Tag: marketing

Briefing: Illuminating all accommodation options

Posted on by Guy Lean

A new report from Savills found that only 8% of UK consumers can name a serviced apartment or aparthotel brand.

Although alternative accommodation sectors like serviced apartments, vacation rentals, and hostels have been growing, largely thanks to the opportunities online, there is still a lack of awareness of these products compared to hotels.

To rectify this, companies have been investing in marketing campaigns and launching TV adverts.

In these videos, four experts discuss awareness of hospitality products:

Savills’ European Serviced Apartment report states that 41% of UK consumers don’t know what a serviced apartment is and 57% don’t know what an aparthotel is. Awareness of serviced apartments was better among business travellers, although only 52% knew what an aparthotel was.

HostelWorld put out a new TV advert this year, aimed at young travellers looking for an authentic experience and inviting them to ‘meet the word’. This booking site features campsites, self catering accommodation, B&B’s, and budget hotels as well as independent hostels, and currently lists over 27,000 properties in more than 180 countries.

HomeAway, a vacation rentals model based around people renting out their second homes to holiday makers, has put a significant investment into its marketing budget this year. According to HomeAway’s second quarter reports, the company spent $100,887 on sales and marketing in the first half of 2015. This is up by about 25% on the same period in 2014. They have put out a 2 part TV campaign aimed at families.

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Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Hotels struggle to follow trend for personalisation

Posted on by Guy Lean

Companies using personalised marketing have experienced an average uplift in sales of 19% according to research. Personal customer service has always been key in hospitality; ‘A warm and sincere greeting using the guest’s name’ is step one of the Ritz Carlton’s three steps to service. With the increase in data that is being collected from guests, hotels should be able to recognise guests from previous stays and personalise service towards them, but it is not easy. Figures from UNWTO show that there were 1087 million international tourists in 2013 and 6 billion domestic tourists worldwide. With so many different faces passing through the doors it is hard for hoteliers to distinguish individual customer profiles as our experts discuss in this week’s briefing:

Many hotel brands have loyalty programs, which can help them keep a profile of each guest but even within this there are many people to keep track of. Hilton HHonors is Hilton Worldwide’s loyalty programme, which has 42 million members. IHG has 161 million guests nights per annum and its reward club has 82.4 million members globally.

Research shows that 78% of consumers feel that personalised marketing content leads to a deeper relationship with a brand. Personalisation is also used in online retail. 60% of consumers prefer it when online store remembers their contact details and purchase information. In a survey by Oracle 54% of retail consumers said personalisation was important. With customer service becoming more personalised across the board this will continue to be a challenge for hospitality to figure out.

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Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Industry Disruptors Part 2- A focus on Airbnb

Posted on by HPG Advisory

Airbnb is an immensely successful hospitality player with products across 190 countries. It has housed 15 million guests in just six years of existence, is already one of the largest market players and has recently updated its look to emphasise its brand concept of ‘belonging’. The business model is an extension of the B&B idea. It is a digital platform that allows people to rent all or part of their houses to other travellers.

Should the hotel industry feel threatened by the sharing economy? What will be the impact of regulation? And what can the industry learn from Airbnb? Answering these questions are:

  • Stephan Balzer, Chief Executive Officer, Red Onion GmbH on a shift in the market that could see hotels close

  • Russell Kett, Chairman – London Office, HVS on the need for careful regulation of new hospitality products

  • Steve Lowy, CEO & Founder, umi Digital on using Airbnb to make purchases

  • Shaun Hinds, Managing Director – International Operations, BridgeStreet Global Hospitality on why Airbnb isn’t a great threat

 

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: like, share and embed travel experiences

Posted on by HPG Advisory

Online feedback has transformed the hospitality industry. Comment cards and guest books have always allowed customers to share their thoughts on their stay, but now these experiences, both good and bad, are being shared immediately online and it’s influencing where customers choose to spend their money.

Consumers want to get a glimpse of holiday destinations before they go. They are getting their ideas directly from other visitors, not just marketing teams.

So how are hotels dealing with review websites? In what new ways can the holiday experience be shared? And can digital communities be integrated into the marketing plan? Comment from:

  • Charlie Osmond, Chief Tease, TripTease on content creation & social media driving business growth
  • Sinai Pedreschi, Director of Sales & Marketing, The Stafford London on TripAdvisor and customer feedback
  • Satyan Joshi, Industry Manager – Travel, Google on the impact of video reviews on hotels and OTAs
  • Christopher Michau, VP – Global Partner Group, Expedia France SAS on integrating social media into the travel business model
 


If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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