Mobile Marketing for the Hospitality Industry

Proprietary copy of CopperBridge Media


Mobile Universe

Mobile Universe

Even five years back, companies having a website were considered technologically progressive – but, then the march of 2G, 3G and 4G had not begun. Now mobility and speed is measured in terms of Gs.

More than 3 billion additional cell (mobile) phone users jumped onthe mobile bandwagon between 2002 and 2008.

In 2011, there were 835 million smartphone users, 5.6 billion feature phone users

At the end of 2011, nearly 1 in 5 smartphone users scanned product barcodes and nearly 1 in 8 compared prices on their phones while in a store

In the U.S. alone, there were more than 400 smartphone devices on the market at the end of 2011

61% of smartphone users make local searches from a device

Mobile was responsible for US $2.6 billion in travel booking value in 2011. By 2013, than number is projected to exceed $8 billion, representing 2.6% of all U.S. travel bookings and 6.5% of the total online travel market


Source: www.snaphop.com/2012-mobile-marketing-statistics/

Some Mobile Statistics

Mobile Universe


Source: Nielsen (2012)

Mobile Universe

China will continue to have the world's largest number of mobile phone subscriptions at 957 million in 2015

India is poised to become the fastest growing mobile consumer with almost 93% increase between 2009 and 2015 – which approximately translates into 871 million mobile subscriptions.


China and India will jointly account for $369 billion spend on communications.

China & India Factor

Asia Pacific has the highest number of mobile phone subscriptions of all world regions, yet the potential is far from being exhausted.


Online marketers who are watching the relentless growth of mobile penetration in the remotest corners of the globe with bated breath and anticipations are high as far as the mobile internet connectivity is concerned.

Cisco Forecasts 10.8 Exabytes per Month of Mobile Data Traffic by 2016

( CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate )

Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast by Region

The Asia Pacific and Western Europe regions will account for over half of global mobile traffic by 2016

Mobile Universe

Music to the ears – For online marketers


Mobile Internet

Mobile Internet

According to the Chief analyst of Mobile Squared, Nick lane, “China alone will contribute 58% of all mobile Internet users across Asia by 2015, with over 800 million users, while India will have a little over 260 million”

Remote and wireless technology has been the cornerstone of innovation and product development in all the streams of science, Telecommunications and Electronics.

With mobile phones gradually overtaking the land line users across the globe, it was natural that the mobile phone was being groomed for a multi-utility functionality in the future.

With web connecting homes and offices across the globe, the next wave of connectivity was being planned aggressively – with some of the most dynamic business houses firmly pushing the card for wireless (WIFI) and On-the-Go internet connectivity.



Mobile Internet

What does this mean for the Hospitality Industry?

In terms of industry usage, Travel & Tourism industry is one of the most aggressive innovators and users of internet-centric technologies.

M-economy (aka m-commerce) seems perfectly positioned to start a new revolution with mobile internet witnessing an upsurge in information sharing and dissemination combinedwith the creation of different apps for a variety of phones.

Just like the internet economy in the hospitality segment, which opened the doors for the smaller players, M-commerce presents a great opportunity for utilizing the great pool of customers who are not only available 24x7 , but also have the largest conversion potential.


Mobile Internet

Location Based Services

Travelers are always on the move and the one apparatus that keeps them connected to the world is their mobile phone – it has become a hub of information, research, inquiry, commerce and other location-based services, with just a couple of touches.

The cornerstone of LBS-based marketing is the utilization of ‘Location & Need’ of a traveler. Advertising is tailored to the Geo-location of the mobile user, thus creating an opportunity for the most targeted form of direct marketing in the marketplace.

Examples might include – discount coupons of a nearby Pizza hut or Burger king, discounted room rates in Holiday inn, coupons for the Water Park on the next exit or even an invitation for a wine tour – The options are endless.

Mobile boarding passes

Mobile Internet

What’s in Store?


Mobile bar-code hotel room activation

Mobile payments for on-site charges

Real time weather update on arrival

Mobile valet service

Mobile airport pick-ups ….. And MANY MORE!!


The Promise of M-Commerce

Is Hospitality Industry listening?


The Promise of M-Commerce - Is Hospitality Industry Listening?

Increased mobility is a reflection of vibrant economy and greater urbanization. A scorching pace of urbanization in the rising Asian economies like China, India and Indonesia has transformed the communication landscape of these regions.

Increasing stability and higher safety protocols in the wireless arena has given rise to greater opportunity for conducting commerce over the mobile phones

Hospitality, whose lifeline are on-the-move consumers, is scampering to catch these mobile targets at the right time and with the right message – Location based service (sale).

According to ABI research….

Mobile phones will facilitate the purchase of goods and services worth more than $120 billion by 2015.

By 2009, M-commerce had tripled in 2009 to reach $1.2 billion.

Japan, considered to be the most mobile economy experienced mobile-based transactions worth more than $10 billion by 2009.

According to Juniper Research….

Mobile-enabled payments will touch a figure of $630 billion by 2014 - which translates to 5% of the total e-commerce sales.

The current year has till now seen mobile transactions worth $170 billion.

The Promise of M-Commerce - Is Hospitality Industry Listening?


Is M-commerce the new economic buzzword?


Why the Travel Industry should care?

Why the Travel Industry should Care?

The opportunities of ‘AAA’ marketing (Anywhere, Anytime, At-once) have taken the world of mobile marketing by storm

Some Statistics:

Japan sets the precedent for m-payment 47 million Japanese have adopted tap-and-go phones, but is expected to take off elsewhere as the world adopts NFC. In China alone, there will be 169 million users of tap-and-go payments in 2013.

M-commerce is predicted to reach US$119 billion in 2015, Japan remains king. Top m-commerce retailers globally include: Taobao, Amazon and eBay. The US m-commerce market will be US$31 billion by 2016.

1 in 8 mobile subscribers will use m-ticketing in 2015 for airline, rail and bus travel, festivals, cinemas and sports events.

In hospitality industry, time and delivery is of extreme importance for the guests and the capability to manage the itinerary and tour itself through their mobiles has provided both speed and better options to the modern day traveler.



Mobile Marketing Mantra (on the web): Location-Based services

A true marketer knows the value of targeted messaging served at the right moment.

LBS has not only added muscle to online marketer’s strategies, but it has also contributed greatly to the experience of the travelers. Travelers are now configuring their LBS prior to their trip – so that they can receive life saving services such as mapping, navigation services, city guides, etc. upon arriving at the destination.

Innovative marketing strategies are already being adopted by mobile marketers in the hospitality segment – promotions and cancellations, on-the-spot offers, unscheduled performance notifications, friends-in-vicinity notifications….and more.

Hospitality industry is hinged on customer engagement –and Location-based marketing is more likely to engage your guests who are mobile as compared to residential customers.



Don’t Forget the good old SMS

SMS has been faithfully helping the marketers in building strong customer relationship platforms for over years. Some of the most popular SMS functionalities utilized by the hospitality industry are…

While SMS is one of the most non-intrusive ways to engage your regular guests, it might just be the perfect platform for a futuristic LBS marketing exercise.

Confirmation of reservation

Reminders of reservation

Pre-check-in messages

Weather and Traffic alerts for arriving guests

Customer experience surveys

Special weekend events or offers announcement

Just a simple ‘Thank You’ message



One step at time: What should the hoteliers do?


With surveys and statistics clearly pointing towards the next decade belonging to M-commerce, the mobile migration is taken very seriously at all the frontiers of the hospitality industry.

Some of the major items in the mobile marketing menu for the hotel and resort owners are….

Mobile site - Functional, Optimized and Fast loading

Site Information - Keep it short & sweet

Auxiliary mobile-based services

Mobile Managed Advertising



Taking the information to the next level on your mobile site is the key to a successful Mobile Marketing Program – meaning ‘give the power of instant transaction’ to the consumers.

Let users make room reservation with a single click, or make all the pre-check-out paperwork available on phone itself, or alert the help-desk for a taxi or airport shuttle – and why not have a simple shopping cart on your mobile landing page?

Advantage: Auxiliary mobile-based services



Paid mobile listing (Mobile Adwords) + Mobile banners Ads + Mobile barcode advertising

Location based advertising + Location based service + Location based Engagement

Mobile message marketing based on either opt-in list (more targeted) or based on rental m-list

Mobile applications based on customer participation

Anything M: M-coupons, M-booking, M-check-out….

The advertising dashboard in the mobile space might be comprised of the following…



Short Notes

The unprecedented growth rates in these regions have resulted in the quantum jump of mobile subscribers – or as the marketers would like to say, mobile surfers.

While online travel planning and shopping is already reaching a level of maturity, mobile based travel transactions have seen a surge and it is already being tapped at a furious pace.

Short Notes

Travel industry has been the stabilizing factor in this decade of unpredictable market momentum.

Although the economic slump has indeed managed to rub off on the hospitality sector, the march of the travelers has continued, particularly in the rising and resilient economic blocks like India and China.


Every hotelier of repute has made a move towards the mobile platform – by launching mobile compatible sites and enabling all the shopping and booking functions on the mobile site.

Web statistics reveal that even the smaller sites manage to get thousands of mobile eyeballs. This bodes well for both the hospitality sector as well as for the marketers – A potential customer can be engaged at the right time and place.

Short Notes



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Mobile Marketing for the Hospitality Industry

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