The Week, That Was – June 2018 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!!

HITEC: Industry must think holistically about tech
A panel of top-level executives speaking at the Hospitality Industry Technology Exposition & Conference said the hotel industry has to adopt more broad technology solutions that work together.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/286985/HITEC-Industry-must-think-holistically-about-tech

Travelers losing interest in home-sharing, Google gaining ground as travel resource
For all the chatter of Airbnb stealing scene time away from hotels, traveler interest in home-sharing seems to be waning. According to MMGY Global’s Portrait of American Travelers study, which surveyed nearly 3,000 US adults that have taken at least one trip over the past 12 months, just 33% of respondents are interested in sharing economy accommodations, down from 41% in 2017 and 37% in 2016.

https://www.phocuswire.com/MMGY-Global-portrait-of-american-travelers-2018

How strategic use of technology drives guest loyalty and hotel revenue
Technology is creating new opportunities and challenges for hospitality brands, and the ones that use it effectively will be rewarded with a loyal following of guests and, ultimately, more profits.

https://www.phocuswire.com/HITEC-CEO-technology-panel

Google: Travel’s closely watched obsession
Google’s entry into metasearch may be more than half a decade old, but it continues to be a closely watched obsession for the travel industry. Since the very beginning, Phocuswright has carefully tracked the evolution of Google travel products and their growing role in travel’s search-shop-buy funnel.

https://www.phocuswire.com/Google-travel-obsession

How hotel managers can generate profits above and beyond owner’s expectations
There is a lot happening in 2018 that hotel owners should be happy about. After the best Q1 on record earlier this year, it is shaping up to be another stellar year in hospitality with demand (2.4%) outweighing supply (2%); occupancy increasing by 0.4%; ADRs growing by 2.6%; and RevPAR increasing by 3% (STR, PWC).

https://www.hebsdigital.com/blog/hotel-managers-generate-profits/

How RevPAR growth translates into profits
Hotel profitability is the primary measure of success for hotel owners, managers and operators. However, revenue and top-line data continue to be the focus of the industry.

One major reason for this is the availability of revenue-per-available-room data, which is directly linked to the success of STR at aggregating rooms revenue data across a substantial portion of the industry. Alternatively, profitability data is much more difficult to amass because hotel ownership and management groups are much more fragmented than hotel brands.

http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles/286892/How-RevPAR-growth-translates-into-profits

Amazon’s latest focus on hotels comes via Alexa
Amazon is launching a new service for hotels to introduce its voice-controlled assistant Alexa for guests to use in their rooms. Alexa for Hospitality will allow hotel guests to make verbal requests through an Amazon Echo device, including room service, housekeeping and contacting the property’s concierge.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/amazon-hospitality-alexa-hotels/

Fake hotels becoming a massive issue for OTAs
The rise of fake hotels is a phenomenon that has left both consumers and online travel agents (OTAs) frustrated and out of pocket. And they’re becoming more sophisticated and believable too. In recent months, the travel industry has witnessed a tidal wave of fake chalet websites, with one website, Alps-stay.com, conning unsuspecting holiday-makers out of tens of thousands of euros.

http://travolution.com/articles/107814/guest-post-the-fake-hotels-phenomenon-targeting-otas

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

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The Week, That Was – March 2018

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!

Google’s New Look for Mobile Hotel Ads

Recently, there is a new mobile experience on Google Hotel Ads. The tested mobile interface on Google had a refreshed hotel listing page, a cleaner call out for pricing, an updated color scheme, and a clear designation when a hotel has a competitive price.

https://www.4hoteliers.com/features/article/11140

Metasearch power plays: What hoteliers need to know about staying competitive

Metasearch sites account for over 45% of global unique visitors in travel, according to PACE Dimensions’ analysis of SimilarWeb data for the top 10,000 travel websites. This is greater than the proportion of unique visitors for OTAs, both globally and in the US.

https://www.tnooz.com/article/metasearch-power-plays-what-hoteliers-need-to-know-about-staying-competitive-in-metasearch

HospitalityUnited.Club highlights key travel trends in Europe

The big four, namely Spain, Italy, France and United Kingdom occupy the largest share of the travel pie in Europe, topping the list with 4 out of 6 travellers visiting Europe. The travel optimism for the region, which has shown a record 29% growth in long-haul trips by EU residents, has led to a good increase in occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR) in 2017. 

https://goo.gl/SxEChk

Global hotel inventory has grown an impressive 18% in 10 years

According to the data from STR, a global data benchmarking company that maintains the world’s largest global hotel performance sample, the world has 184,299 hotels comprising 16,966,280 rooms.

http://www.traveldailymedia.com/str-global-hotel-inventory/

Expedia Inc. Changes Name to Expedia Group Inc.

Expedia, Inc. is now Expedia Group: The world’s travel platform, bringing the world within reach.

https://www.hotelbusiness.com/expedia-inc-changes-name-to-expedia-group-inc/

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

Thanks and have a good day!

Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Hotelier’s 2012 Mobile Marketing MUST Dos and Don’ts

Max Starkov, HeBS Digital’s President and CEO, was interviewed recently by Michelle Renn, Managing Editor of “Inside Hotel Online Today (Hotel Online)” on this year’s hottest topic: mobile marketing and mobile distribution channel in hospitality.

Asian hotel revPAR continues to rise
According to the latest data from STR Global, the region’s occupancy increased 3.6% year-on-year to 66.5%, average daily rates (ADR) climbed 2.8% to US$146. This pushed revenue per available room (revPAR) up 6.5% to US$97. STR Global said however, that the year-on-year comparisons were impacted by Chinese New Year falling in January this year compared to February in 2011.

Search weighing down CRS

The continually increasing volume of booking options is causing growing stress on hotels companies’ central reservation systems, according to a study undertaken by Pegasus.

Average Hotel Rate in the UK Drops!A global report demonstrating how the cost of a nights stay in a major city can reflect the country’s economic health, has revealed that hotel prices in the UK are stagnating, with only London’s hotels being able to report a rise in the average hotel rate.

Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


RateTiger launches Apple Mac version

RateTiger announced the launch of its RTSuite for Macintosh OS X. RTSuite, RateTiger’s premium rate shopping and channel management product has now been developed for Mac users. It will give hoteliers greater flexibility with rates and availability which they can now update via their MacBook.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/46716-RateTiger-launches-Apple-Mac-version

Booked.net Integrates with RateTiger for Improved Update Functionality

Hoteliers’ can now update Booked.net through RateTiger’s XML interface transferring data in real-time. This development will enhance the performance of communication between the two systems and provides hotels with the ability to update Booked.net instantaneously with the correct rates and availability.
http://hotelmule.com/showthread.php?5946-Booked.net-Integrates-with-RateTiger-for-Improved-Update-Functionality

How well do you (and your team) know your competition?

Maximising your knowledge of your competitors’ product is a vital tool in any hotel’s sales and marketing efforts and investment decision making. However recent experience suggests that some of the basics are being forgotten. Today individual hotels, as well as large hotel companies, have access to more information than ever about their competitive performance and customer views.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4054053.html

Mystery travel: A new distribution channel

Several companies are cashing in on the mystery-travel trend, and hoteliers around the globe are utilizing the trips as a new opaque distribution channel.  According to EuroMonitor International’s Global Trends Report, mystery trips are quickly gaining popularity with consumers in North America.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7106/Mystery-travel-A-new-distribution-channel

Last-minute hotel reservations on the rise

Smartphones are empowering a segment of hotel customers often overlooked by the industry: last-minute buyers who aren’t traveling. Hoping to draw impulsive buyers addicted to daily coupon alerts, hotels and online travel agencies are introducing a flurry of new specials and features targeting those who book a room locally on the day of the stay.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/external/4054078.html

Hotel demand up in key central African cities

Hotel demand grew strongly across the three main economic centres in Western and Eastern Africa for year-to-date October 2011, compared to the previous year, according to data from STR Global, the leading provider of market information to the global hotel industry. Demand grew 27.9 percent in Lagos, Nigeria, 19.4 percent in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and 10.7 percent in Nairobi, Kenya.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7083/Hotel-demand-up-in-key-central-African-cities

UK hotel prices explode for New Year’s

For the New Year’s Eve weekend report, cities across Europe such as Prague (268 percent increase), Edinburgh (196 percent increase), Venice (130 percent increase) and Amsterdam (119 percent increase) have significantly increased hotel prices compared to their average price for December. The UK has likewise experienced a jump in prices.
http://www.traveldailynews.com/pages/show_page/46734-UK-hotel-prices-explode-for-New-Year%E2%80%99s

Extended-stay 2012 RevPAR to outpace industry

Extended-stay hotels and the overall hotel industry follow very similar cycles. Consequently, if STR’s forecast of significantly lower revenue-per-available-room growth in the hotel industry during 2012 compared to 2011 is realized, extended-stay hotels likely are to follow a similar trend.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/7046/Extended-stay-2012-RevPAR-to-outpace-industry