42nd EHMA Annual General Meeting

REVOLUTIONGeneva 17-19 April 2015

Geneva 2015COMMUNICATION

The 4 Phase in the Online Hotel Booking Cycle and How You Can

Leverage Each Phase to Increase Your Top Line

Is Your Hotel Website Leaking Direct Online Bookings?

20Years

What is the average number of years EHMA members have been Hotel Managers?

20Years

What is the average number of years EHMA members have been Hotel Managers?

20Years

What did the world look like 20 years ago?

Source: http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2014/08/07/throwback-thursday-microsoft-com-

among-the-earliest-commercial-websites-has-been-on-the-web-for-20-years/

HOW YOU BROWSED IN 1994

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1x

YOUR DESKTOP IN 1994

YOUR SMARTPHONE IN 1994

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-15-years-of-

yahoo-home-pages-1994-2009-2009-7?op=1&IR=T

HOW YOU SEARCHED IN 1994

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the-difference/

THE CLOUD IN 1994

Source:  Kenneth  Allen,  McKelvey  Travel,  Omagh  -­‐  geograph.org.uk

BOOKING.COM IN 1994

Source: by Orlando Uy

TODAY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT

The amount of data and information created each day makes it impossible to keep up

Source: Dr. Kjell Nordstrom: International Business Thought-Leader, Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker

HOW DO YOU KEEP UP?

“Every morning when you wake up you’re a little bit more stupid.”

Dr. Kjell Nordstrom

Source: Dr. Kjell Nordstrom: International Business Thought-Leader, Best Selling Author, Keynote Speaker

HOW DO YOU KEEP UP?

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

71% of EHMA Members

wanted to learn more about

website sales funnels

STRATEGY TO DECREASE THE GAP

 Phase  1    Phase  2  Phase  3  

Phase  4  

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

 Phase  1    Phase  2  Phase  3  

Phase  4  

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

39% of website visitors abandon the hotel sales funnel during

the browsing phase

USER BEHAVIOR USING HEATMAPS

Heat mapping helps you find how your users are moving around your website.

Source: http://answerlab.com/services/websites/

IN PERSON TESTING

In person testing is a valuable way to understand your users and find weaknesses

on your site.

Source: SMI Eye Tracking, www.smivision.com/egts

WHERE DOES THE EYE LOOK?

Eye tracking follows users eyes on your site and helps your web team design a high

preforming website.

Source: Using Eye Tracking to Obtain a Deeper Understanding of What Drives Online Hotel

Choice - Vol. 14, No. 518 FSepbrteumarbye2r0210414

IMPORTANT DURING BROWSING

Cornell University used eye tracking

to study hotel websites – what

were the top factors during the browsing phase?

Source: Using Eye Tracking to Obtain a Deeper Understanding of What Drives Online Hotel

Choice - Vol. 14, No. 518 FSepbrteumarbye2r0210414

IMPORTANT DURING BROWSING

Are these optimized on your

site?

QUANTITY & QUALITY

•  Properties with at least one photo see an increase of +138% in travel engagement

•  Properties with more than 1,000 photos see an increase of +203% in travel engagement

•  Expedia does a great job of this – does your site?

Source: http://fredericgonzalo.com/en/2014/12/23/why-visuals-are-key-in-travel-marketing/

 Phase  1    Phase  2  Phase  3  

Phase  4  

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

37% of website visitors abandon

the hotel sales funnel during the comparing phase

According to Google, the average length in days before a purchase is 24, and visits 21.6 websites before making a decision

Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning, HeBS Digital

COMPARING. NO BAD DECISIONS

How often does your browser have this many tabs open? It’s easy to have 21 touch points today – has your team

optimized all of them?

Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning, HeBS Digital

COMPARING. NO BAD DECISIONS

Your Online Presence 98.8% of

EHMA Hotels are

using Facebook

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

Your Online Presence 98.8% of

EHMA Hotels are

using Facebook

53% of EHMA Hotels have a

defined strategy or goals for Facebook

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

Your Online Presence 98.8% of

EHMA Hotels are

using Facebook

53% of EHMA Hotels have a

defined strategy or goals for Facebook

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

Your Online Presence 98.8% of

EHMA Hotels are

using Facebook

53% of EHMA Hotels have a

defined strategy or goals for Facebook

100% of hotel managers know the power of

online reviews

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

Your Online Presence 98.8% of

EHMA Hotels are

using Facebook

53% of EHMA Hotels have a

defined strategy or goals for Facebook

100% of hotel managers know the power of

online reviews

84% of EHMA Hotels have NO digital

review strategy

Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey

COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONALITY

“Best is not the name of the game anymore, because the standards have reached a point that you can not easily make

them higher, but I think we’re back to basics…every hotel…has to show their real nature…[because] people are searching for

something very specific. So you have to have your own personality.”

Jacques MayerBeau Rivage Hotel

Source: Source: The McKay Interview: Jacques Mayer, Michael McKay is talking to Jacques Mayer, the fourth generation of his family to run the famous Beau Rivage Hotel in Geneva. 09 December 2013

Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning, HeBS Digital

Your Website

•  Is your traffic funnel optimized?•  Are you bringing visitors back to your site?•  Do you have a review strategy?

OPTIMIZED TO SELL

Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com

BROWSING. PRICING STRATEGY

 Phase  1    Phase  2  Phase  3  

Phase  4  

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

21% of website visitors abandon

the hotel sales funnel

Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com

CONFIRMING. EASE AND URGENCY

Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com

CONFIRMING. EASE AND URGENCY

Source: http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/ https://reservations.roccofortehotels.com, http://

www.aqualuxhotel.com/en/

CONFIRMING. EASE. URGENCY. VALUE.

 Phase  1    Phase  2  Phase  3  

Phase  4  

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

13%

Booking Process Too LongComplicated Checkout

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

Website Visitors Abandon the Hotel Sales Funnel During

the Booking Phase

9%

Technical IssuesLost Connection

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

Website Visitors Abandon the Hotel Sales Funnel During

the Booking Phase

7%

Payment IssuesLack of Options

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

Website Visitors Abandon the Hotel Sales Funnel During

the Booking Phase

29%

Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/

Website Visitors Abandon the Hotel Sales Funnel During

the Booking Phase

Source: Source: Expedia’s CEO defends commission structure, December 16 2013, http://www.hotelnewsnow.com - By Jeff Higley

What would a 29% increase in online

bookings mean to your bottom line?

FIXING ISSUES. WORTH THE EFFORT

Source: Source: Expedia’s CEO defends commission structure, December 16 2013, http://www.hotelnewsnow.com - By Jeff Higley

•  User experience testing ongoing

•  Right tools to determine the opportunity

•  Someone on your team reading the data

•  Booking system should always be improving

BOOKING. ALWAYS IMPROVING

Define Goals

Review Competitors

Audit Website

Audit Online Presence

Analyze Data

Create Strategy

SALES FUNNEL OPTIMIZATION PROCESS

WE CAN HELP

Monika MoserDirector of Rooms & Spa

Hotel Fouquet's Barrière Paris

"Last year Fouquet's Barrière worked with StringCan Interactive to look at our online obstacles and opportunities, the audit StringCan provided was very in-

depth, actionable and insightful generating real results."

JASON McDONALDDirector of StringCan Europe

that win!

@StringCanEU

stringcaninteractive.fr

jason@stringcaninteractive.com

CEO / Founder

that win!

@StringCanAgency

stringcaninteractive.com

jay@stringcaninteractive.com

JAY FEITLINGER

LET’S CONNECT

Q&ATHANK YOU!