Throughout our nearly 15 years of hotel Internet marketing experience, we have been consistently concerned about the increasing level of disparity between savvy Internet/Mobile marketers in hospitality and travel, and the Internet/Mobile Marketing-inept players in the industry.With the advent of social media in recent years, Web 2.0 technologies and the mobile Web, this disparity has accelerated dramatically.

On one side there are the extremely Web-savvy:

• Online travel agencies like Expedia, Travelocity, etc.
• Most major hotel brands’ e-commerce departments
• Airlines
• Some e-commerce departments at smaller and mid-size hotel and resort chains
• Some very bright individuals at the marketing departments of full service hotels, resorts and casinos

On the other side there is everybody else, which unfortunately means the majority of hospitality executives and sales and marketing professionals.
HeBS defines “Web Marketing Ineptitude” as the lack of hands-on experience in Internet marketing and all of its formats: website re-designs, SEO optimizations, search marketing, email marketing, strategic linking, banner advertising and online sponsorships, social media and Web 2.0 and more recently, mobile marketing. In addition, this ineptitude also indicates a lack of understanding of best practices and latest trends in the direct online channel.

In the 1990s, it was “normal” that only a few hospitality and travel marketers were proficient in the online channel.  Less than 3% of travel reservations in the U.S. were booked online back in 1999. In the 2000s (in 2001, online travel bookings reached 5.4% of all travel reservations in the U.S.), hospitality marketers and the major hotel brands began to pay closer attention to the Internet channel. In the years that followed, Internet travel adoption increased dramatically and in 2009 alone over 55% of all travel reservations in the U.S. will be online (45% of all hotel reservations) to the tune of a staggering $116.1 billion (eMarketer).

Yet, to our dismay, over the past 15 years the level of Internet marketing expertise in the hospitality industry has not kept up with this remarkable growth. On the contrary, we are witnessing whole new generations of hospitality executives and marketing professionals who are unfamiliar with Internet marketing in general as well as best practices and trends in the direct online channel.

This problem has been exacerbated by a) the social media and Web 2.0 phenomena, and b) mobile marketing. Both of these new marketing and distribution channels introduced an entirely new level of complexity and skill set requirements, as well as new best practices and trends.

• Social Media have changed how customers plan and purchase travel, how customers access information, and how customers perceive the credibility of information. How can hoteliers create/monitor/take advantage of the social media “chatter” around the hotel, target receptive audiences, and ultimately stimulate hotel website visits, interactions and bookings? What type of Web 2.0 and interactive features and functionality do you need on the hotel website?

• Mobile Web is expected to surpass the traditional Web within the next five years. The promise of “immediate, anywhere and anytime” Internet access, instant information and transaction capabilities, location-based services and personalization are some of the key factors for the “explosion” of the mobile Web. Hotel guests–past, current and potential–are increasingly becoming mobile-ready and hoteliers have to respond adequately to this growing demand for mobile services. This is the reason why hoteliers and travel marketers need to have robust mobile Web initiatives in place, including mobile brand websites, mobile apps, m-CRM and mobile marketing.

Why Is There a Growing Web Marketing Ineptitude in the Industry?

There are many reasons for this “Web Marketing Ineptitude” among the ranks, but here are some of the most important:

Franchised Properties:

• Many major brands control all Internet marketing initiatives at the corporate level, including property-level initiatives, thus depriving staff at the property from any meaningful experience in Internet marketing.

• We have seen a trend among small/mid-size chains to establish small but vital e‑commerce departments. In many cases, these companies outsource whatever online marketing they do to outside vendors. Here again, when outsourcing, they make a crucial mistake by not demanding professional development to be part of the Internet marketing vendor’s responsibilities. This results in Internet marketing expertise not being disseminated to the properties in the process.

Independent Hotels and Resorts:

• The biggest concentration of Internet marketing knowledge is at this level.

• Many big full-service hotels and resorts have some form of in-house Internet expertise. However, due to staff turnover and constantly decreasing budgets, these properties tend to have a very spotty Internet expertise retention rate.

• Smaller hotels and resorts are most vulnerable due to limited budgets and difficulties with hiring and retaining employees with expert knowledge.

Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) and Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs):

• These organizations boast some of the brightest Internet marketing stars and some of the most inept marketers.

• In many cases among DMOs and CVBs, ignoring Internet marketing best practices is not even a matter of budget size, but a result of inertia and commitment to traditional advertising formats.

• The government or quasi -government nature of CVBs and tourism offices does not help with the hiring and retention of Internet expertise.

So What Is the Verdict?

HeBS believes there are different levels of Web Marketing Ineptitude in the industry regarding three important marketing media: Traditional Web, Social Media/Web 2.0 and Mobile Web. Here are our estimates of the ineptitude rates in each of these media:

Internet Marketing/Traditional Web

• Nearly 15 years of existence of the traditional Web

• Internet Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  65%

Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing

• Nearly 5 years of existence of social media

• Web 2.0/Social Media Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  90%

Mobile Marketing/Mobile Web

• Nearly 10 years of existence of Mobile Web but in reality, the Mobile Web in the U.S. exploded with the introduction of the first iPhone in June 2007.

• Mobile Marketing Ineptitude rate in hospitality:  97%

Conclusion

Hoteliers should strive to gain a crystal-clear understanding of what the best practices and latest trends are in hospitality Internet marketing: what works, what doesn’t, and why. Hoteliers should recognize that they do not have all the answers in-house and that there are thought leaders and other proven industry experts who can help them and their property stay competitive in these economic times, preserve and increase market share, and generate the highest website revenues and ROIs.

Hoteliers should take a hard look at how Best Industry Practices are being utilized by their corporate offices or major brands, as well as by the hotel’s Internet marketing vendors. Almost 15 years after the first online hotel booking, best practices have been established in practically every aspect of hotel Internet marketing. Hoteliers should not allow their Internet marketing vendors to “learn the business on the hotel’s dime.”

The prospect of professional development should become the main criterion when choosing an Internet marketing vendor.  Hoteliers should hire experts who are able and willing to teach the hotel and staff best practices and keep the hotel appraised of the latest direct online channel trends.

Hoteliers should work only with Internet marketing experts who can help them acquire new core competencies and adopt best industry practices in the direct online channel. 

They should provide crucial professional development as well as guide the hotel’s direct Internet marketing strategies, online brand building strategies, e-CRM, website re-design and SEO optimization, search and email marketing, social media and mobile marketing initiatives.

Who took part in the study?

PhoCusWright interviewed nearly 1,500 Canadians for the study, including more than 200 Quebeckers, to analyze their travel planning and booking behaviour. To qualify, a respondent had to have made at least one trip by plane or by train in the preceding 12 months, and stayed in commercial accommodations. The Canadians used in the sampling also had to have used the Internet in the preceding month. Approximately 27% of the adult population meets this profile.

Although this sampling method is very restrictive because it eliminates three‑quarters of the adult population, the findings are nonetheless very valuable since the segment of Canadians used in the PhoCusWright study meet the profile of the industry’s ideal potential tourist.

In addition, the study only looked at consumer leisure travel and “unmanaged” business travel, in other words, business travel arranged by individuals without the help of a corporate travel agency or the company itself. In Canada, this market was worth over CAD$24 billion in 2006. Of this amount, 27% was purchased online, or the equivalent of CAD$6.5 billion. PhoCusWright predicts that this percentage will rise to 39% by 2009. By way of comparison, 34% of all travel‑related purchases in the United States were made online in 2006.

Travel planning and purchases

Approximately two‑thirds of Canadian online travellers use the Internet to plan and shop for their travel products. Online travel agencies (25%), search engines (23%) and supplier Websites (20%) are the primary sources consulted to compare travel products (Figure 1). On average, Canadians consult four sites before making a travel purchase.

When it comes to purchasing travel, nearly one‑third (31%) prefer to deal online directly with the supplier. Despite this tendency, traditional agencies remain competitive and are the trusted source for 27% of online travellers (compared to only 19% for online agencies), once the shopping process is over.

Online purchases

Plane tickets top the list of Canadian online travel purchases, accounting for 73% of the market. Hotel rooms come in second with 12%, compared to 10% for packages and 4% for rental cars. On the other hand, Canadian online travellers purchase plane tickets and hotel rooms in a greater proportion than Canadians in general (88%). (See Figure 2)

Furthermore, supplier Websites, particularly those of the airlines, clearly do better than online agency sites like Expedia. Major players like WestJet, Air Canada and the big hotel chains manage to generate a large percentage of their business online.

Factors influencing the purchase method

A large number of Canadians continue to be attracted by the lowest price, with 37% of those who make online purchases listing this as the primary reason for shopping online (Figure 3). The search for a deal is also an important criterion for those who deal directly with suppliers (25%) or through an intermediary (26%). People who buy their travel products offline do so primarily out of habit (29%) and because of better customer service (28%).

Factors influencing travel decisions

Regardless of whether a travel product is purchased online or offline, many Websites exercise a major influence on the consumer’s planning process and travel decisions (Figure 4). When shopping online, 90% of Canadian online travellers use general search engines like Google and 63% say that these tools influence their travel decisions.

First appearing approximately three years ago, personal review sites (see: Today’s consumers influence tomorrow’s choices) like TripAdvisor already play a major role, both at the planning stage (73%) and as an influence on purchasing decisions (43%). Not surprisingly, destination portals like Bonjour Québec also continue to play an important role. It is interesting to note that meta‑search engines like Kayak and SideStep, already popular in the United States, are also becoming indispensable in Canada. According to the study, 57% of Canadian online travellers use them and 26% feel they are influential when it comes to the decision to buy.

Leisure travellers use both online and offline channels

Despite the Web’s growing popularity among travellers, it is important to remember that traditional distribution channels continue to play a role in the purchasing process, particularly among leisure travellers. In fact, only 22% of online leisure travellers purchase their travel products exclusively online (Figure 5). At the same time, the percentage of those who never use the Internet to purchase travel is even higher (27%). Almost half (48%) have adopted a sort of hybrid approach by using both offline and online channels for their purchases. Overall, approximately 35% of all travel spending is transacted online.

Still plenty of untapped potential

The online travel marketplace in Canada has not yet reached its full potential. The PhoCusWright study examines the potential interest of Canadian online travellers who, at the moment, have still not made online travel purchases. It appears that it is only a matter of time, because 68% of them said they were interested in doing so in the future.

It is often said that the Canadian online travel market lags far behind the American market. According to the new information presented in this study, the Canadian market has made obvious inroads when it comes to using the various online tools available to travellers. Now it is up to businesses to stop hesitating and take action to build an effective Web presence to tap this market.

See also:

- Today’s consumers influence tomorrow’s choices

Sources:

- PhoCusWright. Canadian Online Travel Overview, 2007.

Start with a Website

The first basic principle is that no business is ever too small for a website. Many web design tools do not even require specialized computer knowledge. This accessibility is just one reason that the number of online blogs has mushroomed in the last year (over 100 million).

However, the best solution is to call on the services of a web design firm, who will be able to produce professionally looking content that delivers the desired result. By the way, not all site design techniques are created equal. It is crucial that the selected supplier be well-versed in tourism marketing. On average, a small inn would need to set aside a budget of $2,000 to $4,000 for the design and creation of a website.

Search engine optimization

If a site is well designed, it will be easily found by search engines. However, there are many strategies for increasing site traffic. The technique of search engine optimization can be very effective, but it may be too expensive for organizations with limited budgets.

Another, less expensive, way to increase visibility is to get other sites to include links to yours. Link popularity is an important criterion used by search engines like Google and Yahoo when ranking sites in search results. Incoming links to a site are interpreted as a “vote of confidence” by search engines and are considered in placement rankings. In a Google search using the same terms, this can make the difference between appearing on page 1 or page 10. Regardless of the strategy used, time is also an important factor. Often, the longer a site has been online, the more success it enjoys with search engines.

Develop networking opportunities

One does not need an enormous marketing budget to build online business connections, simply some time. Here are some strategies for increasing the number of sites with links to yours:

• Explore and identify the main points of contact with potential customers. Place a link to your organization on sites containing some tourism-related content such as your local business development centre, a directory of small hotels and inns, a tourist attraction in your region, a snowmobile club, your regional tourism association, etc.
• Create links on sites frequented by potential customers, even if they are not exactly travel-related (e.g., a bird club, wedding planner, chamber of commerce, etc.).
• Target only high-quality sites relevant to both your product and your clientele.
• Ensure your website address is clearly visible in all your communication tools, especially your email signature.

One way to assess the performance of your referencing strategy and the true contribution of your business partners, in terms of incoming links, is through tracking tools such as Alexa. This site instantly supplies very pertinent data on any website, completely free of charge. As an example, we used Alexa to analyze the site for Auberge des Falaises in Charlevoix (Illustration 1). Although not an exact science, Alexa produces statistics like traffic generated, number of pages visited, percentage increase in the past three months, etc. If a site generates enough traffic, one can also get graphs illustrating the breakdown of visitors and visits during a specified time period.

Illustration 1

The Related Links section in particular contains highly relevant information to help you better understand the influence of other sites in relation to your organization. Alexa draws up a list of the sites that send visitors to your site (Illustration 2). This data enables you to quickly see which sites send the most visitors and their traffic ranking, whether you are familiar with these sites or unaware of their existence.

Illustration 2

Finally, it is interesting to find out where else your visitors browse. If you have a lot of traffic but very few transactions, this information will give you a better idea of where your lost customers are going. You will also find out more about your potential customers’ interests. In our example, the most popular site among browsers of the Auberge des Falaises site was that of the Corporation du parc régional du mont Grand-Fonds (Illustration 3).

Illustration 3

Convert visitors into customers

The ultimate goal of attracting a visitor to one’s site is obviously to encourage this potential customer to make a reservation. However, according to search engine statistics, only 3.7% of visits to hotel websites translate into a sale. What usually makes the difference is the site’s professional appearance and usability.

The firm eMarketer has published a ranking of the best online marketing tactics, as well as the worst performing, according to a survey of tech-savvy online advertisers (Figure 1). Paid search ads and house email lists are the two methods that received the highest ranking. On the other hand, sending emails using rented lists was relatively ineffective.

Figure 1

Email segmentation

If you operate a small business, segmenting your email lists may be an effective marketing strategy. Purchasing email lists from specialized distributors may well be beyond your means and this strategy offers mixed results at best, so the ideal solution is to build your own email list.

Segmenting your list means grouping current and potential customers together by what they have in common: interests, purchasing behaviour, demographics, etc. Compiling this data enables you to more effectively target your efforts, adapt your message and obtain a better response rate than you would with blanket email marketing initiatives. On average, specialized firms that conduct such email campaigns charge anywhere from $15 to $150 per month, depending on the size of your list.

Regardless of the company’s size, a well-segmented house email list can encourage customer loyalty and increase sales, convey information relevant to the needs of potential customers, and create a high-quality channel of communication with customers.

There are many tools and strategies available to business owners; one has only to adopt them and use them effectively. We live in an era when the role of technology is to further the development of small business, not hinder it. With a minimum of investment, some good advice, several hours of research, a little curiosity and a dash of resourcefulness, you will be well positioned to market your business like the big players.

Sources:
- eMarketer. “What Works, and What Doesn’t, in Online Marketing,” February 7, 2007.
- Goodman, Gail. “Email Segmentation for Small Businesses,” iMedia Connection, August 30, 2006.
- Husin, Linda. “Booking Is the Keyword,” ehotelier, November 29, 2006.
- Salerno, Neil. “So, You Have a New or Improved Hotel Web Site – Now What – How to Promote Your Web Site,” HotelOnline, November 2006.
- Salerno, Neil. “Production Benchmarks for Your Hotel’s Web Site,” HotelOnline, August 2006.
- Max Starkov and Jason Price. “Strategic Linking in Hospitality: Build a Robust Link Popularity,” HotelOnline, September 2006.