How the Communication Revolution Has Changed the Hotel Sales Funnel

HOW THE COMMUNICATION REVOLUTION

HAS CHANGED THE HOTEL SALES FUNNEL

YOU ARE IN A SAFE PLACE

#EHMAGeneva

20Years

What is the average number of years EHMA

members have been Hotel Managers?

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

“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

Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

Source: http://www.netaffinity.com/netaffinity_news.html/15-hotel-marketing-trends-

for-2015


Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

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

of website visitors abandon

the hotel sales funnel

USER BEHAVIOR USING HEATMAPS

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

IN PERSON TESTING

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

WHERE DOES THE EYE LOOK?

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

Online Hotel Choice - Vol. 14, No. 518 FSepbrteumarbye2r0210414

IMPORTANT DURING BROWSING

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

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

marketing/


Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

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

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 Mayer

Beau 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


Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

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.


Browsing

Comparing

Confirming

Booking

Booking Process Too Long

Complicated Checkout


Website Visitors Abandon

the Hotel Sales Funnel

Technical Issues

Lost Connection




Payment Issues

Lack of Options




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 Moser

Director 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

[email protected]

CEO / Founder

that win!

@StringCanAgency

stringcaninteractive.com

[email protected]

JAY FEITLINGER

LET’S CONNECT

Q&ATHANK YOU!

How the Communication Revolution Has Changed the Hotel Sales Funnel

Travel

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