MCLEAN, VA (April 28, 2006) � The impact of trends on the Internet
landscape, effectively using metrics, legal issues, blogs and what the
future holds for travel and hospitality industry marketing defined the
Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) 6th
Travel Internet Strategy Conference held last week in New York City.
A recurring theme in the day�s sessions was the influence and power of
the consumer.
�On all fronts the conference exceeded expectations, from outstanding
content that gave attendees great take-away and action steps, to the cross-section
of top level attendees from the full spectrum of the travel industry,�
noted James Zito, director, interactive marketing & development, Affinia
Hotels and The Benjamin, and co-chair of the HSMAI Hotel Internet Marketing
Committee.
�The diversity of the program satisfied every level of travel Internet
marketer, offering best practices, emerging marketing tools and the basics
that everyone should have top of mind,� stated Karmela Gaffney, director,
eCommerce, Best Western International, and co-chair of the HSMAI Hotel
Internet Marketing Committee.
Timed in conjunction with TIA�s TravelCom, 250 industry professionals
came out to hone their skills and get current from an impressive roster
of speakers and experts. The following offers highlights.
In his keynote address, Michael Tchong, a trend analyst and president
of Ubercool, defined Ubertrends as those major trends that will impact
lifestyles for all of us as they ripple through society.
Ubertrends are an indication of how consumers are changing their lives.
The first and foremost Ubertrend impacting life today is �time compression.�
As an example Tchong noted that in 1893 it took 15 minutes to cook cream
of wheat. In 1960 the time was reduced to 5 minutes and today it takes
only 30 seconds, �but for some that�s too long,� he noted.
�We are living in an on-demand society where we want it now,� he said,
adding that children throughout the U.K. have been known to be walking
around with checks totaling more that 400 million pounds in their wallets
because they don�t have the time to cash them.
Everybody is multitasking. Everything is moving faster and it will not
stop. One hundred years ago the record player was invented, but it
took 10 years for the VCR to make it from invention to lifestyle acceptance
and only one year for the DVD.
Some statistics Tchong noted included:
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75% of people claim they must have a personal computer and 54% must have
mobile phones.
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$4 billion in ring tones were sold for mobile phones last year.
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Text messaging is now being use by people getting divorced as well as employers
telling employees they have been laid off.
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45% of people watch television alone and those that do it with others are
now said to be co-viewing.
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The number of Japanese women that remain single increased to 54% from 31%
a decade ago.
Marketing venues are shifting because 7 out of 10 people do not want marketing
messages via television or the Internet. However, since jeans, houses,
breasts and ring tones are customizable, there is a growing shift to entertainment
marketing putting advertising on cups, breasts, covers for goats and cows
in the pastures.
Marketing must also be linked to online searching which is growing
steadily because people want it when they need it. Online travel
purchasing is up and virtual reality trips for hotels are a growing marketing
necessity. Another marketing trend is viral marketing which is underutilized.
�We need to create products and services that allow people to use their
time the way they want to,� said Tchong, adding: �Just look at the new
Swiss Army knife which now has a memory stick instead of a fork because
we would rather get data than eat.�
METRICS
In a session on Metrics, Cindy Estis Green, managing partner, The Estis
Group, explored how to assess one�s website. She said to look at
the different types of metrics: usability, behavioral and attitudinal.
�Gather metrics to figure out why users are doing what they do and
evaluate campaigns and transaction performance.� She also suggested
implementing pull marketing so customers can get information from multiple
sources, ask questions of data in real time and implement one-on-one marketing.
�To know if you are doing a good job, you need to understand the metrics
and which metrics can be benchmarked,� says Estis Green. Examples
are revenue and conversion results, click through analysis and satisfaction
issues. Looking at the website�s ROI, how to affect results and compare
it to your competitor.
Sara Stevens, director, comScore Networks discussed who is online and
what they�re doing, noted the following:
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Consumers are slowly shifting their travel spending to supplier sites,
yet agencies continue to capture a larger Internet audience.
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The hotel segment experienced the greatest shift in spending over the last
year; nearly 60% of online dollars are captured by supplier sites.
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Supplier sites and agencies lost nearly the same amount of dollars to each
other in Q4 2005.
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Familiarity does not breed contempt for agencies; prior experience brings
people back. Rewards are a critical attribute in drawing people to
supplier sites.
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Increased cross-shopping reduces the likelihood that consumers will return
to the starting site and transact.
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Price remains the number one reason for returning to a site to transact,
yet rewards programs and site usability are critical factors that ultimately
drive booking choice.
Addressing click through analysis and user behavior, Bill Schneider, product
marketing manager, WebTrends noted:
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Consumers spend 34 percent of time online, but online ad spend is just
6% of all ad spending.
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Over 56 percent of marketing executives said that the web was either the
hub of their organization�s marketing strategy, or that it will become
the hub in the next year.
He suggested you create performance dashboards, be targeted for better
site conversion and match offers with customers needs.
In analyzing travel Internet users, Daniel Taras, vice president, solution
specialist, iPerceptions says it�s about �understanding the experience
and what motivates them to book and what causes them to abandon.�
It�s about a site�s user desirability and its usefulness � is it easy to
find it, navigate it, does it answer questions, do they trust it, is it
convenient?
He offers the following considerations:
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Can visitors locate what they are looking for?
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Are their needs anticipated?
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Is the content what they want?
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Can they interact in the way they want?
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Will they make repeat visits and develop loyalty?
BLOGS
A panel on �Unclogging the Blog� explored this relatively new marketing
avenue that went from �obscure to trendy� said Shirley Talbert, director
of marketing distribution, Historic Hotels of America, and moderator of
the panel. With 34 million blogs in cyberspace, �this �online journal encourages
interaction with an audience and can increase search rankings,� said Amanda
Watlington, Ph.D, author and blogger.
�Explore how blogs and podcasts can fit into your overall marketing
strategy, and monitor how your brand appears on other websites,� urged
Ryan Bifulco, podcaster & president, Travel Spike.
Robin Ingle, vice president of international development, Trip Advisor
told suppliers to encourage guests to write about their stay and submit
reviews.
The panel recommended blogs be written in a human voice that is savvy,
honest and conversational and that you don�t trash competitors.
A podcast audio recording of this session is available at www.hsmai.org.
LEGALITIES
Those promoting their hotel online need to be aware of a few issues
to proactively manage their online presence and brands in the crowded and
fluid digital space. Sue Heilbronner, executive vice president of
business development, TIG Global addressed legal requirements of data collection
and email programs; how to stay on the right side of the search engines
in terms of keyword usage in one�s hotel�s website; and uses of trademarks
in paid search bidding and paid search advertising. In terms of copyrights,
she suggested ensuring elements of your site have copyrights, as well as
those supplied by a third party.
LOOKING AHEAD
In a candid and inspirational closing session, �Innovation � What�s
Next on the Horizon,� Lalia Rach, associate dean, Preston Robert Tisch
Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University
went one-on-one with visionary Terry Jones, chairman of Kayak and founder
of Travelocity.
Jones defined his experiences as being fueled by innovation, risk and
change. Citing Kayak, �it�s about being fast, nimble and loving
change.�
�You need to understand early on abut the consumer,� he stated.
If they�re calling to complain, know why and fix the consumer experience.
He said to stay committed in the virtual world and open every door
for customers to work together seamlessly. Today�s generation is
a virtual generation, so you need to get the web right, improve and innovate.
�It�s all about customer service in multi-channel world. Establishing
trustful relationships, give reassurance and reinforcement to get people
over their fear.�
He urged all to listen to the customer, let them speak and recognize
that the future will be about the power of the customer.
Sponsors of the 6th Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference include:
American Express, Cyveillance, eMarketer, HSMAI University, TravelCLICK,
Quotient Marketing Inc. and Real Magnet.
HSMAI�s next Travel Internet Marketing Strategy Conference will be
held Dec. 6, 2006, in Ft. Lauderdale, in conjunction with HEDNA.
Agenda, registration and sponsorship information will be available at www.hsmai.org.
HSMAI is an organization of sales and marketing professionals representing
all segments of the hospitality industry. With a strong focus on
education, HSMAI has become the industry champion in identifying and communicating
trends in the hospitality industry, and bringing together customers and
members at eight annual events, including HSMAI�s Affordable Meetings®,
and HSMAI World Quest. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is an individual membership
organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 38 chapters
in the Americas region.
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