How to Drive Hotel Customers to Book Direct [Slides]

Driving Direct Bookings

Presented by: Ashley Chavez, Revinate

Victoria Flood, Avenue Partners

Guest: Victoria Flood

• Background with Deloitte Consulting

• Social media educator

• Joined the Starwood Hotels Hawaii marketing team in 2004

• Consults with independent hotels and ownership groups

• Teaches MBA level marketing

• Blogs about social media strategy blended with core business discipline

Revinate and the OTA Relationship

• Linkages between social platforms and travel are increasing

Hospitality and Social Media Realities

• 88% of customers consult reviews before booking

• Influence of reviews is astounding

• Here, one reviewer influenced over 7,000 potential customers

Hospitality and Social Media Realities

• Influence of branding is shifting and declining

• Branding will only take a hotel so far

• Quality at the property level supersedes brand reputation

• OTAs feature trusted review content– Customers to

turn to them first

Social Media and OTAs

According to Businessweek (2012):

• 118M people will search for travel via the Internet this year

• 57M people useFacebook accounts to log onto TripAdvisor

• Facebook linked 15.2M users to hotel pages in 2010 (35% increase from 2009)

• 88% of users read reviews before moving to booking

OTAs and Your Hotel

Quick Poll

What percentage of bookings at your hotel come from OTAs?

• 10 to 30%• 30 to 50%• 50 to 70%• 70% plus

Transformational Influences

• Hotels are depending heavily on OTAs• OTAs are marketing like never before• Customers are abandoning brand

allegiances for review monitoring• Word-of-Mouth marketing is the most

powerful influencer • Leisure vs. Business Travel–OTA role is different

Steps of OTA Use(Leisure Travel)

1. OTAs function as a Yellow Pages2. Initial browsing, leads to determinations

of availability and price3. Travel decision is made – When and where4. OTA visits now involve more review,

quality and price attention5. Often customers comparison shop

between direct and OTA channels 6. Booking is made

Value of OTAs

• Often hotels that are not on OTAs are not considered• Designed with shopping in mind – Buying

criteria are well organized• Valuable booking channel for hotels who

compete on price, location, and other tangible factors• A viable marketing vehicle for both direct

and indirect sales – Billboard Effect

Maximizing the Billboard Effect

Chris Anderson of Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration finds:• 20% lift in direct bookings when

properties were listed on Expedia

• ADR increased by 2 – 3% when inventory managed

• OTA listings should be viewed as a marketing vehicle as much as a distribution channel

Cost of OTAs

• Cost for OTAs is on average $40 to $120 per booking industry wide

• Cost for booking on your own site is on average $2 to $6 per booking industry wide

L2 Digital IQ: Hotels Report 2012

Hotels paid $2.5B in addition commission to OTAs in 2010.

Online BookingGrowing Role of OTA’s (US)

Online BookingLesser Role of OTA’s (Europe)

How to Optimize for Direct Bookings

Optimizing for Direct Bookings

• Purchase Business Listings on major OTAs– ROI averages between $6 and $20 per

dollar spent–Helpful in the

mobile segment

Optimizing for Direct Bookings

• Hyperlinked review sites• Concentrate on SEO to capture

browsers • Mention social channels

in review responses• Real time personalized marketing

from OTA search data

Superior Property Sites

Captivate customers on brand sites with:

• Powerful web presence

• Engaging social interactions

• Trustworthy reviews

• Destination information

• Packages and benefits to direct booking

• Social media integration

Benefits of Social Media Integration

• Shopper can pin your hotel to their travel planning board

• Customer “likes” you to gain a friends rate or last minute deal before booking

• Customer follows you on Twitter to learn about the atmosphere, clientele and mood at your hotel

• Make booking easy from social channels and give them incentives to book direct

Examples

Prevalence of Social Booking

• 64% of hotels offer either full or partial Facebook booking• 12% funnel to

brand pages• Booking engines

on yielded a 50% increase in traffic

L2 April 2012

Providing OTA-like Functionality

OTA Functionality• User reviews

• Easy navigation

• Streamlined booking

Plus Added Value• Destination information

• Itineraries and travel tips

• Booking direct benefits

Reviews Through Social Buzz

Travel Tips and Activities

Itinerary ExampleLive Like a Local

Mobile and Direct Bookings

• Same Day Bookings are the new walk-in business• L2 Reports 70% of booking via mobile

are for the same day• Google reports that mobile bookings

have grown 3000% (2010 to 2011)

Focus on Mobile

• Ensure direct links are possible from OTAs – 2nd browser windows are rare• Consider voice search issues• Mobile booking applications – make

seamless without downloading extensive apps• Consider last minute deals via social

channels

Rate Parity and Channels

• Best Rate Guarantees are abundant in direct channels• Many OTAs have the same low rates as

direct• Make sure RMS is optimized for your

direct site and OTAs• Reservation staff often suggests OTAs

for booking

Offer Something Unique

• Unique upgrade options• Free parking• Special treatment and loyalty

incentives• Packages• Booking direct bonuses

Example

Streamline the Booking Process

• Test over all platforms, browsers and devices• Booking links from all pages and social

channels• Intuitive design • Consider mirroring the OTAs• Keep engaging during booking steps

Managing your OTA Relationships

• Maximize your profile– Images are key–Manage reviews– Business listings– Training reservation staff

Success on an OTA translates to Direct Booking Success

Increasing Your Bottom Line

• Consider limiting inventory on non-direct channels• Invest part of your commissions

budget in online marketing to benefit direct sales• Driving social media engagement will

intensify your relationships with customers and get them to book direct

Increasing Your Bottom Line

Take a top down approach:• Limit non-direct inventory a little each

month or quarter• Allocate budget to other marketing such as

real time personalized marketing, SEO, social media marketing, or others

• Train reservation staff to understand commissions

• Create incentives to book direct and market those

Social Media focus can drive direct sales.

Managing OTA Relationships

• View OTAs as a Marketing Alliance Partner• Benefits outweigh costs• Direct bookings allow you to own the

customer relationship end-to-end• Consider profitability over volume in

revenue management decisions• Consider economic shifts as you assess

your relationships with OTAs

Thank you for joining us!

For more info about Revinate:• info@revinate.com• Blog.revinate.com• @revinate

For more info about Victoria:• vflood@avepartners.c

How to Drive Hotel Customers to Book Direct [Slides]

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