Tag: SVP Global Market Management

Briefing: Data culture creates new risks

Posted on by Guy Lean

Data has become a key tool that a hospitality business needs to perform at its best. Now businesses must recognise the importance of using the data they have in a responsibile way. A misuse of data could be a risk to a business and could destroy trust between it and its customers. The latest research by Accenture has found that 83% of executives agree trust is the cornerstone of the digital economy.

Four hospitality experts discuss how they work with data:

As these videos show, in hospitality data can help deliver better service, and help understand how products can be marketed. It is very beneficial to embrace this in your business and culture. Technology systems in the industry are getting better at gathering and uniting data. But there is still a way to go for optimum use.

New risks arising from data use should be present in the mind of any business that take data on. According to Accenture; ‘81 percent of executives agree that as the business value of data grows, the risks companies face from improper handling of data are growing exponentially.’ And ‘80% of executives report strong demand among knowledge workers for increased ethical controls for data.’ Risk can come out of using customer data in ways they did not agree to, or unethical use of insights taken from data.

A report form Sabre suggests that with all that data use requires continual refinement as more sophisticated computer programs are created to automate data analysis processes and more and more objects become able to capture data as the “Internet of things grows”. Sabre say that “we’re still several years away from having a robust understanding of how this degree of information will change how we conduct business.”

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.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Understanding your digital skill level

Posted on by Guy Lean

According to the L2 Digital IQ Index, Marriott has the highest digital IQ of all luxury hotel brands, at 162. This is a considerable margin above the second ranked hotel group, which has been given a Digital IQ of 137. An understanding of how to engage online is vital to the success of a hospitality business today, but given that traditional hotel brands’ strongest skill is in service, they will always be at a disadvantage to specialised tech companies in the digital arena, as our hospitality experts discuss:

The Index assesses the digital competence of 55 Luxury Hotel brands by looking at the ‘effectiveness of brand site and E-commerce investments’, ‘Search, display and email marketing efforts’, ‘Social Media presence, community size, content and engagement,’ and ‘Mobile compatibility, optimization and marketing on smartphones & tablets’.

One reasons for Marriott’s high score is its online visibility. The study shows that in a Google search made from the US, Marriot is the most visible brand when looking for hotels in The Americas and Asia, and top three in Europe and Asia.

The study found that 81% of online travel booking is abandoned before completion. The study highlights frustrations during the booking process as key factor in and says that nearly 40% of sites surveyed required four or more clicks from search result to reservation.

Another barrier in the booking journey is the device used. According to the study, 46% of travellers who performed research via a mobile device did not execute their booking on that same channel.

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.tv for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Digital support, OTAs, and the Billboard Effect

Posted on by Guy Lean

The latest report from TravelClick has found that so far in 2016 brand websites have had the largest share of rooms sold (34.7%) of all booking channels in North America. OTAs have had 14.9% of the share. Both segments grew in the last quarter of 2015, brand channels grew 4.3% and OTAs grew 3.8%.

Online booking continues to dominate distribution and despite recent discussions in the industry questioning the continued relevance of the ‘Billboard Effect’, relationships between smaller hotel companies and the OTAs remain important.

These videos discuss the importance of online channels and what OTAs can offer:

The Billboard Effect was made famous in 2009 when Chris K. Anderson of Cornell University published the research report ‘The Billboard Effect: Online Travel Agent Impact on Non-OTA Reservation Volume.’

The reported look closely at four hotels (three branded, one independent) and noted changes in the Average Daily Reservations on their own websites as their visibility on Expedia.com was switched on and off over a three month period. All four hotels saw an increase in direct reservations when displayed on the OTA. The highest difference was found with the independent hotel which had a direct reservation increase of 26% when visible on Expedia. The lowest difference was a 7.5% increase.

However, as reported on tnooz, research is now suggesting that customers who look on OTAs are more likely to ultimately book on the OTA site regardless of where they start their booking journey.

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.tv 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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