“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” - Clint Eastwood
“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” - Clint Eastwood
“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” - Clint Eastwood
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<strong>“If</strong> <strong>you</strong> <strong>want</strong> a <strong>guarantee</strong>, <strong>buy</strong> a<br />
<strong>toaster</strong>.<strong>”</strong><br />
- <strong>Clint</strong> <strong>Eastwood</strong>
E-Commerce Beyond IDS Partners<br />
Edward Perry<br />
Director of E-Commerce
Bold Assumptions for 2008<br />
Our Brand Website Key to Our<br />
Growth<br />
The Consumer is In Ultimate Control-<br />
We Need to Prepare for the New<br />
Realities<br />
Content will Either Build Your<br />
Business or Destroy It From Here<br />
On In (Leisure and<br />
Corporate)<br />
Hotel Review Sites Our Friends-We<br />
Need to Manage Them Properly
Assumption #1<br />
Our Brand Website is Key to Our Growth
Background<br />
November 2007 – PriceWaterhouseCoopers report:<br />
• Suppliers are now providing the lowest-cost bookings available on the internet.<br />
• The balance of power in the online travel market is shifting from online<br />
agencies to the suppliers.<br />
• The consultancy group says over the past 12 months, online travel agents<br />
have lost their competitive edge while suppliers have been able to take control<br />
of their inventory and make use of high speed broadband internet connections.<br />
Airlines and hotels are in a strong position in a market where price and<br />
convenience are still the crucial differentiators.
Website direct = lowest cost distribution<br />
• 2 night $350 booking<br />
• Extranet connected OTA<br />
• 20% merchant rate<br />
• Cost = c. $70<br />
• Through <strong>you</strong>r website<br />
• Cost = c. $14<br />
• OK, but how do I make my website<br />
generate volume ?
Key Questions<br />
• Why is web design important ?<br />
• How do I drive and convert traffic ?<br />
• What should I do with Web 2.0?<br />
What is it ?<br />
• Why is content important ?<br />
• What content is important ?
Website Design<br />
• Brand awareness vs. making<br />
bookings<br />
• Generating traffic - SEO and<br />
organic search<br />
• Content
On-line marketing<br />
Buying traffic<br />
• Search Engine Marketing<br />
• Cost per click<br />
• Cost per acquisition<br />
• Google options<br />
• Quality vs. quantity
Assumption #2<br />
The Consumer is In Ultimate Control-<br />
We Need to Prepare for the New Realities
Web 2.0<br />
…allows <strong>you</strong> to reach <strong>you</strong>r audience with better<br />
measurement, more granular targeting and<br />
opportunities for collaboration and viral sharing<br />
Wall Street Journal
What is Web 2.0<br />
• Catchall Phrase to Identify the<br />
Newest Generation of Internet<br />
Collaboration<br />
• Honest Communication Driven by<br />
the Mass<br />
• Product of Connecting,<br />
Collaborative Content and<br />
Redefining Customer Experience
Connecting<br />
• Like-Minded Community<br />
• To Vouch for Our Products<br />
and Services<br />
• Through Direct Conversations<br />
with Our Customers
Benefits of Web 2.0<br />
• Additional Channels of Interactions<br />
• Blogs<br />
• RSS<br />
• Social Communication<br />
• Additional Means of Talking and<br />
Listening to the Customer<br />
• Platform to Inform, Brand and<br />
Market within a Social Forum
Benefits of Web 2.0 continued…<br />
• Mass Appeal<br />
• Easily Segmented<br />
• Viral<br />
• Brand Building<br />
• Loyalty Building<br />
• Allows for Sales<br />
Differentiation<br />
• Cheap
Web 2.0<br />
– 100m+ members<br />
– 100m video views every day. Has 8 th largest<br />
internet audience in the US.<br />
- 10m members<br />
– 10m + hotel reviews
Web 2.0<br />
• Now a huge influence on travel <strong>buy</strong>ing<br />
• Lonely Planet say:<br />
• Social networking sites have grown by 109% in the last 2 years;<br />
• 45% of all web users used a social networking site in 2006;<br />
• Myspace, Bebo and Facebook now rank in top 20 favorite travel<br />
websites.<br />
• Guest reviews – how should a hotelier manage them ?<br />
• Should I have a blog on my website ?
Basic Principles<br />
• Sell More<br />
• Develop Greater Brand Awareness<br />
• Turn Awareness into Loyalty<br />
• Attain Greater Customer Data<br />
• Do Something “Bold Yet Sensible<strong>”</strong><br />
• Be Unique
Assumption #3<br />
Content will Either Build Your Business or Destroy It<br />
From Here On In
Content<br />
• Will rich content deliver more room<br />
nights ?<br />
• Search engines and rich content<br />
• Video – amateur vs. professional<br />
• 3rd party content e.g.<br />
destination, event, weather
What Content Means for Your<br />
3 Focal Points<br />
• Images<br />
• Virtual Content<br />
• Room Descriptions
Harris Interactive-What Consumers Value
Harris Interactive-Importance of Visuals
Assumption #4<br />
Hotel Review Sites are Our Friends
Trip Advisor
Other Hotel/Travel Review Sites to Monitor<br />
• Travelpost.com<br />
• IGoYouGo.com<br />
• Gusto.com<br />
• Online Booking Agencies<br />
• Expedia<br />
• Travelocity<br />
• Orbitz<br />
• Priceline<br />
• Hotel.de
PhoCusWright Inc. 2008
What is WORLDHOTELS Doing About It?<br />
• First Venture into Web 2.0 with Introduction of TripAdvisor<br />
• White labeled version<br />
• No external advertisements or booking links<br />
• Keeps consumers on site, longer<br />
• Encourages review of stay, post-trip
What You Can Do About It?<br />
• Pay Particular Attention to Consumer Generated Content<br />
• Photography<br />
• Rich Media<br />
• Solve Customer Dissatisfaction At Property Level<br />
• The consumer will write about <strong>you</strong> and share with thousands<br />
• Address bad reviews with immediacy<br />
• Encourage Satisfied Guests to Review<br />
• Build Brand/Hotel Advocacy<br />
• Appoint a Property Liaison to Regularly Review Hotel Sites
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