The Week, That Was – July 2019 Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax makes inroads in Bahrain with Hani Group

Hani Group, an upscale hotel chain in Bahrain has selected eRevMax to improve online sales with efficient rate and availability management. All three properties of the group are using RateTiger hotel channel manager and price intelligence tool, Shopper, for online connectivity and revenue management.

https://bit.ly/2M3ybXk

Checklist for your next hotel channel manager

hotel channel manager is a must have for hoteliers today. If you are planning to add or change your existing channel manager, here is a quick checklist of things you need for assessment.

https://www.erevmax.com/blog/index.php/2019/07/checklist-for-your-next-hotel-channel-manager/

TripAdvisor: How reviews impact bookings

TripAdvisor has unveiled the results of new research looking into how significantly reviews influence booking decisions. The study reveals that the wisdom of the crowd remains the reason respondents visit TripAdvisor, with participating users citing the descriptive and helpful reviews (70%), the accuracy of the content (62%) and the broad range of travel content (62%) as their primary reasons for visiting the site.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/tripadvisor-how-reviews-impact-bookings/

What dynamic pricing leaders can teach the travel industry

Dynamic pricing, the process of using data to more accurately segment consumers and automatically offer them differentiated prices based on various factors, is being deployed from both within and outside the travel industry. Early adopters include many players in the airline industry, Airbnb and Amazon. So, with so many waking up to dynamic pricing, what are some of these early adopters doing and what are the main lessons?

https://www.eyefortravel.com/what-dynamic-pricing-leaders-can-teach-travel-industry

How to drive direct bookings through rooms and special offers copy

Learn how to choose the right words to simplify decision-making, convey the information that your guests really need, and utilize a handful of conversion-focused tactics.

https://bit.ly/2YmNcWt

A modern approach to hotel sales prospecting

Outdated techniques like cold-calling have moved aside to make way for more effective and comprehensive prospecting strategies. When it comes to training hotel sales managers to prospect, many sales leaders are looking backward and not recognizing how to integrate prospecting into the real world of hotel sales in 2020.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/297167/A-holistic-approach-to-hotel-prospecting

Asia’s big four fuel worldwide travel spend

Overnight visitors from mainland China, Republic of Korea, Japan and Taiwan now account for 18.5% of global travel expenditure in the world’s top 200 cities, up from just 11% a decade ago.

https://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2019/07/asias-big-four-fuel-travel-spend/

Airbnb introduces new search tools for business travelers

As more companies turn to Airbnb for Work to arrange work trips, the vacation rentals, homes and experiences business is making things easier for business travelers.

https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/22/airbnb-introduces-new-search-tools-for-business-travelers/

Booking.com relaxes keyword bidding clause with hotels

Booking.com has altered its contract with hotel partners so that owners and chains now have the ability to bid freely on brand terms in Google.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Booking-brand-bidding-rule-change

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue-https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

 

Checklist for your next hotel channel manager

A hotel channel manager is a must have for hoteliers today. If you are planning to add or change your existing channel manager, here is a quick checklist of things you need for assessment.

  • That the solution has seamless XML connectivity with multiple online channels to publish live rates and inventory and deliver reservations seamlessly back into the PMS.
  • It has integration with your hotel PMS, RMS, Booking Engine and other technology tools for real-time data transfer between your system and OTAs. If they do not have it, are they flexible enough to develop it for you?
  • It can sync OTA data with hotel system all the time to minimize overbooking and identify mismatches.
  • It can update rates and availability of different room categories for future dates as well.
  • It can automatically inform the user and update the availability to all connected channels for any modification or cancellation happened on any channel.
  • It can allocate different inventory to different online channels or switch off a channel for a certain period if required.
  • It allows users to set restrictions like Minimum length of stay (MLOS), Blackout dates, Closed to Arrival (CTA) and Closed to Departure (CTD), among others, to optimize revenue.
  • It is PCI and GDPR compliant to safeguard digital data of your guests.

Improve your hotel revenue with better room rate and yield management – all from a smart single interface. Take complete control of your revenue and channel management strategy to control distribution costs and drive more direct bookings.

Grow your revenue with the best hotel channel manager!

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

The Week, That Was – July 2019 Week 3

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

ARABSOFT completes technical connectivity with eRevMax

eRevMax, the leading travel technology provider, has certified Tunisian PMS developer ARABSOFT after having completed 2-way technical integration. Mutual hotel clients can now leverage the interface to benefit from direct rate and inventory updates to online sales channels and receive reservations seamlessly into their hotel management System, Xlia by ARABSOFT.

https://bit.ly/2M085nW

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 2

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, five of the world’s ten fastest growing tourism cities are in Asia, making it the hot spot for the travel marketers. Propelled by high penetration of mobile, the region has been witnessing double digit growth in online booking, making it a priority region for global OTAs. However, the market is still dominated by local and regional players, even as global OTAs make strategic investments to make inroads.

https://www.erevmax.com/blog/index.php/2019/07/deep-dive-into-apac-online-travel-agencies-part-2/

Google downplays dominant role in travel

If you run a hotel, airline, or online travel agency, and you thought you needed to buy advertisements in Google search or Google Trips, then guess again — it’s probably not as essential as you have long believed because consumers begin their travel searches with “specialist competitors.”

https://skift.com/2019/07/16/google-to-congress-were-not-a-travel-monopoly/

Travelport optimistic about constructing a customer-centric future

The Internet of Things, mobile, Artificial Intelligence (AI), data analytics and cloud computing are combining, to forge a future that’s more customer-centric than anything that’s gone before.

The next generation of systems are not going to own the system of record, but will own the system of intelligence, using data analytics to intelligently connect supply with demand.

https://www.travolution.com/articles/111958/big-interview-the-travelport-architect-optimistic-about-constructing-a-customer-centric-future

TripAdvisor: How reviews impact bookings

The global study, conducted in partnership with Ipsos MORI, polled over 23,000 TripAdvisor users across 12 markets on the use of online reviews and their role when booking hotels, restaurants and experiences.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/tripadvisor-how-reviews-impact-bookings/

The basics of keyword research for Search Engine Optimization: a guide for hotels

There are a lot of factors that contribute to SEO success. But in short, search engines make it a priority to provide the best content for users based on a given query. This is often referred to as “intent-based search” and it’s at the heart of Google’s machine learning algorithm.

https://bit.ly/2GkMzqx

Could your hotel’s channel strategy be costing you direct bookings?

Hotels of the past faced serious challenges in driving occupancy, with static and siloed inventories spread across a number of third-party partners. A solution to this was to use wholesalers, whose objective was to give travel agents competitive B2B inventory and provide reach all over the world to facilitate bookings.

https://triptease.com/blog/could-your-hotels-channel-strategy-be-costing-you-direct-bookings/

BCD Travel unveils new version of TripSource app

The app will now include self-service features, pre-trip planning and booking, improved design and navigation and will be made available to all travellers in mid-July 2019 in over 113 countries and in five languages.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/bcd-travel-unveils-new-version-of-tripsource-app/

How hotels should adapt to Google Travel and intent-based search

Today, if you want your hotel website to move up through the search results, you need to give travelers what they’re really looking for. You need to match their intent. There’s another reason why Google has stopped rewarding keyword-focused content. PPC and display ads convert at a higher rate when they match a person’s intent.

https://www.traveltripper.com/blog/how-hotels-should-adapt-to-google-travel-and-intent-based-search/

Google experiments with hotel room booking module placement

Changes could be coming soon to the layout of Google’s hotel search as the company tests some modification on its room booking module. According to Koddi, if Google pushes this change live to a wider set of traffic and device types, this would allow travelers to see a greater variety of information and options for hotels within the same view.

https://koddi.com/google-experiments-room-booking-module-placement/

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 2

With increasing disposable income and expanding tourism, Asia Pacific has become the fastest-growing regional travel market. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, five of the world’s ten fastest growing tourism cities are in Asia, making it the hot spot for the travel marketers. Propelled by high penetration of mobile, the region has been witnessing double digit growth in online booking, making it a priority region for global OTAs. However, the market is still dominated by local and regional players, even as global OTAs make strategic investments to make inroads.

In our series on Online Travel Channels in APAC, we have looked into major players shaping the digital travel space. In the first article of the series, we have discussed the giants in the region – Agoda, Ctrip and Make My Trip and their secret sauce to success. In this second part, we will be focussing on local players who are dominating the online travel space in their respective regions.

Fliggy

Fliggy (formerly known as AliTrip) – the travel booking site from Alibaba, is an important player in the China focusing on the upmarket segment – particularly the travel aspiring millennials and international travellers. Of the 10 million daily active users on Fliggy, 80 percent are millennials with college degree living on tier-1 and tier-2 cities – giving the platform a unique exposure and reach. Alibaba has also positioned it as a “premium” travel booking site focusing on outbound travel. The site is designed as youthful, refined, geared toward long-haul, leisure, experiential, as well as luxury trips, rather than the usual to short-term or domestic business travel. From its partnership with Marriot group to getting Booking.com to launch a flagship store on its platform, Fliggy has been making a series of strategic partnerships to create a global brand. Leveraging Alibaba’s ecosystem, which is used by 699 million mobile monthly active users, the platform is positioning itself as a travel marketplace covering the 360 degree of travel to provide consumers with better travel products and service experience. This means a traveller with high purchasing power can plan and book their travel on Fliggy, buy additional items necessary for travel from Alibaba owned e-commerce site Taobao while using Alipay for transactions, ensuring a seamless user experience throughout.

Rakuten Travel

Japan’s online leisure/unmanaged business travel market is the second largest in Asia Pacific region. Founded in 2002, Rakuten Travel is one of Japan’s largest online hotel reservation website with over 3.7 million room nights booked per month. The channel receives 5.34 million unique visitors every month. The firm has access to more than 20,000 domestic and 15,000 international hotels and has a presence in South Korea and China. Rakuten Travel, which is the most popular OTA in Japan, is owned by Rakuten Group, which provides more than 70 e-commerce services beyond travel. The group, often compared with Amazon connects services within its ecosystem enabling users to access all services within the system by using a single login ID, and the same loyalty program for a seamless experience. The company has invested heavily into artificial intelligence and big data for understanding changing consumer behavior and effective personalization.

Traveloka

Traveloka, one of late entrants in the market and founded by three friends in Indonesia, is one of the biggest success stories in the online travel space in South Asia.  The channel which offers flights, hotels, trains, tours & activities, transfers and packages is present in Southeast Asia’s six primary markets — Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. With the introduction of PayLater, an online credit system without the need for a credit card, Traveloka is poised to make further inroads into the region where relatively low penetration of credit / debit card has remained a hindrance to online payment. The channel is also actively pushing into the lifestyle category and has recently rolled out a discovery platform featuring restaurant and wellness activities. The Traveloka mobile app has been downloaded more than 30 million times, making it the most popular travel booking app in the region. With Expedia’s investment into the channel making it the first billion-dollar start-up in Indonesia, the company has been adding more products and services including bundles to mobile applications to make it a one-stop-shop for customers to book and redeem travel themselves.

As hoteliers, are you ready to tap into the Asia Pacific market? Are you managing these channels well and keeping them automatically updated with rates and availability on a regular basis?

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

 

 

The Week, That Was – July 2019 Week 2

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry perspectives and some general updates. Read on!!

eRevMax awarded ‘Preferred Partner’ certification by HRS

Leading online travel technology expert eRevMax has been recognised as a Preferred Partner by HRS under its newly launched certification programme.

https://bit.ly/2LcerkL

RateTiger expands in Mauritius with Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels

Mauritian luxury hotel chain Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels have implemented RateTiger Connect by eRevMax for managing online distribution effectively across multiple OTAs and get reservations delivered directly into its PMS. The hotel group aims to scale their online business over the next few years with the help of seamless distribution technologies customised and integrated for the group by the hotel connectivity leader.

https://bit.ly/2YrkiW1

How metasearch became the most important marketing channel in travel

When, back in 2013, we started to see Trivago and TripAdvisor adverts offering the possibility of comparing hotel prices, nobody imaged the success they would achieve over the course of the years. This was especially so when Google jumped on the bandwagon with Google Hotel Ads. Today, nearly three-quarters of travelers are believed to use metasearch engines in their search process.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Metasearch-travel-marketing-channel-growing

CWT Research Reveals 71% of Business Travelers Embrace Innovation

Research by CWT, the B2B4E travel management platform, shows that 71% of global business travelers embrace travel innovation. Travelers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are more likely to favor it, with 75% and 71% respectively. Europeans, on the other hand, are warier of the changes – 7% of them stating a reluctance to embrace travel innovation versus 5% of Asia Pacific and 3% of Americas travelers.

https://bit.ly/30yrfWi

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 1

Online travel booking is booming in Asia. With over US$386.4 billion in gross travel bookings, APAC has long been the largest regional travel market. Is your hotel connected to the right OTAs? In Part 1 of our Deep dive into the #APAC online booking space series, we cover the regional biggies Ctrip.com Agoda MakeMyTrip .

Connect with us to know more – https://lnkd.in/ed5ka3C

 How the hotel industry has adapted to GDPR

Because it was clear that the GDPR would apply to European hotels, European hoteliers are much further ahead in being compliant with the data privacy law. The U.S. hotel industry has been a mixed bag, with many companies conducting an analysis to determine whether they would need to comply with the GDPR.

http://hotelnewsnow.com/articles/297113/How-the-hotel-industry-has-adapted-to-GDPR

Expedia Partner Solutions gets an API upgrade

One major enhancement is the introduction of Value-Add-Promotions, through which travel partners can increase traveler loyalty. EPS’s travel partners can now reward travelers with additional benefits, from free show tickets to 10% off food and drink, with the introduction of Value-Add Promotions on more than 17,000 properties.

https://bit.ly/2LOjyXB

Is your hotel too reliant on third-parties?

Acquiring new types of guests can be difficult, time-consuming and expensive. OTAs can help target new segments of travelers for you – but should hotels rely on those relationships?

Access the Video – https://bit.ly/2SbFiOz

Adobe: How travelers move from research to buy using digital channels in 2019

In fact, 80% of airline sales are made on a desktop, while 46% of research occurs via smartphone. Additionally, 74% of hotel rooms are booked on desktop, while 47% of research happens via smartphone.

https://cmo.cm/32jQTiZ

Chinese tourism in UK up by 133%

A new travel trends study by TripAdvisor reveals that travelers from China are on the rise, and show no sign of slowing when it comes to visiting the UK. The study examines the fastest growing inbound markets for the UK, based on traveler interest in UK destinations on the world’s largest travel site, as well as looking at the ratings given to hotels, restaurants, and attractions by travelers and guests.

https://www.traveldailymedia.com/chinese-tourist-in-uk-up-by-133-tripadvisor/

How hotels can attract more summer tourists

With more sunshine, warmer weather, and opportunities for outdoor fun, a lot of hotels are gearing themselves up to welcome an influx of guests this summer. Of course, summer is also the season when competition between hoteliers really heats up. To help your hotel drive more bookings, here are our top tips to put the sizzle in your summer marketing campaigns.

https://bit.ly/2GaLscI

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

 

 

Deep dive into APAC online travel agencies – Part 1

There are 4.3 billion active internet users in the world. Over half of them or 2.2 billion are from Asia. A growing middle and upper class with travel as a popular lifestyle choice, mobile penetration, emergence of low-cost-carriers and smartphone adaption has made the region the fastest growing online travel market across the world.

With over US$386.4 billion in gross travel bookings, APAC has long been the largest regional travel market with online booking expected to grow upward of 10% for the next couple of years. With 40% of the bookings coming from online, no wonder this is the hottest market for the online hospitality players. According to a recent study by Allied Market Research, Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are expected to grow higher over the next 5 – 6 years, even as direct travel suppliers, such as hotels, airlines and car rental companies are increasingly adding booking facilities on their website.

Consider this – according to IBEF, digital is expected to account for around 40%-50% of the total travel transactions in India by 2020 – for hotels, every third booking will be made online, predicts a report by Google BCG.  The market is presently dominated by MakeMyTrip-Goibibo – which accounts for 45% of all transactions, followed local players like Cleartrip, Yatra and global majors like Booking.com and Agoda. In China, Ctrip and Qunar combined control 53.6% of the total online travel market, followed by Fliggy with a share of 14.7%. The top three altogether took 68.3% shares of the online travel market.

Clearly online travel agencies are playing the dominant role in this unfolding story. In this multi-part series, we take a deep dive into OTAs in the region who are playing vital role in shaping the digital travel.

Ctrip

Over 180 million Chinese travellers are expected to take an international trip this year, and most of them are likely to book through Ctrip – the largest OTA in the country, and a global player in its own right. According to PhoCusWright, Ctrip is almost at par with Expedia and Booking.com in terms of gross bookings, and controls over half of online travel market in China. In a country with 100% mobile penetration, and 772 million mobile internet users, Ctrip’s app with rich content and location-based information has led the mobile booking revolution – 80% of its transactions are from the mobile platforms. The channel has over 300 million subscribers, lists 700,000 overseas hotels and as many within China. With its acquisition of budget OTA Qunar, Skyscanner, Trip.com and stake in Elong and India’s MakeMyTrip, Ctrip has emerged as the dominant player in Asia Pacific.

Agoda

Agoda, which has been one of the most popular online travel agencies in the region, started with discounted leisure hotel bookings across Asia, and continues to be a hotel-focused OTA. Headquartered in Singapore, and operating largely from Bangkok, the channel, owned by Booking Holdings, lists out 1.8 million properties including vacation-rentals and BnBs. With 22 million reviews from customers who have stayed at properties, Agoda is way ahead of its competitors on user-generated reviews, which can only be matched with Google or TripAdvisor.  In sync with the mobile-savvy APAC population, the channel has invested heavily into mobile app which currently accounts for half of all bookings made on the channel. The channel also shares its inventory with sister companies like Booking.com and Priceline to expand its global reach. However, unlike its parent brand, Agoda primarily relies on the merchant or wholesale model – where the property sets the net rate with OTA adjusting the markup.

Make My Trip

The earliest entrant to Indian online travel market, Make My Trip has been a dominant player since its inception. The recent acquisition of Ibibo Group’s travel business has made it the largest player in online air ticketing and hotel booking business. Leveraging big data and machine learning, the company has recently introduced an artificial intelligence-based chatbot Gia, which is serving up to 5,000 unique users post sales query daily. Last year, the company introduced Goibibo Express, a conversation-based app targeted at the entry level internet user which accounts for close to 100 million. The app available in both Hindi and English, allows users to book hotels, trains and buses. The Make My Trip loyalty programme, which has close to 800,000 subscribers is also driving repeat bookings.

As hoteliers, are you ready to tap into the Asia Pacific market? Are you managing these channels well and keeping them updated with rates and availability on a regular basis?

Reach out to us for your connectivity needs to make the most of your online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

7 Steps to Increase Repeat Business for Your Hotels by 200%

Having loyal customers is one of the most essential steps to ensure the success of hotels. Today, travelers can choose from many options in the hotel industry – leading to intense competition between hotel owners. Thus, as a hotel property owner, you have to try various strategies to transform new visitors into repeat customers and keep your present guest list intact as well.

Strive to make the best ‘first impressions’

With a great first impression, you can make a wonderful lasting impression. When you have a new customer coming into your property, you have to try various ways to transform them into loyalty card members. Offer a valuable loyalty program, which can be useful to guests who come in. Track the requirements and preferences of guests, have a smooth check-in process and strive to communicate well online and offer impeccable services.

Exploit Technology

Use mobile apps, keyless entries, online confirmation, self check-in and other technologies to make the booking process smoother. Avoid keeping customers waiting.

Lend a personal touch

The modern age is all about personalization, and you should try to store guest record in your hotel management software in order to provide present and new guests with a personalized service. You can find unique ways to encourage customers to book your property for the following visits.

Offer Hotel Loyalty Programs of value

In customer loyalty programs, hotel loyalty cards play a vital role. When you manage to be successful in registering new customers into your loyalty programs, it should act as a strong foundation for your business in making guests your long-term customers.

Get immediate feedback

Negative reviews arise due to the fact that guests do not always find ways to express their dissatisfaction with your services. You can avoid negative reviews for your business by seeking constant feedback from customers. Hand out a small questionnaire or send SMS etc to know whether the guests are satisfied with the room service, if they want a custom menu etc. When you ask the right questions, you can get the right answers and improve your services to enjoy repeat business.

Give Incentives

Move over complimentary breakfast, and offer complimentary trip to attractions nearby. Have the option for flexible timings for check-in, and provide new visitors with direct bookings.

Make guests your first priority

Start even before they check in, and connect with them through every stage of their association with your hotel. Address all their needs personally, and find out whether they need any special assistance.

Connect with us for your connectivity needs to make the most of online revenue- https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ