Content still king in channel mix debate

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03 October 2012
By Jeff Higley
Editorial Director
jeff@hotelnewsnow.com

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Story Highlights

• Expedia data indicates a better booking conversion rate and a higher average daily rate are achieved when a website’s content is maximized.
• The influx of mobile devices is another trend that is changing the distribution equation.
• Measuring the success of various programs remains one of the industry’s great mysteries.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee—The distribution channel landscape might be more complicated than ever, but hoteliers must remember that content is king regardless of the channel used to secure room reservations.

And with the continued emergence of digital platforms as a primary driver of those reservations, online content should take top priority when mapping out a channel strategy, experts said during a panel discussion at the recent Southern Lodging Summit @ Memphis.

“Think through the content that you’ve got on the website, the functionality, the way that guests potentially interact with your site,” said Trevor Stuart-Hill, president of Revenue Matters. “Look at meta-tags and keyword density and relevancy and all those elements to help with search. All of that is a very integral component that should go along in parallel with your third-party distribution strategy.”

Nick Graham, senior director of market management for Expedia, said customers are becoming more demanding as far as the content that they’re looking for online. He also said hoteliers can turn content into cash.
For example, Expedia research indicates that doubling the number of pictures of a hotel can result in 4.5% more transactions at a premium of $3.50 more in rate, he said. In addition, by doubling the size of descriptions of the hotel and its offerings on the websites, hoteliers can see a 5% increase in sales at a $3 higher average daily rate.

Graham said the best practice for the number of photos on a hotel website is at least 20, and a photo of the bathroom is a must because that’s what prospective guests want to see.

“The takeaway here is to invest heavily in your online brochure because that’s going to result in more sales as well as a higher rate,” he said.

Nolan Wrentmore, VP of revenue management and emarketing at Aimbridge Hospitality, said the challenge of Graham’s suggestions is that brands dictate many of the website features for branded hotels.

“The independent hotels, we have have a little bit more flexibility when it comes to photography,” he said.

Cristy A. Peters, VP of revenue management operations for Marriott International’s southern region, said brand requirements vary by brand and that each brand recognizes the importance of a hotel’s website.

“It is a big focus for us to make sure that what’s important in that market and at that hotel is on the site,” she said.

Wrentmore added it’s important to show guests what you have beyond guestrooms. Don’t forget to tell them what a hotel offers for meals or what spa services it has. He also said changing photos to reflect the season or having photos of nearby activities guests do while at the hotel is important.
“We’ve seen an increase in sales when instead of putting the regular landmarks—for example, in New York City you’d put the Empire State building–we’ve actually swapped that out with the location of the malls and the different outlets, and that’s actually increased sales because that’s what the customer is interested in,” he said.

Don’t be shy about looking at what your guests are posting on review sites to help determine which pictures to use on your site, Wrentmore added.

Another notable trend
Other trends have emerged as the distribution channel mix has become more online focused, the panelists said.

Graham said the use of mobile devices to book hotel rooms heads the list of trends. He said PhoCusWright’s projection that the number of overall transactions conducted from mobile devices will triple from 2011 to 2013 is proof people are more willing to book on the go.

He said Expedia’s mobile booking app has been downloaded 10 million times and is being actively used by 4 million users per month.

“It’s moving very fast, so make sure that either you have your own mobile strategy or are partnering with a company to have a mobile strategy on your behalf,” Graham said.

Global travel is also an emerging trend, Graham said.

“It’s pretty clear that the international customer is more desirable than the domestic one because they book further out, which allows you to create a base for your hotel, they stay longer, and they actually stay at more high-end hotels, and they’re less likely to cancel if they’re coming from farther away,” he said. “Make sure you have an international strategy where you’re going after this type of customer, even in markets where you think international might not be as present.”

Going social
Social media is a trend that also permeates the industry. Graham said the jury is still out regarding how social media drives revenue.

“We’re not seeing transactions come through socials, but we are seeing that it is heavily influencing purchasing decisions,” he said.

He said customers who have visited Expedia’s Facebook page are twice as likely to book a room online as customers who have not been on the Facebook page.

“They won’t buy through Facebook, but they’re much more likely to buy from us once they’ve been on our Facebook page,” he said.

He said the quantity of consumer-driven reviews about a hotel isn’t as important as the quality of the reviews, but should be taken seriously.

“We’ve seen actually that by doubling the number of reviews on Expedia, (it) actually results in 3% more sales for that property at a $2 higher ADR,” Graham said.

Measurement sticks
Wrentmore said determining return on investment for such things can be difficult, but it is important to measure.

“We want an ROI on everything, and we want to be able to track it,” he said. “We’re trying to put numbers to all of this and it’s very difficult on these reviews. For us, we monitor every one of our hotels and we have standards in place for the general managers on how to respond to them.”

But over-analyzing can be a problem, too, Stuart-Hill said.

“You see data, you’re a revenue manager, you’ve got to do something, you’ve got to adjust this, you’ve got to do this,” he said. “That may be detrimental to the health of the business. Sometimes the best strategy is to do nothing, allow something to mature a little bit and take hold and see the longer range impact of that.”

“I get teased about it all the time by our executives that we were essential creating our own jobs by making everything so complicated that nobody can understand anything anymore,” Wrentmore said. “Sometimes we do overcomplicate things. We want to break it down by minute to see exactly, practically every single guest, where they’re coming from, how they booked, how they’re coming to our hotel. Sometimes we just … need to set a strategy and let it run and see what happens and analyze it after that. Track it and then move forward from that perspective.”