In this 9th edition of the Hotel Marketing Benchmark, we cover some of the highlights of 2015 and some of the hotel marketing tech trends for 2016 and on. 2015 has been as pretty great year for hotel marketing, with rate parity changes, metasearch changed, hotel websites and marketing tech is progressing and OTAs got in the hot seat versus direct booking strategies. We're happy to present this edition. We've tried to make it as interesting as possible and we hope you enjoy it.

1. Into 2016
HOTEL
MARKETING
BENCHMARK
Compiled by Sebastien Felix @fleexit & Martin Soler @martinsoler

2. 2015 was an incredible year for hotel marketing, Google
entered the book direct world, rate-parity clauses got a
shakeup and industry consolidation shifted gear.
In this edition, we cover some of the recent changes, and, as
always, we bring inspiration to make it all exciting and fun.
If there was one word that marks the future of hotel
marketing, it should be Experience.
Wishing you a great 2016 and thank you for reading our
new Hotel Marketing Benchmark!
Sebastien Felix @fleexit and Martin Soler @martinsoler
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 2
INTRODUCTION

3. BEST OF
2015
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 3

4. The hottest topic of 2015 was rate parity and the recent cases against rate parity plus booking.com’s not
so good management of the PR crisis that resulted from it. It seems the majority of the rate parity issues
were targeting Priceline and booking.com, which is a bit unfair to them. But they didn’t do themselves any
favors when they officially went after Triptease and their widget which may have some negative effect on
goliath (booking.com) but really there are better ways to manage it. While it is understandable that some
want rate parity to continue, it has never been a hugely successful to try and stop evolution from
happening. Rate parity is bound to die, history has proven that in many verticals already.
RATE PARITY IS UNDER ATTACK
#revenu
e
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 4

5. Are meta-search engines becoming OTAs is a question that has been on many people’s minds in 2015.
The shift of TripAdvisor and then Google to instant booking. And not Trivago who promised they would
never do that have worked out their own alternative (one needs to install their booking engine). So
everyone is essentially shifting to a commission model. Is it a good or bad thing well if everyone sticks to
last-click model it is a good thing for cheap hotels, expensive thing for high end hotels. But it will reduce
the risk of meta-search and turn it into just another channel one can activate.
If everyone is on a commission model the race will be towards conversion rather than clicks which means
hotels won’t have to pay for multiple clicks across numerous platforms but just to the one who got the
reservation. And in that scenario, meta-search will definitely be competing with OTAs.
METASEARCHBOOK#advertising
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 5

6. Instagram launched their ad-platform and as the most linear and visually driven social media this meant
hotels could now begin visual story-telling ads to travellers. This opens a new opportunity for hotels to
advertise at the inspiration stage of the booking which is an advertising channel that hotels need more.
Current channels such as metasearch and search ads are later on the funnel. While inspiration is closely
related to destinations more than hotels, certain destinations will be driven by property and great story-
telling (resorts for example) which is where Instagram ads can open a whole new area of opportunity.
Still too few are using this channel and we believe it will have a big influence on the future of advertising
for hotels.
INSTAGRAM GOT ADS#advertising
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 6

7. As marketers we’re always on the lookout for new ways to advertise and get in front of the right people at
the right time. Facebook ads were a big hope a few years back but never seemed to have worked for
hotels. Probably due to the lack of buying intent and emotional impact. The two main competitors were
TV which had a linear approach and great emotional impact and of course Google’s Adwords which had
intent. In 2015 Facebook seemed to have finally found a way for hotels to advertise efficiently and
Booking.com reported some success with social advertising, Facebook’s slew of additional advertising
products begin to make sense for hotels. And there is a hidden maxim in the hotel marketing world, if
Booking.com does it, then hotels should do it.
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING STARTS TO WORK#advertising
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 7

8. Templated hotel websites have been around for a while, but they never really got much traction. 2015
saw 5 new companies enter the market and it is only a matter of time before they become the norm.
Innovative hotel companies have already recognized that photography is a greater asset than website
layout and are focusing their resources on simple and easy to use websites with stunning photography.
As the disruption theory goes, one starts with a small side market nobody wants and slowly grows to the
larger market, DIY or Templated websites are going just that route and with the power behind them
(Priceline, Sabre, Leonardo, Siteminder and more) it is only a matter of time before they take over.
DIY WEBSITES GET REAL#design
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 8

9. TRENDS
FOR 2016
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 9

10. Influencer marketing has been used by lifestyle brands for a long time. Hospitality has used it to some
extent but there are almost no tools out there for hospitality and travel. That is changing and while 2016
may not be the year of mainstream, it certainly will be the year of breakthrough. New apps like Buzz&Go
and several others are starting to put some order into the chaos of hotel influencer marketing by
assisting both hotels and influencers connect up and measure results. Working to fill the void of
Inspiration marketing for travellers influencers will assist people find the right place for them and the
whole ecosystem of travel needs tools to manage and monitor influencer marketing.
INFLUENCER MARKETING IS
COMING#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 10

11. To start working with Big Data one must master Small Data, small data is the data that already exists
through PMS, Website Analytics and many other platforms. Once this is properly being used one can add
the Big Data layer. Some applications (mainly Revenue Management and Reviews) already have a big data
layers. With tools such as SnapShot Analytics, hotels will finally be able to access their small data and
structure is properly so big data can begin to be accessed. The potentials for big data and predictive
analytics in the hotel sector is unlimited. For example predicting the effect of currency changes on hotel
rooms before the effect begins to negatively impact occupancy and rates is just a micro moment. Full
disclosure Martin Soler works at SnapShot.travel
BIG DATA FOR HOTELS#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 11

12. As the rate-parity clauses drop and hotel revenue managers find new ways to optimize their rates we will
see quite some changes in the pricing structures. Channel specific deals or geo-targeted rates will
eventually emerge. Mistakes will be made and lessons will be learned. Where this will go and how this can
affect the guests and their acceptance is uncertain, what is certain is that life for revenue managers is
about to become a whole lot more complicated and this is where Revenue Management Software tools
such as Duetto, IDeaS, Booking’s PriceMatch and others will need to help control the evolution.
POST-RATE PARITY ERA#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 12

13. Acquiring new customers has always been more expensive than taking care of your best customers. With
the variety of channels we have, emails still remain something tangible for the travelers (booking
confirmations, upselling, etc.). And contrary to the assumptions of many, emails remain one of the most
efficient ways to interact with guests. Tech products like Sellinity, Mailchimp, Hubspot and Revinate are
evolving from marketing platforms into a CRM/customer oriented approach allowing hotels to improve
customer loyalty by understanding when and where to interact with guests and retain them longer.
Maybe the future of loyalty is personalization rather than just discounts and points.
THE IMPORTANCE OF
LOYALTY#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 13

14. “Suggest five weekend breaks for April 9th” is a request we could soon be asking to our phones.
Facebook’s M, Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri are all heading to voice controlled future
and the one with the most personalized data is likely to win in the travel space. Facebook has a fair
chance of coming out on top of this one. Booking travel through online search is still not a great
experience and smart concierge services could be coming from the above. Once the five suggestions are
found, the next step will be “Book option 2” and the app will book, flights, Uber and Hotel in one shot.
This is most certainly the future of Travel Agency. It will most likely not be ready for 2016 but hotels
should already ensure their data is available to such services as OTAs already have the lead here with
unified APIs to hundreds of thousands of hotels, and booking possibilities.
THE FACEBOOK
CONCIERGE#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 14

15. Virtual and augmented reality will be the next major computing platform that will change the way we all
connect and communicate. By providing a new way of experiences, people will be able to travel and
discover places like never before. It will be a useful technology to promote destination or places. Marriott
already organized a pilot with the Occulus Rift technology.
Few days ago M. Zuckerberg officially announces that the Occulus Rift is ready to be pre-ordered and it
sounds really cool: “When you put on Oculus, you'll feel like you instantly teleported into adventures like
deep-sea diving, piloting a starfighter or playing in a band on stage.”
VIRTUAL REALITY#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 15

16. Connected watches may not be the biggest tech breakthrough since the smartphone but they are here to
stay. Making technology easier to use and with less human interaction is an inevitable future. Checking-in
and Checking-out plus door-keys are some obvious uses, but that is just the beginning. Interacting with
clients through easy to manage “Yes/No” text messages is a low-tech way to ensure there is always a
human touch with the hotel and could be achieved without installing apps etc. The fact is there will be
more connected watches and hotels need to get creative on how to use these to enhance guest
experience.
MORE CONNECTED WATCHES#tech
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 16

17. New and more focused hotels are emerging and more to come. With hotels like citizenM tailored for one
particular segment, Elegancia for others, Generator Hostels and more. The hotel industry is changing to
bring in a better and more specific experience, away from the generalist approach of yesteryear. Inspired
from the success of Airbnb hotels like Sweet Inn are evolving to bring hotel level experience to the privacy
and individuality of apartment rentals and the BnB concept. Finding niche markets and building hotels to
cater for them is only going to continue. We’ve become so accustomed to individual apps that do smaller
tasks better - why not individual hotels that do some segments better. Watch the video
HOSPITALITY NEW CONCEPTS#innovation
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 17

18. FRESH
INSPIRATION
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 18

19. Cheapflights’ “Flying Stuntman” takes a fun look at booking travel for “normal” people.
Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xjnlu8PkzwQ
THE STUNTMAN TRAVELS#inspiration
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 19

20. Thomas Cook shows just how much fun kids have when travelling. Both with and without soundtrack.
Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNCJh9WwU6w
KIDS HAVE MOST FUN#inspiration
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 20

21. Spies Rejser, the Danish travel agency that was founded by Denmark’s most notorious party animal, has
worked out how to solve Denmark’s aging population through travel. And it is all kinds of weird, here is
“Do it for mom”
Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B00grl3K01g
DANES GO FAR FAR OUT#inspiration
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 21

22. Another travel agency getting creative. A ring-binder and a paperclip is enough to imagine an entire
vacation.
http://kielo.net/en.html
SIMPLICITY STILL WORKS#inspiration
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 22

23. About us
Martin Soler
A passionate marketing guy focused on the hotel industry. I love all the new shiny
objects but I know they’re just shiny things until they’ve been tested. I believe that while
we need some lofty philosophic ideas on the future, what we need more is helpful tips
on how to manage today and the day after, and until we’ve done that the future is
incredibly far away. I’m the Chief Marketing Officer of SnapShot.travel building great
hotel analytics and data tools. Am reachable on twitter at @martinsoler or via
About.me/martinsoler.
Sebastien Felix
Inspired by the latest tech, always ready to try out the new innovations. Big Star Wars
fan, I love traveling when I’m not busy trying out some geek stuff. Formerly head of
online marketing for a luxury hotel group, I also co-founded the first influencer
marketing platform for hospitality. Currently building what will be the new generation of
storytelling and content for travel brands. Reach me on Twitter at @fleexit or my
About.me/sebastien-felix page.
HOTEL MARKETING BENCHMARK Sebastien Felix @fleexit • Martin Soler @martinsolerInto 2016 Page 23