Nowadays, the hospitality industry is a billion dollar industry that is directly related to the availability of leisure time and disposable income available in a given economy. A hospitality unit such as a standard hotel, extended stay hotel, a restaurant, etc, consists of multiple groups seen across all industries, such as facility maintenance, direct operations, marketing, human resources, and management.
The development of Hotel Industry is increasing and many new entrants enter this industry. So the player must prepare their best effort in order to get the best perception in public mind. Along with the development of information technology (internet), Hotel Industry using internet for create added value.
How the hotel industry can maximize their sources to keep the business exists and can compete with other using internet? By understanding current Internet marketing trends in hospitality hoteliers can enhance their web presence and utilize the Internet as the most cost effective and up-to-date sales and marketing channel.
Background
In the past several years, we have all watched the remarkable growth of the online travel marketplace. With an increasing number of travel consumers doing travel research online (75% of adults in the US - TIA), gaining broadband Internet access at home and becoming more and more accustomed to doing business and transacting on the web, we will continue to see this growth across market segments at an ever increasing rate.
Past
Hotel Industry usually used internet for:
Present
Hotels are doing it today, and many more are on the verge of implementing these innovative technologies.
Hotel also leveraging these new tools for it advantages. The overall effects of these new tools on the hospitality business promises to be far-reaching. From the perspective of a hotel, these important advances have the potential to create more efficient and profitable businesses, and make hotel business more appealing to guests.
An estimated 1/3 of all hotel bookings will be done online in 2007, and another 1/3 will be directly influenced by online research and planning, but booked offline. By understanding current Internet marketing trends in hospitality, including travel consumer expectations and perceptions, hoteliers can enhance their web presence, and utilize the Internet as the most cost effective and up-to-date sales and marketing channel.
This year, 40% of all leisure and 35% of business travel bookings will be done online. By 2010 over 50% of leisure bookings are expected to be online. The percentage of meeting planners researching and booking online is also growing at a rapid pace. An estimated 89% of planners are researching event locations on the web, and by 2008, 41% of all groups and meetings travel revenues will come from the Internet. These are some activities that Hotel Industry done nowadays:
Hotel Example :
Future
In the future, the internet user can experience faster download times, faster searches, more sites and pages viewed, and more rich media and applications possible. Hotel websites must offer better imagery, higher display resolutions, and rich media more than ever. These are some suggestion for Hotel’s Website:
The Hotel Industry is one of the potential businesses to develop, so it must enable to implementing information technologies development to cover the customer needs and build the most excellence customer’s experience and prove their selves as the most appealing one.
source :
The development of Hotel Industry is increasing and many new entrants enter this industry. So the player must prepare their best effort in order to get the best perception in public mind. Along with the development of information technology (internet), Hotel Industry using internet for create added value.
How the hotel industry can maximize their sources to keep the business exists and can compete with other using internet? By understanding current Internet marketing trends in hospitality hoteliers can enhance their web presence and utilize the Internet as the most cost effective and up-to-date sales and marketing channel.
Background
In the past several years, we have all watched the remarkable growth of the online travel marketplace. With an increasing number of travel consumers doing travel research online (75% of adults in the US - TIA), gaining broadband Internet access at home and becoming more and more accustomed to doing business and transacting on the web, we will continue to see this growth across market segments at an ever increasing rate.
Past
Hotel Industry usually used internet for:
- Presenting the short information
The information usually content the location and star rating. The information is text-based and less in graphics in order to maximize speed at that time.
- Contact number
Hotel companies usually put the contact number in internet and let the visitor make direct contact (via phone) to book the rooms.
Present
Hotels are doing it today, and many more are on the verge of implementing these innovative technologies.
Hotel also leveraging these new tools for it advantages. The overall effects of these new tools on the hospitality business promises to be far-reaching. From the perspective of a hotel, these important advances have the potential to create more efficient and profitable businesses, and make hotel business more appealing to guests.
An estimated 1/3 of all hotel bookings will be done online in 2007, and another 1/3 will be directly influenced by online research and planning, but booked offline. By understanding current Internet marketing trends in hospitality, including travel consumer expectations and perceptions, hoteliers can enhance their web presence, and utilize the Internet as the most cost effective and up-to-date sales and marketing channel.
This year, 40% of all leisure and 35% of business travel bookings will be done online. By 2010 over 50% of leisure bookings are expected to be online. The percentage of meeting planners researching and booking online is also growing at a rapid pace. An estimated 89% of planners are researching event locations on the web, and by 2008, 41% of all groups and meetings travel revenues will come from the Internet. These are some activities that Hotel Industry done nowadays:
Hotel Example :
- Provide Detail and Update Information
These days, Hotel Website already provides complete information for the visitor. Detail information, clear view of facilities, room description and privileges offered can be view by the website visitor. Also the hotel rate can be update at anytime. The other information such as: weather forecast, currency, regulation, and many more can be updated easily.
- Direct Online selling
Direct online channel is the cheapest form of distribution. The shift from indirect to direct online distribution will continue to be a major trend in the next several years. In 2006 the major hotel brands enjoyed an above the average direct vs. indirect online ratio of 81.4% vs. 18.6%. With direct online selling, company can also maintain the interaction with the customer. The customer also will be able to manage the online booking schedule by themselves. This is the example of direct online selling from Ritz Carlton Hotel, Jakarta:
- The Indirect Online Channel
Now is the time to start working with fewer third party intermediaries (TPI), and at drastically lower margins (e.g. 15%-18%). Smart hoteliers deal only with TPI’s that can access the hotel inventory electronically and not via manual extranets. These hoteliers work in strict rate parity, use dynamic TPI margins, and prohibit TPI’s from using trademarked property names for their PPC and search engine marketing campaigns. Other ways to shift consumers from TPI’s to the hotel website include unique product offerings found only on the hotel site and launching or enhancing the hotel loyalty program. Travel Agent is one of the TPI, which can help the hotel selling their rooms. This is the example of Indirect Online Channel (Avia Tour Indonesia) that selling hotel rooms in Jakarta with special rate and special offering:
- Customer Generated Media
CGM continues to grow in importance and popularity. Discussion boards and forums, blogs, social networks, customer review sites like Trip Advisor, and hotel-specific blogs dominate the Internet today and have become an integral part of the travel planning process. In 2006, 28% of travel planners researched CGM sites vs. 4% in 2005. While hoteliers need to monitor and react quickly to CGM postings, and must establish a corporate policy regarding CGM, it is still important to make sure the hotel’s website is up to date, informative, optimized, and user friendly. The picture below is one of the example of customer review site (Trip Advisor) for Ritz Carlton Hotel – Pacific Place, Jakarta:
- eCRM and Building Interactive Relationships with Customers
eCRM must be a vital component of a hotel’s Internet marketing strategy, as the majority of hotel customers are planning and booking their stays online. It is increasingly important to understand customer needs and their lifestyles, and build a marketing strategy based on those needs. Establishing mutually beneficial interactive relationships with your customers is the ultimate goal of any eCRM initiative. Building interactive relationships with the customer consists of three critical lifecycle stages: Nurture—Grow—Retain. In eCRM strategy in travel and hospitality hoteliers need to embrace new sophisticated tools and business practices in the following areas: increasing the knowledge they have about their customers, improving customer service at the online research/planning/booking phase, personalization of the marketing and service delivery, developing new and more efficient customer needs-based marketing, and building customer loyalty.
With using internet, Hotel Industry could do customer retention activities, which is really important for keeping the customer from the competitor. For example, Ritz Carlton Hotel can cover their customer profile and make them available to give their best service to the customer. Using internet, Ritz Carlton try to cover what the customer needed personally. - Building Customer Loyalty on the Internet
Existing customers are not only less costly to retain, but they also respond 4-5 times more readily to promotions and e-mail campaigns than new customers. It is important to extract more wealth out of your existing customer base by understanding customer needs and their lifestyles, and building a marketing strategy based on those needs. Knowing the customer, sending personalized messages, being there at every touch-point (planning, purchasing, service consumption and post-stay), and providing a unique value proposition leads to increased customer loyalty. - Behavioral Marketing
The Internet allows an unprecedented level of behavioral marketing. We can now monitor consumer behavior in all stages of the life cycle and personalize the brand message based on this behavior. Hoteliers can now target their marketing messages according to specific customer behavior, specific demographics, specific customer locations, and specific feeder markets.
Future
In the future, the internet user can experience faster download times, faster searches, more sites and pages viewed, and more rich media and applications possible. Hotel websites must offer better imagery, higher display resolutions, and rich media more than ever. These are some suggestion for Hotel’s Website:
- 3D View of Hotel Detail and Virtual Guide
Using internet, the customer can see the real view with moving effect of rooms according to its types. Besides, there will be virtual tour guide who can explain everything we need to know about the hotel facilities. Like virtual games, visitor could like walking inside and around the Hotel like real, only with directing the mouse. - Room Customization according to guest request
For maintaining customer satisfaction, Hotel will be able to let the customer set the room according to their preference. After customer design the room on the website, the hotel will prepare the room exactly like what they already design. - GPS System for Hotel’s Location and Direction There will be internal GPS system that can be used in Hotel Area. This system will be appears in mobile phone or Visual Card (the same card that used for Room Key). The GPS system can be set according to guest request. For example: Someone can detect his/ her friends location (according to the dealing at check-in time), but that visitor GPS can’t detect another person in that Hotel. The Visual Card also can be a map that will direct the guest to each location in the hotel. Beside, the card could also access the information and occupancy of facility that will be used by the guests. For example: Restaurant, Spa, etc.
The Hotel Industry is one of the potential businesses to develop, so it must enable to implementing information technologies development to cover the customer needs and build the most excellence customer’s experience and prove their selves as the most appealing one.
source :
- http://hotel.ibooking.com/product/benefits.asp
- http://www.virtual.co.id/blog/internet-marketing/internet-marketing-for-tourism-bagaimana-meningkatkan-hunian-hotel-vila-via-online/
- http://www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/
- http://www.microsoft.com/industry hospitality/businessvalue/toptrendsarticle.mspx
- http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Jakarta/Default.htm
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