Devices
(Smartphones, Tablets, etc.)
In the U.S.:
56% own a
smartphone.
42% own a
tablet.
Pew Research Center

5. Multiple Screens/Devices
(Smartphones, Tablets, etc.)
Globally:
22% own a
smartphone.
6% own a
tablet.
Gartner

6. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Vacation Rental Managers:
• How guests research and book their stays
• How guests use devices when on property
• How hoteliers and vacation rental managers
communicate with guests

7. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
1. How guests research and book their stays:
Affluent travelers move across devices for all types of travel activities,
from research to booking and check-in. Convenience is the top reason
that affluent travelers book on smartphones. Many affluents also
book last minute with their smartphones.--Google’s “Traveler’s Road
to Decision 2013”

8. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
How guests research and book their stays:

9. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
1. How guests research and book their stays:
Action Items:
• Maintain brand standards across devices
• Implement responsive website design
• Create a fast, easy booking path and online payment process
• Ensure confirmations are responsive across devices.

10. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
2. How guests use devices while at the property:
Considerations:
• They bring their own content (movies, games, music, tv).
• They have 24/7 access to share the details of their stay online.
• They are always connected to work.
• They are always connected to friends and family.
99% of guests travel with at least one device. Of those, 45% travel
with 2 devices and 40% travel with 3 or more. --SmartBrief

11. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
2. How guests use devices while at the property:
Action Items:
• Have an easy way for guests to communicate with you before
communicating online if there is a problem.
• Encourage social interaction.
• Provide area information and concierge services via your branded
app.
• Collect and analyze data from mobile interaction.

12. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
3. How hoteliers and managers communicate with guests:
Considerations:
• 87% of smartphone users access the internet or email on their
device, including two-thirds who do it daily. (Pew Internet Project)
• Relevance is the number one determinant in email open rate.
(Marketing Sherpa)

13. Considerations for Hoteliers
and Managers:
How hoteliers and managers communicate with guests:
Action Items:
• Ensure email communications are responsive to multiple devices.
• Collect clean customer data.
• Create an automated (triggered) lifecycle messaging program to
provide relevant personal communications with guests.
• Target email campaigns by segmenting lists.
• Collect and monitor data from your email communications.

14. Big Data and
Cloud Technology
• Services, content, & more will continue moving to the cloud:
Cloud services are expected to grow 25%, over $100 billion, in
2014. The hospitality industry and vendors are following suit
and are investing in cloud services to improve operations.
• Data analytics will reveal all:
In 2013, $14 billion was spent on big data technologies and
services (30% growth) as demand for data analytics continues
to outweigh supply. The cloud will play a larger role in
platforms that are capable of streaming data in real-time.
Hospitality has much to gain as analytics help measure guest
satisfaction and identify specific competitive advantages.

15. Big Data and
Cloud Technology
Once you start tackling your data:
• You’ll learn what you don’t know
• You’ll likely be proven wrong on some paradigms you have
held close
• You’ll be inspired to take steps to resolve any problems.
• You can use the insights to improve your customer
engagement marketing strategies
• You will add more value to both your offline and online
interactions.

16. Big Data and
Cloud Technology
Data Sources:
• Marketing Activity √
• Lead Management System √
• Call Center Information √
• Website Analytics √
• Property Management System √
• Face-to-Face Interaction √
• Customer Behavior √
• Re-engagement Data √
• Ancillary Spend √

17. Marketing Automation &
Integrated Platforms
• Marketing automation: The use of software to automate
repetitive marketing tasks.
• Now we can nurture prospects with highly personalized,
useful content that helps convert prospects to customers and
turn customers into delighted customers and collect and
analyze data.
• Additional platforms provide hotels and mangers social
media and review monitoring, the ability to quickly update
website content, and more.

18. Marketing Automation &
Integrated Platforms
Action Items:
1. Investigate and implement solutions to automate marketing
functions.
2. Create an automated lifecycle messaging strategy which
nurtures leads and prospects through your purchasing
funnel.

19. Metasearch, OTAs, Distribution
Channels vs. your Brand
Travelers visit 38 websites on average before booking, so competition is
fierce. Yet, hotels see a 14% increase in direct bookings when they are listed
in an OTA. Direct bookings are preferable as they eliminate commissions. The
challenge is to get customers to deal direct. It is vital in 2014 to get this right.

20. Social Media, Reviews, and Online
Reputation Management
Rankings Mean Business:

21. Social Media, Reviews, and Online
Reputation Management
Travel and Social Go Hand in Hand

22. Social Media, Reviews, and
Online Reputation Management
Action Items:
• Solicit and create an easy way for guests to immediately contact you if
they need help or are experiencing a problem.
• Monitor Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Twitter and Google Places
reviews and alert management of any low reviews 2x/week.
• Comment on glowing reviews to thank them.
• Comment on low reviews and how the property intends to handle
future situations.
• TripAdvisor and Yelp presence depicts your brand.

23. What’s new with Google
Google changes which affect hoteliers and vacation rental managers:
• Keywords no longer provided for organic search
• Hummingbird search algorithm update
– Semantic search (focusing on user intent versus individual search terms)
– Pages must be based around themes rather than keywords
• Enhanced Campaigns
– Targets multiple devices in a simplified manner
– Helps tailor the message for the right context at the right time
• Google Knowledge Graph Carousel
• Google+
• Tabbed Gmail (Primary, social, promotional)

24. Guest Services and Technology
Latest developments in technology enable new services for guests:
• Guests Prefer Automated Services:
– 85% of guests use online service requests for room service to housekeeping.
– 91% of guests said they had automated checked in or would prefer automated
check in.
• The Lobby as the Social and Technology Epicenter:
– Communal tables, outlets, and charging stations are encouraging more than just
transactional traffic in hotel lobby spaces.
– More and more guests are seeing lobbies as a way to get work done while
enjoying the atmosphere and networking opportunities.

25. Guest Services and Technology
Latest developments in technology enable new services for guests:
• More Investment in Guests and “Free” Wi-Fi:
– 87% of guests polled think that Wi-Fi should be a free amenity.
– 38% of the guests reported that wifi was the priority factor while
booking a hotel.
• Social media will drive customer service:
– Social technology will become significantly integrated into all guest
engagement.
– Social networks will become a standard cloud offering and no longer a
separate operating arm of businesses. Design policies, train staff, and
invest in social as an important part of your customer service.

26. Guest Services and Technology
Latest developments in technology enable new services for guests:
• Remote Office and Meeting Spaces:
– As workplaces have transformed with technology, so have hotel meeting
spaces.
– Programs like Workspace on Demand and Liquidspace, have enabled
better use of hotel meeting and convention spaces.
• Millennials:
– Fast booking, fast check-in, fast WiFi and fast responses to customer
service needs.
– Will go straight to social if they are unhappy.

27. Guest Services and Technology
Action Items:
1. Consider adding work and charging stations to communal areas.
2. Use free wi-fi offering to get guest data.
3. Find ways to connect guests to your services using social media.
4. Investigate new technology for meeting spaces.
5. Explore and implement ways to make your services faster and more
efficient.
6. Create multiple paths for guests to quickly notify you if they are
experiencing difficulty in any way (Email, text, social).

28. Emerging Markets
• Expectation of more international visitors.
• “Leisure demand from abroad, fueled in part by the new
Discover America campaign, will stimulate a new
demand”
Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott Hotels & Resorts.

29. Emerging Markets

30. Emerging Markets
For example, China is preparing to send about 100 million leisure
tourists into the international market every year.
• If the U.S. gets its typical share, that will mean an additional 10
million visitors from China alone.
• Considering the average Chinese traveler spends a week in the
U.S., demand is created for an additional 70 million room nights
in a market where prices are steadily rising.

31. 2014 Industry Trends
1. Multiple Screens/Devices
2. Big Data/Cloud Technology
3. Marketing Automation/Integrated Platforms
4. Metasearch/OTA’s/Distribution
5. Social Media/Reviews/Online Reputation Management
6. Google
7. Guest Services
8. Emerging Markets