The Week, That Was – February 2018 Week 3
Smart Hotel Guest Rooms Are Almost Here
The smart guest room of the future is still in development. A strong return on investment for hotel owners who invest in updated technology, however, will help push these innovations into the mainstream.
https://skift.com/2018/02/13/smart-hotel-guest-rooms-are-almost-here/
Hotels admit steep reliance on online travel agencies
Hotels have a high dependency on online travel agencies to distribute their inventory, with almost every other channel deemed to be low on the same scale. The study spoke to chain hotels, independent properties and management companies.
https://www.phocuswire.com/HEDNA-hotel-distribution-study?utm_source=Hotel+News+Resource
Duetto closes $80m financing round
Duetto, headquartered in San Francisco and with offices in Las Vegas, Cleveland, London and Singapore, has quickly grown to serve more than 2,500 hotels and casinos in more than 60 countries. Those customers have consistently outperformed the market, beating their competition’s rate of revenue growth by more than 6.5% since the launch of the company.
http://duettocloud.com/duetto-closes-80-million-series-d-financing-round-led-warburg-pincus/
Skyscanner chatbots pass one million unique traveller interactions
How big is your optimisation and testing team? How do you find a balance between design/customer-focus and optimising performance? Skyscanner’s chatbots (across a range of platforms) have already surpassed one million traveller interactions.
Ex-Kuoni to transform Miki Travel
Miki Travel, a DMC majority owned by Japan’s H.I.S. Group, is undergoing transformation with three strategic pillars – technology, expansion and management
http://www.ttgasia.com/2018/02/14/ex-kuoni-moeschler-out-to-transform-miki-travel/
Looking to measure profitability of your sales channels? Come and meet us at ITB Berlin, Hall 8.1, Stand 132 from 7 – 10 March 2018. Book a meeting today – marketing@erevmax.com
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The Week, That Was – February 2018 Week 2
Fragmented distribution makes corporate hotel booking compliance a challenge
Travel managers want to control costs, ensure travellers’ safety and comfort, and obtaining data helps them to optimise programmes, pricing and policies. It’s important to understand why a traveller is booking out of policy – is it location, price or experience?
https://buyingbusinesstravel.com/feature/0728387-hotel-distribution-swimming-channels
The Travel Agent of the Future
The Internet, said experts, would replace retail agencies as customers looked to big Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) to search and book their travel plans.
Three ways metasearch will empower hotels to compete in 2018
As the hotel-branded direct booking with metasearch channel becomes mainstream, our partner trivago lists out the upcoming trends for 2018.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/three-ways-metasearch-will-empower-hotels-to-compete-in-2018/
Hospitality Poised for Growth in Bookings in 2018
Travel is becoming more experience-driven, and most hoteliers are concentrating innovation on the higher tiers, perhaps at the detriment of the midscale segment. “If there is one segment that should capture the attention of hotel developers in 2018, it is midscale hotels,” according to the outlook. “Forward-thinking hotel brands are already taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver travelers some of the look, feel and experience of a pricy lifestyle hotel in an affordable package.
https://www.hotelbusiness.com/outlook-hospitality-poised-for-growth-in-bookings-in-2018/
Hotels—Not OTAs—Own the Data That Makes the Difference
Hotels should aim to lead the market and proactively take share. The way to do that is to wield a hotel’s historical performance, customer data from the CRM, and actual on-property spending from folio data in the hotel’s pricing strategy. Most importantly, hotels should set their rates for the maximum profit and gauge how their pricing—not their competitors’—affects the properties’ demand.
http://lodgingmagazine.com/hotels-not-otas-own-the-data-that-makes-the-difference/
Google updates UX to make flight and hotel bookings easier on mobile
This week, Google is rolling out improvements to its mobile experience for its flights, hotels, and discovery products. The company, which has long made for anxious hand-wringing with its travel products, has made navigating on mobile much more straightforward. From searching through reviews to exploring hotel room categories to the actual bookings, the next iteration is a tighter, more integrated experience.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/google-updates-ux-flight-and-hotel-bookings-easier-on-mobile/
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