The OTA Perspective

Casey Davy,

Vice President Sales

• Online travel bookings will make up nearly a third of worldwide

transaction by the end of 2012 (according to yStats.com)

• In 2011 global hotel revenue rose 18%, with nights stayed up 16%*

• 74% of leisure and 86% of business travellers use the Internet to

gather information before they book travel

• Online Channels have grown by 25% in the last four years

Social search for word of mouth, Multi-channel marketing is the norm…

*hotelmarketing.com

Evolution of online distribution in travel

This is the new

…which is giving

sleepless nights……..

Facing a customer

Who will visit 22 websites during 9.5 sessions prior to booking

Will check an OTA site 12 times, visit

7.5 pages each time, and spend almost

5 minutes before clicking the BOOK button

68% of them will rely on internet

especially when planning a leisure trip

80% travellers research the venue

before booking

…in other words, YOU are

always under scanner

Greater targeting understanding of OTA sales

• More websites

• Different packages

• Direct sales

• Longer lead-times

• Further advanced pricing

• Sales/Channel optimisation

Booking.com

spent $40.4m on

Google

Advertising

Source: Google, 2011

• Where is your business coming from?

• Who are your competitors and how do you compare?

• Which channels are driving business our way?

• What should be your pricing strategy?

• How often should you update your distribution channels?

• How do you monitor results?

Question Time

Where do I start?

Image Courtesy: SXC

Who can bring business

INCREASING CONVERSION

• HOTEL DESCRIPTION

• PHOTO GALLERY

• HOTEL FACILITIES

• ROOM DESCRIPTIONS

• RATES & PACKAGES

• SEARCH LISTINGS

• ALGORITYM

• GUEST REVIEWS

• SPECIAL OFFERS

• HOTELS AD’S

Hotel Description

• 120 word description was far more effective than a long

wordy one – 4.07% conversion increase potential if you

get it right!

• Focus on unique features and points of difference – not

your T’s and C’s

• Spell Check – typos are easily picked up on and can turn

a prospect off instantly.

• Be honest about your target parties – are you stag/hen

or family friendly?

Imagery

• User Testing constantly highlights the need for good

quality, meaningful images and video

• Include shots of the bathrooms and bedrooms – these

matter to our customers

• Tag your photos – customers want to know what they’re

going to get

• Bigger, better, more of them recommend 10 – 15

pictures

ALGORITYM

• Images

• Total Rooms Available

• Online Bookable

• % Occupancy Given

• Accounting

• Customer Review Score

• Automated Referral Sign Up

• Average Discount

• Room Facilities

• Star Rating

Removes that ‘think twice’ element.

• Offer a flexible rate.

• Be honest about your star rating ratings

• Room Notes

• Upgraded rooms with a supplement?

• Hotel Facilities

How can OTAs help?

• Search Boost

• Special Offers

• E-blast

• Social Media integration

Strategy has changed to….

Focus on direct sales

Reducing commission

More importance to GDS and working out with more

Travel Agents & consortia contracts

What will bring business?

Your REPUTATION

Power of guest reviews

• Hotel reputation

• Visibility and ranking

• Bookings generation

• Product value

• Revenue

81% Of travellers find

User Reviews

important on

decision

To hit the Bull’s eye You must…

• Understand where the value of Direct

Bookings derive

• Know your market

• Have better and more flexible contracts

with OTAs

• Experiment with new and diverse

channels

• Install integrated and streamlined

technology to better manage your

online distribution

• Keep an eye on Mobile and Social

Media

• Manage Online Reputation to build

brand value and loyalty

9 Tips for Effective online distribution

1. Manage Rates Carefully

2. Do not ignore historical data

3. Invest in technology

1. Use effective channel partners

2. Think like a marketer

3. Automate allocation process

4. Experiment with different channels and segments

5. Measure and scale your online activities

6. Always focus on a mutual win, build trust and loyalty

GDS

Rates &

Inventory

Benchmarking

Channel Partner

Online Distribution is an investment

• If your Average Room Rate is 100€ per night..……

• If you update a further 10 websites ……….

• If through greater exposure, you received just ONE extra

room night per month from each site……..

• 100€ x 10 x 12 = 12,000€ per year

• Increase occupancy and make money !

…the answer is, yes..

Thank You!

is the best channel manager