News for the Hospitality Executive |
MONTREAL--(Marketwire
- Sep 13, 2012) - iPerceptions
Inc.,
a leading provider of online Voice of Customer (VoC) analytics derived
from
actual visitor feedback, and the Hospitality
Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), a thought
leader and catalyst for hotel revenue growth, today announced the
release of
their 'Online
Satisfaction and Experience in the Hospitality
Industry' report for Q2 2012. For the second consecutive year, the
outlook for summer/fall travel brightened, with more than three in five
U.S.
adults planning on taking at least one trip for leisure purposes before
November.
About
HSMAI Although the share of leisure travelers increased significantly in Q2 2012 to 64%, compared to 59% in Q1, the report uncovered that almost 1 in 3 online bookers do not complete their intended reservation. Room unavailability and usability issues such as navigational difficulties and cluttered layout were the main reasons identified for not completing a reservation. The data further underscores the importance of hospitality sites ensuring that room inventory is up-to-date online and that all features are working smoothly to boost the chances of conversion. "The recent increase in leisure travelers is very encouraging news for the hospitality and tourism sector which has suffered setbacks during the recent financial recession," said Duff Anderson, VP of Insight at iPerceptions. "But the recent economic downturn has also led consumers to become quite savvy when it comes to securing the best value they can find. Therefore, offering competitive rates and standing by the Best Rate Guarantee will be important to build confidence with website visitors." The study also determined that the majority (68%) of hospitality and tourism website visitors are repeat visitors. Over three-quarters (77%) of leisure travelers were members of a loyalty program in Q2 2012, a slight yet significant increase over Q1 (76%), suggesting positive intentions of future travel among this website visitor group. "As hospitality brands compete to keep customer loyalty, content personalization will become increasingly important to maintain traction with website visitors," Anderson added. "Brands should look to implement programs that personalize content based on visitor profiles and preferences. Delivering more relevant content to online visitors offers new opportunities for brands to create a competitive advantage as they explore content optimization and personalization solutions. Content personalization improves the website visit and ultimately, increases revenue and customer loyalty." The report is based on immediate post-experience feedback from nearly 81,000 visitors to 163 hospitality websites. The data represents aggregated information obtained from iPerceptions' webValidator and 4Q Suite surveys. The report can be found on the iPerceptions website at www.iperceptions.com/resource-center. The
Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is
committed
to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the
industry’s
leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The
association provides hotel professionals & their partners with
tools,
insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize
revenue
through programs such as HSMAI’s
MEET, Adrian
Awards, and Revenue Management Strategy Conference. HSMAI is
an individual membership
organization comprising more than 7,000 members worldwide, with 40
chapters in
the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at www.hsmai.org, www.facebook.com/hsmai,
www.twitter.com/hsmai
and www.youtube.com/hsmai1
About iPerceptions iPerceptions is the leader in online Voice of Customer analytics, using advanced intercept surveys to gather feedback from representative samples of actual visitors. Its webValidator Continuous Listening solution and 4Q Suite solution turn millions of data points into easy-to-understand strategic and tactical decision support, while its Web Analytics Solution Profiler (WASP) provides superior web analytics quality assurance. iPerceptions' clients include such well-known brands as InterContinental Hotels, Fairmont, Best Western, Choice Hotels International and Wyndham Vacations. For more information, please visit www.iperceptions.com. |
Contact: Barbara Reichert Reichert Communications, LLC 650-548-1002 [email protected] |