The Week, That Was – May 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!!

Looking to optimize your online revenue and profits? JOIN THIS WEBINAR
Leverage advanced distribution insights and manage distribution and revenue strategies from one unified platform. Attend the webinar to know how you can get action-oriented data analytics to improve your daily workflow – Register Today

http://go.fornova.com/distribution-intelligence-meets-hospitality-os-ukna

New Launch – “The Hotelier’s Tech Stack Guide”
TrustYou has published an ebook to help hotels get insights into the most impactful hotel technologies, broken down by guest journey stage: search and booking, on-site, and post-stay phase. In this eBook, you will learn about how technology is automating and simplifying tasks; why technology is critical to attracting and retaining guests and the “good-to-have” technology extras that can take your hotel one step forward.

https://goo.gl/nZAXKw

How Google’s organic search results have become ineffective for hotels
A common complaint from hotels is that they can’t compete with keyword buying against the likes of Expedia Group and Booking Holdings (between them spent upwards of $10 billion during 2017) but research has shown just how dominant the same intermediaries are in organic search, too.

https://goo.gl/a6db6g

Are hotel operators ready for GDPR?
Hotel operators, by default, are more reliant on overseas purchases than vendors in other sectors, making it more likely that this legislation will capture hoteliers taking European bookings.

GDPR will affect now-accepted customer communication techniques they use, like cart abandonment responses, retargeting, mailing list management and staying in touch with returning guests.

https://www.tnooz.com/article/gdpr-hotels-data-protection

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

Thanks and have a good day!

The Week, That Was – May 2018 Week 1

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!!


5 Signs It’s Time To Change Your Hotel Property Management System
Hotel property management system (PMS) is the beating heart of your hotel – responsible for streamlining operations, optimizing guest service and maximizing revenue. However, like most technology, it has a limited lifespan. As technology evolves, so will your property’s (and guest’s) unique needs and goals; resulting in the inevitable necessity to reevaluate your current PMS.

https://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article99628.html

Hotel OTTO Berlin recommends RateTiger for channel connectivity
Hotel OTTO, an upscale property in Berlin has recommended RateTiger Channel Manager for stable and seamless connectivity with world’s leading OTAs. The hotel, which has been using eRevMax’s award winning distribution solution, has improved its online exposure resulting in positive revenue and occupancy growth.

https://goo.gl/UJ1mm9

How hoteliers can win the upsell gamble with perfect timing
Through 80 DAYS Benchmark we know that the average conversion rate of a 4/5 star hotel website tends to be in the range of 0.4 – 2.0%, dependent on a variety of factors. We also know that a hotel booking engine typically converts at around 4%. Armed with this knowledge, hoteliers should simply upsell during the booking process – while their potential guest is a captive audience?

https://www.eighty-days.com/2018/how-hoteliers-can-win-the-upsell-gamble-with-perfect-timing/

Rimor by Expedia is a Chrome Extension That Will Inspire You to Travel
With the Rimor Chrome Extension, you can turn your blank new browser tabs into astounding images of destinations around the world. You can add favorite destinations, and later look back on them when it comes time to plan a trip.

https://beebom.com/rimor-by-expedia-chrome-travel-extension/

Hotels Have a Growing Guest Loyalty Problem … and They May Not Even Know It
The ability to inspire guest loyalty is, without a doubt, a valuable predictor of long-term success within the hospitality industry. Loyal guests bring recurring revenue, and positive reviews, feedback, and recommendations, inspiring a virtuous circle of reward.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4088226.html

How “Google My Business” can increase your hotel’s bookings
According to Search Engine Land, local Google reviews are on the rise, with an astounding 278% exponential increase in reviews for US local based businesses (from 2015 to 2016). In this context, managing your hotel’s reviews on Google becomes an important part of successfully managing your reputation and making your hotel visible in search.

http://www.trustyou.com/blog/hotel-tips/google-business-can-increase-hotels-bookings

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

Thanks and have a good day!

The Week, That Was – April 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!!

Infographic: HospitalityUnited.Club releases Middle East Online Travel Trends at ATM
HospitalityUnited.Club, a consortium of travel technology companies, in partnership with RateTiger and LiveOS has published an infographic ebook titled ‘Middle East Travel Trends’ – highlighting key travel metrics and indicators in the region.

https://goo.gl/DBykeR

5 Technology Trends Shaping the Hotel and Travel Industry
2018 will be no different. The travel industry is looking brighter than ever with profound advances in interconnectivity, a unification of various channels to guide travel-goers through a cohesive funnel. We’re seeing smart attached to just about everything, luggage, entry mechanisms, convenience items as the internet of things spreads like wildfire, and we’re standing by as drones capture cinematic gold and redefine digital marketing.

http://hoteltechnologynews.com/2018/04/5-new-technology-trends-hotel-travel-industry/

Hotels Catch Up to OTA Best Practices with TrustYou’s Review Marketing Solutions
TrustYou, the world’s largest guest feedback platform, unveiled impressive results proving the correlation between Review Marketing Solutions and increased revenue, in partnership with NH Hotels. The world-leading urban hotel operator, with almost 400 hotels in its portfolio, noted a considerable increase in the website traffic, conversions and ultimately, revenue, after mimicking OTA typical behavior through the TrustYou features.

https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4088111.html

Airbnb’s market share of U.S. lodging demand increasing at a decelerating rate
While Airbnb demand has grown rapidly during the past few years, analysts expect its demand growth will decelerate in the near term. Recent data provides strong evidence that this is already happening. Specifically, the pace of growth in room nights sold has declined over the course of the past year, even though demand is still growing significantly. We expect the pace of demand growth will continue to decelerate during the next few years.

https://goo.gl/uHzgJN

Personalised pricing: Right data instead of big data
In order to get into direct contact with their guests early in the booking process, hoteliers have to overcome the practice of commoditisation. The best way to take the focus off the price discussion is automatic pricing. According to a study by Accenture, 75 percent of consumers today place increasing value on personalised experiences and offers.

https://goo.gl/pzSqon

Microsoft’s travel manifesto
Microsoft engaged a dozen technology companies, supplier partners and like-minded travel buyers to join its team for a corporate travel innovation summit to map a vision of the corporate travel future.The manifesto asserts that the future of managed travel depends on providing the right traveler experience, not just for employee satisfaction purposes but also for the best operational efficiencies.
http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/microsofts_travel_manifesto

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

Thanks and have a good day!

 

TrustYou Celebrates Its 10 Year Anniversary

Our partner TrustYou, the world’s largest guest feedback platform, is currently celebrating its 10 Year Anniversary.

As a token of appreciation, TrustYou is running a special promotion: interested hotels buying a 12-month license of the full platform or any single feature of TrustYou will receive 6 months for free. This promotion is valid until 30 April 2018 – find out more -https://goo.gl/nd6W9K
https://goo.gl/nd6W9K

TrustYou’s Most Important Moments
2008 – TrustYou Is Founded – The Adventure Begins!
2010 – Launches Online Reputation Management and Guest Survey Solutions for Hotels
2013 – Meta-Review & Widgets Made Available to Hotels, Travel Websites, and OTAs
2015 – Acquires Brand Karma and Strengthens APAC Market Presence and Growth
2016 – Google Licenses TrustYou Review Data on Google Hotel Search & Maps
2016 – Purchases Checkmate to Complete the Platform with TrustYou Messaging
2017 – Recruit Holdings Acquires TrustYou to Accelerate Global Growth
2017 – Live Chat Launched for All Customers
2018 – HTR Award – Top Rated Reputation Management Software

If you’re interested in using the industry’s top-rated guest feedback platform, do it now and take full advantage of its anniversary promotion – https://goo.gl/nd6W9K

How to Increase Guest Satisfaction with Messaging?

  
Travellers become guests as soon as they click the “book now” button. At this point, travellers open the line of communication between themselves and your hotel. But how do guests want to be communicated with, and what messages do they really want? Recently, we published the findings of a travel industry study, which identified a gap between how customers expect to communicate with hotels, and the experiences that hotels are actually providing. 
 
Clear communication between a hotel and its guests has a major influence on guest satisfaction, which can be measured by the difference between guest expectations and their actual guest experience. In our research, we wanted to identify the guest’s expectations in order to help hotels achieve this reality for their guests.

For the study, we surveyed 920 adults over the age of 18, all of whom travelled and booked an accommodation online within the past 12 months for business, leisure, or both. Here are some of the key findings:

     The majority (80%) of hotel guests expect that the accommodation provider will initiate communication regarding their booking, and 80% also expect this to be sent via email.

     73% of guests communicate through online communication channels, combining emails, social media, and text messaging; additionally, two-thirds say they prefer to communicate through written electronic means rather than by phone.

     Guests who communicate through text messaging services and through social media report statistically significantly higher satisfaction levels over those who do not.

     A large majority (75%) of guests want to communicate one-to-one with representatives on location and 91% would communicate issues during their on-site experience.

These findings indicate that hotels must begin communicating right at the moment of booking, and keep it up throughout the entire guest journey. By investing in guest messaging solutions, hoteliers can improve the guest experience, leading to higher satisfaction rates, increased guest loyalty, and ultimately, more hotel revenue.

To download the full study or to know how you can improve guest experience, fill up the form below –

This is a guest post by Valerie Castillo, Senior Director of Marketing at TrustYou.

Hospitality Technology leaders announce networking event for hoteliers in Toronto


Hospitality connectivity expert, eRevMax has teamed up with industry leaders including Fornova, HRS, Sojern, TrustYou and Vizergy, to host an exclusive gathering for hoteliers on 27th June 2017 in Toronto, Canada. The event, to be held on a yacht at the harbour front, will bring together peers from the hospitality industry to unwind and network over cocktails.
The event is aimed at providing hoteliers and technology providers an interactive platform to exchange ideas and explore collaboration possibilities. The luxurious Miss Toronto, moored at the Toronto harbour front, is just a short walk from the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, providing a perfect venue for an evening of fun. 
There are some cool state-of-the-art hospitality technology products worth thousands up for grabs. Aptly titled ‘An Evening of Fun in Toronto’ – this is an Invitation Only event. For more details about the event, please contact marketing@erevmax.com.

Introduction of TrustYou Tile – Manage Guest Reviews from LIVE OS Platform

As a hotelier, you know that engaging with your guests is crucial for developing loyalty and converting them into your biggest brand ambassadors. We know you want to monitor each and every conversation, and respond to it. That’s why we are pleased to present to you the world’s largest Guest Review Management platform – Trust You in LIVE OS.
You can now access your guest reviews and ratings directly on your LIVE OS dashboard. From booking your hotel until after the guests check out, TrustYou’s products help hotels leverage guest feedback to impact the entire guest journey.
It is the undeniable truth that guests are the King in hospitality sector and in this age of digital era they rule the industry. You’d perhaps agree that reputation has a positive correlation with the hotel’s overall Average Daily Rate and revenue – thus we’re happy to bring Trust You in LIVE OS. This will help hotels to access guest reviews and ratings collated by TrustYou, directly on the LIVE OS platform for informed decision making and take actions to improve their ratings.
TrustYou is the world’s largest guest feedback platform that analyzes millions of travel reviews scattered online and transforms them into actionable insights and data visualizations for hotels and travel intermediaries worldwide. You can provide guests with better services and enhanced offerings by monitoring, surveying and acting on these reviews and feedback. TrustYou helps intermediaries to improve travelers’ search-shop-buy experiences by providing structured information like Meta-Reviews.
You can also turn your opportunity into business by leveraging reputation management tool by TrustYou directly from your LIVE OS dashboard.
Want to know more how it can help your hotels to improve guest satisfaction quotient? Contact us today!

Posted by Omprakash Singh, Business Analyst, eRevMax