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What is Rich Media?

According to Wikipedia, Rich Media is "a broad range of interactive digital media that exhibit dynamic motion, taking advantage of enhanced sensory features such as video, audio and animation".  With the increasing penetration of broadband internet services, Rich Media marketing will become a must for all hotels that want to connect with online consumers.

How does Rich Media benefit the travel consumer?

In the hotel and travel industries, rich media is fast becoming the marketing tool of choice.  This importance is driven by a demand of travel consumers to “experience” the sights and sounds and most importantly the “value” of one hotel compared to another, prior to making a booking decision.  Rich media marketing is a key part of hotel positioning in a very crowded and commoditized online travel world.

What are the benefits of Rich Media to your hotel?

Rich media immediately sets your brand or hotel apart in the online channel. It allows you to make an emotional connection with your consumer. At the same time, it communicates your commitment to providing your customers with the tools they need to make important decisions. And it provides ‘stickiness’ – consumers will remain longer at your site or on your listing, interacting with your property longer.

For brands, rich media can support brand-wide messaging and positioning, ensuring consistency and control across the portfolio, and across the Internet.

Of course, the ultimate benefit of rich media is in the bottom line. Rich media leads to more bookings both on and offline.

Is Rich Media most valuable on my hotel’s web site or distributed widely?

Rich media is a valuable addition to your own hotel website or brand site. However, distribution of your rich media across the electronic channel is critical given the shopping behavior of online travel consumers. Recent statistics show that consumers will visit between 3 and 6 sites during the booking process.

Comparison shopping at third-party sites such as Orbitz, Travelocity and Priceline attracts millions of travel consumers daily. Many are booking there, but almost as many are using these sites to compare properties, then going on to book directly at supplier sites. In fact, figures from PhoCusWright indicate that 3-4 out 10 visitors to an online travel agency will continue on to book directly with the supplier.  As such, hotel marketers are recognizing the importance of having quality images and rich media everywhere a consumer may find them on the Internet, often driving them back to their own sites.

VFM’s media distribution network is the largest in the industry reaching over 20,000 travel sites, portals, search engines, corporate booking engines, meeting planner sites, and GDSs. Our comprehensive coverage ensures your media is seen where your potential customers are shopping and booking.

Myfidelio.Net And VFM Interactive To Provide Hotels With A Central Gateway For Distribution And Management Of Visual Content In All Channels; All myfidelio.net hotels now have access to VFM’s Vscape solution to distribute and manage images in all GDS and thousands of Internet Channels / March 2008

VFM Interactive Announces Louise Meyer Joins Executive Team; Highly regarded industry veteran to help build VFM's hotel media production and distribution business / February 2008

Great Hotels Organisation Partners with VFM Interactive to Provide Rich Media Production and Distribution Services for their Member Hotels Worldwide; GHO adopts VFM's Vscape media management and distribution solution to distribute hotel photos and rich media to thousands of electronic channels / February 2008