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.
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”
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.
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.
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
Notas do Editor
In all of the research we have done examining trends for 2014 affecting hospitality, we have been able to group these trends in these categories.
The first major trend centers around the many devices customers use before, during and after vacation. According to the latest study by the Pew Research Center, 56% of Americans own a smartphone and 42% own a tablet.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Smartphone-Ownership-2013/Findings.aspx
Tablets are replacing PCs for many Americans, and their mobile component essentially means Americans are beginning to carry their entire computer life with them wherever they go.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2014/E-Reading-Update/Tablet-and-Ereader-Ownership/Half-of-American-adults-now-own-a-tablet-or-ereader.aspx
As we will discuss later, as emerging markets become more of a factor, it is interesting to see the growth in smartphone and tablet trends from a global perspective. 1 in 5 people in the world now own a smartphone and 1 in 17 own a tablet. –Business Insider.
http://www.businessinsider.com/smartphone-and-tablet-penetration-2013-10
What does this trend mean for those of us in the hotel and vacation rental industries? It impacts the way 1) guests book, 2) how guests use devices during their vacations, and 3) how we can communicate with our guests. Let’s briefly look at each of these impacts separately.
First, looking at how guests research and book vacations, Google recently did a study titled “Traveler’s Road to Decision 2013: Affluent Insights” which shows how affluents used their smartphone. 30% said they use their smartphone for everything. http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/research-studies/travelers-road-to-decision-affluent-insights.html
However, tablet use is a little different. As I mentioned, tablets are replacing PC use. Some interesting things to point out: Watching videos is less prevalent on a phone or tablet (interesting because many marketers have been predicting a huge growth in online videos in travel), and fewer people download an app on a tablet than a phone.
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/research-studies/travelers-road-to-decision-affluent-insights.html
With this information, it is important to look at things we can do to accommodate this change in behavior. We need to be very conscious of how our website and our brand is communicated across devices. Responsive design is no longer an option. Also, we need to make sure the booking path and payment process is easy and seamless. And something we often overlook, our confirmations need to also be easily read and accessed on all devices.
Another consideration with the use of multiple devices is the way guests use their devices while staying at your property. They bring their own content (BYOC –as it is being called), including music, movies, and games. They also have 24/7 access to comment on their stays with their friends, family and the world. And they are always connected to their lives at home, including work, friends and family. No longer do guests go on vacation and “unplug”.
Do how can we best accommodate our guests? We will talk about trends in guest services in a few minutes, but here are a few considerations. We should find an easy way for guests to communicate with us via devices for customer service needs. We want them to contact us before they post any negative experiences on social media. At the same time we want to encourage positive social interaction…like posting pictures and sharing great experiences. We can also provide area information and upsell while guests are on property through text and apps (i.e. Spa and Tee Times). For example, you can push out information like specials in the spa or a open house to guests. One key thing to point out is that once a guest logs in through Facebook or uses your app, you have much more relevant customer data than has been possible before, which allows you to more successfully target and segment your guests to increase the lifetime value of the customer and gain information from guests who did not actually make the booking. This data will be incredibly helpful in targeting your audience in a much more relevant way.
The other consideration with multiple devices is how you communicate with guests. 87% of smarthphone users in the US check email or go online using their phone. This means your emails are likely being read on a phone or tablet. In 2014 and beyond, relevant communications are key in maintaining long term relationships with your guests.
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones/Section-2.aspx
http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/case-study/10-more-revenue-from-3
So what can we do? As I mentioned earlier, responsive design is key in email communications. We also must make it a priority to collect clean customer data. We should create an automated (triggered) lifecycle messaging program to provide relevant personal communications with guests, target email campaigns by segmenting lists, and collect and monitor data from your email communications. We will talk more about automated marketing in a minute, but if you want to hear more about the solutions we have recently launched to help in this area, you should join ____ for the ___ session at ____.
The next big trend in hospitality is big data and the cloud. The big buzz about big data is centered around the new capability we have to crunch and analyze large data sets in real time. For those of us who remember DOS based systems, previously, data sets were difficult to dissect. By the time we compiled and analyzed data, it was historic information and no longer actionable. Now with the cloud, the data is web-based and can be gathered in real-time. According to the International Data Corp. Cloud services are expected to grow 25% in 2014. And with the consumer data you have access to, our industry is a big beneficiary.
http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24472713
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gilpress/2013/12/03/idc-top-10-technology-predictions-for-2014/
There is so much to say about the technology behind big data but briefly big data will allow you to see things like you’ve never seen them before. A cautionary note, big data is still based on the garbage in/garbage out philosophy. In order for you to capitalize on the competitive advantage you can gain from big data, you will want to make it an internal priority to collect clean data.
For you, this starts with looking at your data sources and what you can control.
http://www.tnooz.com/article/big-data-where-its-coming-from-where-its-headed-infographic/
With web-based, cloud technology, we are able to integrate platforms better than ever before. For most of us who have been in the industry for a while, the idea of having all of our technology fully integrated felt like a distant dream. However, that is rapidly changing which allows for marketing automation in our industry. Marketing automation is generally the use of software to automate repetitive marketing tasks. We have made huge strides as NAVIS’s lead management is integrated with your software, and the new products allow integration with the NAVIS CRM, email tools and data mining solutions. Other marketing autmation capabilies include social media/online review monitoring and the fast ability to upload and add content to your website.
In order to create marketing efficiency and maximize marketing spend, hoteliers and vacation rental managers are actively looking to marketing automation. As part of your 2014 marketing strategy, setting up lifecycle messaging for past guests based on your normal booking path is one of the first things you can do to capitalize on automated software.
Another big trend in 2014 is the love hate relationship between brands and OTA’s. The prevalence of OTA’s and metasearch sites and the associated costs are worth noting. According to the recent Expedia study, “The Traveler’s Path to Purchase” people who buy vacation packages search 30 websites before booking! As part of your marketing strategy, building your brand and encouraging consumers to book directly with you has to be on your radar. http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/149354/file-271132325-pdf/docs/Path_to_Purchase_Expedia_Media_Solutions_MillwardBrown.pdf?t=1386620778000
Social technology continues to be woven into guest engagement and service. According to a commissioned survey of more than 2,100 travelers conducted by Forrester on behalf of TripAdvisor, 81% of travelers consider reviews important and 49% won’t book a property without reviews. - See more at: http://www.tnooz.com/article/underscoring-the-importance-of-online-hotel-reputation-management/#sthash.JzBX4urP.dpuf
http://www.olery.com/blog/infographic-the-naked-truth-about-hotel-reviews/
http://www.tnooz.com/article/underscoring-the-importance-of-online-hotel-reputation-management/
According to Facebook Stories, people around the world add more stories about travel to their timelines than any other type of life event.
http://www.facebookstories.com/stories/47/infographic-sharing-life-s-major-moments
A few things you can do to monitor and protect your brand are: Make sure guests have a fast, easy way to contact about negative experiences before they post on social media. You can also monitor social sites, comment on good reviews, address bad reviews and make sure your TripAdvisor and Yelp presence depicts your brand. http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2267166/Yelp-Optimization-How-to-Claim-Optimize-Your-Business-Listing
http://lodginginteractive.com/5rs-digital-marketing-social-media-engagement-renew-review-repute-replace-respond/
When Google makes changes, it affects your web presence, so it is important to monitor Google’s recent updates as they relate to your 2014 business. A whole session could be devoted to this, so we won’t cover this in detail, but it would be remiss for us not to mention Google’s impact on your online marketing.
One of the more fun trends to discuss for 2014 are the advancements in guest services as a result of new technology. recent poll, conducted by SmartBrief.com(sponsored by The Wall Street Journal), shows that 85% of guests use online service requests for room service to housekeeping. When polled, 91% of guests said they checked in or would check in using an automated kiosk. More hotels are starting to design their lobbies to provide settings for customer changing customer behavior.
http://www2.smartbrief.com/hosted/ad2187/Hospitality_Trends_2013.pdf
http://www.elevenwireless.com/top-6-hospitality-tech-trends-for-2014/
In the same SmartBrief poll, 87% said they think wi-fi should be free and over a third said it was a priority for them when they booked. In addition, since guests are always connected to social networks, many hotels are finding ways to use social as a customer service tool as well as a marketing tool.
http://www2.smartbrief.com/hosted/ad2187/Hospitality_Trends_2013.pdf
As technology has improved, so have hotel meeting spaces. Programs like Workspace on Demand and Liquidspace, along with better meeting space design, have enabled more productive use of hotel meeting and convention spaces. Another trend and consideration for guests services is that millenials will become the core customer within the hospitality and travel industries over the next five to ten years. And they want things fast. They are also not afraid to talk online about anything.
http://www.elevenwireless.com/top-6-hospitality-tech-trends-for-2014/
http://www2.smartbrief.com/hosted/ad2187/Hospitality_Trends_2013.pdf
Here are some considerations for you. If you offer wi-fi, use it to get more info from your guests. This is a great way to get info from guests who didn’t actually make the booking.
The last trend we will discuss is Emerging Markets. It is worth noting that international travel is increasing significantly. According new figures from the U.N. World Tourism Organization, or Unwto, international arrivals surged by 5.2 percent to nearly half a billion people over the first six months of 2013, exceeding earlier expectations of about 3.5 percent growth. http://www.ibtimes.com/international-tourist-arrivals-exceed-expectations-first-half-2013-1400157
For example it is estimated 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.http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4063217.html
In all of the research we have done examining trends for 2014 affecting hospitality, we have been able to group these trends in these categories.