The power of online booking, websites and mobility and the experience of having a single user access are some of the trends that the hotel industry is currently experiencing.
by Alfredo Lamadrid*
There is no doubt that the Internet has become the main axis and the tool par excellence through which a reservation is generated in a hotel and becomes the most used choice by users around the world.
As always tourists are highly sensitive to rates and have found in third-party reservation systems the best price and the best last minute deals.
Travelers consult their smartphones much more, and it is a reality that the use and demand for the telephone reservation number of the hotel and travel agencies continues to decrease rapidly. In an increasingly digital world, it is now nature for most travelers to start searching for a destination from their computer or from a mobile device.
The Internet has made search much easier and faster giving a great power to the buyer to be able to compare rates, services, have access to be able to read positive and negative reviews and of course be able to verify the availability of the hotel, all from the comfort of their home or any other place where they are, independent hotels and chains need to stand out online by customizing their distribution channels in order to attract and maintain the loyalty of its Guests.
To get a steady stream of online bookings, hotels should offer a website that focuses on their brand, property differentiators, offering guests the ability to check rates, room availability, packages, promotions, and finally online shopping.
These sites need to be eye-catching, personalized, and vital to independent properties that lack the power and brand recognition of big chains. It ultimately results in and generates direct bookings, eliminating third-party charges and thus increasing revenue.
They must develop a unique online experience with the creation of a personalized booking engine, hotels must also look beyond booking themselves and think about other online functionalities. A booking engine that can communicate with customers through pre and post-stays by sending emails, booking confirmation, is of great additional benefit to hotels and their Guests.
The figures show the urgency
In 2012, 98.3 million online bookings were generated in the US and the use of smartphones for travel planning and online searches is growing at a staggering rate. A recent US study by comScore found that more than 50% of smartphone users across all platforms had visited travel-related sites. In addition, one in five smartphone users had actually used their device to make a hotel reservation or airline reservations.
Priceline statistics support the theory that mobile bookings and real-time availability should be of much greater importance to the sales team at Hotel Orbitz Worldwide commented that of the total last minute bookings users generate 65% of reservations via smartphone and 15% from a PC or other device.
As a result of the growing trend of travel searches on mobile devices, Orbitz doubled in the last year and a half the number of visitors from 2.5 Million to 5 Million As a result of the adoption of these technologies Brands and independent Hotels are being much more sought after from smartphones.
Definitely this offline is losing the opportunity to compete and losing the great opportunity to generate more bookings and increase sales.
The trend is clear, the use of the internet and smartphones will only continue to increase in the coming years, hotels must have a clear strategy to be 100% online, the general manager, sales team, marketing and especially the technology people, must put a lot of emphasis on the development and improvement of an online booking channel with diversity of functionalities for any type of mobile device, being the goal to deliver a unique experience to the guest clearly generating a tremendous brand differentiator.
* Executive Chairman of PDT Positive Disruptive Thinking Hospitality Guest. Consultant in the field of technology and social media for Hotels and Hospitality. He worked as CIO for the Mexico area at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. opening leader of St. Regis Punta Mita, St. Regis Mexico City & W Mexico City.
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