A guide to visual content for hoteliers

The cliché, “an image is worth a thousand words,” actually has a lot of merit to it. Studies have shown that images communicate a lot more than words in a lot less time, while triggering emotions and being easier to remember. As the web has grown to be more visually stocked, your guests are expecting a visual experience when they interact with your brand.

There’s just one disclaimer: your images need to be relevant to travelers at every point along their purchasing journey. Google has helped hoteliers make sense of the incredibly complex traveler’s journey, organizing it into what they call “micro-moments”—when people turn to a device with intent to answer an immediate need. (Thanks, Google.)

Here’s how they break it down:

Dreaming Moments
Planning Moments
Booking Moments
Experiencing Moments

Creating content that appeals to travelers in each moment provides your hotel a massive opportunity to win their business.

Here, we’ll explore the types of visual content to serve travelers when they’re in each micro-moment described above—and you’ll be on your way to a building a library of content and a relevancy goldmine.

Dreaming Moments

Dreaming moments are when people start thinking about wanting to get away. Here’s your chance to truly inspire travelers.

According to Google, 83% of travelers say social networking, video, and photo sites are their number one source for travel inspiration. Your homepage is an excellent place to inspire travelers, as well as social media content—the advantage here being a light lift and something your hotel can start doing immediately.

Take this Instagram post from Adrift Hotel & Spa. It’s a perfect example of the type of content travelers are looking for when they’re primed to be won over:

An eye-catching photograph and the use of strategic hashtags like #LongBeachWA make this photo discoverable by travelers dreaming of getting away to the Pacific Northwest.

There are some things to keep in mind with content that’s targeted for travelers in this phase of their journey. The first is to avoid using overly branded content or making presumptive asks like “book now.”

Also, stock photos should be kicked to the curb in most phases, but especially at this moment. Authenticity matters and a canned image can easily leave an uninspiring first impression.

Planning Moments

At this point, travelers have an idea of where they want to go, but still need to make up their mind on where to stay and what to do. As a hotel, your aim is to make it on the shortlist of their top places to stay, and now it’s time to convince them you’re the best option.

Use photos to focus in on the unique selling points of your hotel, weaving in real guest stories where possible.

For Adrift, this might include sharing images of The Pickled Fish—a quaint beachfront restaurant located on the top floor—or the complimentary beach cruisers on their hotel’s web gallery.

With a quick visit to Adrift’s gallery or Facebook page, you’ll know it’s a haven for dog (and cat!) lovers. Not only does a post like this one perk the curiosity of a casual onlooker, it’s telling a richer story for the property.

Booking Moments

Yes, the moment of booking!

Here’s when traditional room photos come in handy. Feature images that are relevant to the accommodations that are being booked and ensure that these images are consistent with other areas of your website. The last thing you want someone to do at this point in their journey is feel like you’ve given them false information.

Be mindful of the amount of visual content that you use here. The goal is to get guests through the booking process, not distract them.

Experiencing Moments

Experiences are what travel is all about. These are the moments people cherish and are the ones they’ll want to relive and share with friends & family.

If a pre-stay email is part of your communication strategy, here’s the perfect opportunity to sprinkle in some richer imagery to build excitement for what your soon-to-be guests have in store. Highlight authentic guests stories, local events and businesses, and invite them to join the conversation on your social channels so they can continue to be inspired.

Once they’re on property, invite them to take part in the local community with thoughtful touch points and social shares. Here’s one from Adrift, inviting guests to visit one of their favorite suppliers—a local soap company.

The right image at the right moment can make all the difference on a traveler’s purchase decision. Relevant content in your communication with future, current and past guests is the key in capturing, nurturing and retaining lasting relationships for years to come. And that is what hospitality is all about.

Pro tips: kickstarting a career in the travel industry

When I first joined the hotel marketing world, I was given empowering and inspiring advice from coworkers and friends. Those words of wisdom helped me confidently dive head first into the industry. Now I’d like to pay it forward.

So I tapped the shoulders of coworkers, friends, partners, and mentors to share what they’ve learned along the way and what advice they have for newcomers in the travel industry.

Get the scoop on what they had to say below:

Patrick Grimes
Travel Sales & Marketing Veteran

Patrick has worn many hats in this industry, chiefly because others are quick to recognize his talent and initiative. Patrick’s advice comes from years of dedication to the industry and, of course, really hard (but smart) work.

Sweat every day. Literally or figuratively. Continue to move. When you don’t, you will struggle. Be in the sun. Get and stay uncomfortable.

Dream then do. Stay “creatively focused.” An idea is good but don’t let it wander into an infinite ether. What’s the first thing you need to do to action the idea, then what’s the second? Move forward with what’s worthy of your time and talents.

Go with your gut. Don’t ever second guess yourself and wonder, “Is this right?” Your accomplishments will be the sum of your instinct, ambition, and actions. Do it, then assess and learn.

Shelby Cunningham — Business Development Manager
Navis

Shelby is an industry vet who truly practices what she preaches. She promotes and embraces the philosophy that partnerships are give and take, never hesitating to lend a helping hand when needed.

I would give myself a twist on one of my favorite travel quotes—‘voyage, travel, and change of place impart vigor’—and recommend that I truly embrace all the passion that this industry holds—within each company vision, within the people who bring travel to life for others, and within each conference, partnership, and new friendship found.

This passion, this ‘vigor,’ this energy is what propels my commitment to continuing to grow and learn as a person, a fellow industry employee, and a participant in travel itself.

Chris Kane — Account Director of Leisure Sales
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin

Chris’s advice on networking should be heeded, not just because it’s correct, but because it’s coming from an expert. There are networkers in this industry, and then there’s Chris Kane. But don’t watch him work a room…you should be networking instead!

For those just starting out—try to intern whenever possible. It’s a great way to get your foot in the door, learn a new skill set and of course hopefully lead to a paying job. Companies like to hire from within and what a better way to put yourself out there as a candidate.

NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! You never know what doors can open by networking and getting to know your travel industry peers. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know that gets you up in the travel industry ladder that much faster.

Avoid burning bridges with travel industry peers, bosses, and executives. You never know in your next steps down the career path whom you could be working with/for!

Find a mentor whenever possible. Their career experience and insight can be a huge asset to your own development, plus free first-hand education.

Wade Lindquist — Vice President of Sales
Tambourine

I met Wade at the ROC conference in New Orleans and became quick friends! He’s been in the industry for over 15 years and has a wealth of experience in hospitality sales and marketing.

If I knew back in the early 2000’s what I know today I would have:

1. Gone to college with an emphasis in hospitality.

2. Started helping hotels realize that they can directly market and compete against the OTA’s much earlier in my career—and might have been able to put a dent in their reliance on OTA’s several years earlier.

However, I could not be happier to be where I am today. I’m more passionate than ever about what I do and the industry I am blessed to be able to call my home!

Lola Feiger — Digital Marketing
ALICE

ALICE & Flip.to always find each other in the same room at the industry’s biggest hospitality events. And when you’re in a room full of incredible talent, you meet great people—and that’s where we met Lola.

It would have been helpful to know early on that it’s good to experiment at the start to find your highest performing channel, but then you should narrow your focus quickly. Channels we focused a lot of resources on, like social media and paid social, wound up not being very useful for us, as hotel decision makers don’t spend a lot of time there.

I’d also tell newcomers that if they’re considering outsourcing their PR to professionals, they should direct the PR team’s attention primarily to getting mainstream consumer press and industry event speaking invitations, since running press releases and publishing in the hotel trades can be easily done on your own.

Sam Trotter — Corporate Brand Strategist
Charlestowne Hotels

When he’s not writing for HNN or working on marketing campaigns for Charlestowne Hotels, he’s welcoming newcomers to the industry with a beer and friendly conversations.

For your long term career having a big name matters often times more than your experience. I come from a family of small businesses and have always been too entrepreneurial for that type of environment, but missing that recognizable brand held me back from positions I was more than qualified for earlier on in my career.

I would recommend camping out at Google/Salesforce/Amazon/etc. until someone agrees to hire you!

Scott Robbins — Director of Sales & Marketing
The LA Hotel Downtown

Scott has spent the last 15 years mastering the world of sales and marketing at independent and branded properties. He’s sharp, persistent, and always answers his phone!

Working for a branded property (Marriott, Hilton) can give an individual wonderful experience in sales 101, but when it comes to marketing, that area tends to elude sales folks in the beginning of their careers since the branded properties have departments and dedicated folks that focus solely on the marketing side of the business.

The biggest exposure to the marketing arena is working for an independent property whereas one will have to manage the marketing side without the assistance of a Global office or individuals dedicated to the different facets of marketing such as social media, print/digital advertising, geo-fencing, etc.

I believe that any sales professional looking to make hospitality a career, should venture and learn the basics of marketing at the start of their journey or at least understand how important marketing is to the sales engine of any hotel.

Do you have a marketing tip you’d like to share? We’re alway looking to spread the word to newcomers! Send us your advice to hello@flip.to.

Flip.to and Fuel partner to uncover hotel website essentials in new 2017 study

It’s safe to say in 2017 that the importance of a well-designed and well-maintained hotel website cannot be overstated. A quick Google search will reveal ample research and data to validate that the website is arguably one of the most important weapons in a hotel marketers arsenal.

So much so, that it can be both informative and overwhelming all at once.

That’s why Flip.to teamed up with Fuel, an industry leader in hotel marketing, to reach out to thousands of travelers to better understand what it is about the hotel website experience that matters most. Because in the end, nothing trumps empirical data when it comes to managing precious marketing dollars. (And your website is not worth the gamble.)

Key insights you’ll gain:

First impressions matter. The travel buyer is willing to spend time searching but would prefer not to. The study reveals what those search patterns are and how the crafty marketer is addressing them.
Which sources are the most influential in the travel decision-making process?
What elements of the hotel website are the most important to the guest?
Are loyalty programs important and what program benefits matter most?
How important is price when shopping and, more importantly, how can hotels address this without giving away the house?

Click through to download the full summary of the findings here:

Download here

Plus, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to reach out to us at hello@flip.to with your ideas on the study—or anything travel marketing related!

Stories matter: what hotels can learn from content marketers at large

Forrester defines content marketing as:

“A marketing strategy where brands create interest, relevance and relationships with customers by producing, curating and sharing content that addresses specific customer needs and delivers visible value.”

Notice that it’s more than just creating content to put in front of your guests. It’s creating effective content with a purpose—to educate and inspire.

And when it comes to this strategy, in particular, hoteliers can take cues from brands across every industry. From the most extreme examples like Red Bull TV to the more subtle like Leadpages, they all have one thing is common: incredible content marketing and storytelling.

The case for better content

There’s no shortage of content out there on the internet. Just about everyone is creating it. But is it effective? It’s critical to measure if your content marketing is working. To do this, you need to define what success is from the start. What metrics are important to your hotel? What are the wins (both large and small) to get you there?

Without a clear plan in place, it’s easy to fall into a trap of creating more content rather than creating content that’s actually effective at meeting your goals. Remember the endgame here—create interest, relevance and relationships with your guests.

According to Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer at MarketingProfs, there’s no one way to do just that. But she does offer a few suggestions to consider for your next piece:

Focus on empathy and experiences
Focus on relevant and inspiring stories
Focus on making it useful

Great content = Useful x Empathic x Inspirational

It’s important to note that all three factors are needed. Without one, the system (and it’s effectiveness) fails.

The case for storytelling

The medium you use to distribute your work and even what you define as useful or relevant is completely dependent on your brand, guests and business goals. For hoteliers, in particular, stories have an important role to play.

Stories help build powerful connections with guests, creating loyalty and trust that can make a hotel stand out from the competition. Let’s dig into why.

Stories are useful

For centuries, humans have told stories to share information and teach important lessons. Over time they shape our perceptions and beliefs, whether that’s about individuals, food, political views, or even your hotel.

As your story is cultivated, it develops into a powerful means for future travelers to learn about your hotel and the experiences your property has to offer in an authentic way. When all of these things come together, that’s when your guest is ready to book.

Stories are empathetic

Your guests are the core characters of your hotel’s story and they have relevance to the people they know—future travelers perfect for your hotel. It’s hard for these prospective guests to identify with a building. But your guests’ perspectives offer an authentic connection that resonates. They’ll breathe life into your hotel with messages that traditional advertising can’t touch.

Don’t just take my word for it. Robert McKee, regarded as one of the best brand storytellers, said in this interview, “When a story stars a consumer, there’s a kind of natural empathy. That character is a human being, just like me.”

Stories are inspirational

Stories engage consumers, pulling them in to participate in the conversation, rather than telling them what to think. Plus, stories evoke emotions, and emotions inspire us to take action.

Just remember that authenticity matters here. Travelers see right through content that’s not authentic and you’re running the risk of losing valuable credibility with your audience.

Brands across every industry recognize that storytelling is an effective avenue for marketing. It captures what today’s consumers want: useful, empathetic and inspirational content. For the hospitality industry, adapting this mindset while enlisting the help of your guests will be a win-win for your hotel.

Hospitality headlines: the massive growth of Airbnb and what it means for hoteliers

Airbnb is big in media, sweeping the airwaves and grabbing a huge share of attention across the web. But one topic in particular is close to home for hoteliers—a new Morgan Stanley report on their incredible growth from 2016 into the new year. It’s hit every news outlet in the hospitality sector and beyond, from Skift, to Tnooz, to Bloomberg.

According to the new report, Airbnb currently holds about 18–19% market penetration in the accommodation sector (up from 12% last year,) and is expected to grow to 23-25% over the course of the year. It’s being felt in both leisure and corporate travel, with nearly a fifth of both types being hosted by an Airbnb member.

The bottom line, hoteliers are feeling the pressure. But what else? OTAs aren’t. Tnooz reports that according to Morgan Stanley, almost half of respondents shifted stays away from traditional hotels, with the same outlook on the horizon for 2017.

What’s interesting is that this is a decidedly different message than the same Morgan Stanley report on Airbnb a year prior stating that, “we don’t see Airbnb materially impacting the hotel industry,” and, “Airbnb’s threat to the OTAs is larger and multifaceted.”

So why is the demand for Airbnb coming out of the pockets of hotels and not online travel agencies? OTAs have the tech and capital to keep up.

OTAs have big marketing budgets to compete for travelers’ attention at the moment of booking.

Add to this the ability to grow and develop their own alternative accommodations, and the OTAs are ready.

Take Expedia. In 2015, Expedia paid $3.9 billion for HomeAway, an Airbnb-like home rental platform, and in the same year also purchased Orbitz. In all, Expedia reported revenue increasing 33% last quarter.

Hoteliers have a competitive edge

The good news is that hoteliers can compete with Airbnb and OTAs. Here are some tips hoteliers should consider for regaining the attention of travelers making the switch to alternative accommodations.

Be the local expert. Travel has always been deeply rooted in experiences. Who better to guide the local experience that your hotel is a part of than your team on the ground? Use your onsite employees for perspective when communicating with guests. Plus, develop close partnerships with local businesses to offer guests unique experiences that satisfy their curiosity to explore new places.
Make your communication personal. Travelers have been pelted with marketing jargon—so much so that many are tuning it out. Hospitality thrives because of the personal relationships hosts build with their guests. Bring your staff to light. Make the communication in your digital experience the same level of personalized service you provide on site.
Compete for travelers’ attention long before they’re ready to book. Travel decisions start well before a person is ready to buy, yet there’s a huge amount of advertising effort (and dollars) spent here. Use this as an opportunity to target inspiring content to travelers long before it’s time to purchase. The inspiration and discovery phases are a prime opportunity to make an impression and hook future travelers.

Airbnb is here to stay. But hotels still have their own competitive edge. It’s important for hoteliers to play up those strengths and build on the personal relationships that define hospitality.

If you come across any articles you’d like us to feature on our next rundown let us know!

Favorites from the Flip.to blog: Our top picks from 2016

2016 was an exciting twelve months here at Flip.to. We jumped headfirst into video and launched some amazing product. Here on the blog, we shared some interesting musings, too. As this year comes to a close, take a look back at a selection of just some of our favorites.

Stories that inspire: Our favorite guest moments

This monthly series featuring guest stories from hotels worldwide has become a regular favorite for our readers. We’ve fallen in love with these stories (and it seems you have, too)! We could pick any of a number of posts, but we’ll go back to August featuring the sights of summer.

See August’s Top Picks

Flip.to on the road: CHIEF Conference

The CHIEF Conference set on the pristine sands of the Caribbean was one of the highlight-worthy moments of 2016. It was a mix of great insights and great people. Read on as Ed shares his “Flip.to superlatives” after meeting some incredible industry leaders.

Meet the industry’s best

Introducing: Photo Explorer (our first video!)

It’s been a big year for us in video. We’ve covered it a few times on our blog, but there’s something special about the first.

Look back at Photo Explorer

The hotelier’s essentials for big name competition

We ❤ our friends. So when they have a chance to sit in on our blog, it’s something special. Jason Winberg joined to share a bit of his knowledge on finding the right tools to let hoteliers compete.

Open up the tool box

The election, the social media echo chamber and what it means for hotels

Authenticity matters, as does relevancy and truth in advertising. When this was made relevant in the going-ons outside of the hospitality industry, the President weighed in.

Cast your opinion

Canning spam: Relevancy, graymail, and the path to better communication for hotels

Unwanted email is something everyone can relate to. That’s why Richard Dunbar took this deep dive into defining spam, and helping hotels unearth better communication with their guests.

Learn how to can spam

Winning at experiential travel: combining data and storytelling to compel your guests

This piece was originally featured on the blog of our friends at NAVIS. We’re both passionate about data, stories and how they come together to make a big impact for hotels.

Read on

Watch now: Spark worldwide conversations with the excitement of travel

When you strike up compelling conversations with your guests across their entire guest journey, it means a richer experience for your guests, and a growing team of advocates for your hotel. Watch more in another video favorite from 2016.

Play now

Flip.to on the road: Flat Ricky’s HITEC debut

One Ricky just wasn’t enough, so Flat Ricky made his first appearance at HITEC 2016. We soon found out that he had a taste for the bayou nightlife, and the case of #MissingFlatRicky was born…

Meet Flat Ricky

What were your favorite stories from 2016? Drop us a note to let us know. In the meantime, enjoy the final hours as this year comes to a close. We look forward to kicking off 2017 in full force!

The election, the social media echo chamber and what it means for hotels

In the last few days, news (fake or real) has become a focus thanks to a little event we call the presidential election.

The impact that social media had in the outcome is beginning to come to light, especially as it relates to the distribution of fake news stories.

You may be reading this wondering, “Why isn’t more being done about this?” The truth is handling the situation is a pretty tricky line to walk. Much of the focus has been on just how different liberal and conservative people saw content. So, why is this?

We can break what you see in your news feed down into two categories:

Organic News Feed posts
Paid News Feed posts (advertising)

Let’s start with organic posts.

You may have heard a reference to the echo chamber effect. This is something we at Flip.to are very familiar with. It’s the core reason advocacy is an effective means to influence travelers. Let’s look at why.

Social Media sites like Facebook allow users to self-select friends and sites they find interesting. The result? We’re friends with and follow sites that have strong similarities with our own views and backgrounds. Naturally, we’re presented with content in our news feed from these sources that is very narrow in scope and tends to be in line with what we already believe.

This is not algorithmic witchcraft. It’s actually common sense. We collect friends along the way, and we’re friends with those people because of some like-minded similarities.

Unlike real life, social media allows us to stop following friends who post things we don’t like. People are more likely to do this on social sites than they are during live in-person interactions.

Why? The other person generally has no idea you stopped following them (so we don’t feel so bad doing it). So in our social media lives as least, this creates a laser-focused set of people with similar beliefs and interests continuously feeding related content to each other.

It falls into an ethical gray area to ask companies like Facebook or Google to intervene with content shared organically. This quickly gets into big-brother-type censorship that (left or right)—we all want to avoid.

It falls into an ethical gray area to ask companies like Facebook or Google to intervene with content shared organically. This quickly gets into big-brother-type censorship that (left or right)—we all want to avoid. We’re all responsible for understanding that just because something is on the internet, it’s not necessarily based on fact.

Now let’s switch gears to paid News Feed posts, or in other words—advertising.

Here is where companies like Facebook and Google can make an impact. They’ve created an environment where advertisers target audiences through very specific data points. (Say, things we’ve liked or searched for.) This puts content in front of us that we are likely to find relevant or positive.

This actually makes the bubble we live in even smaller since we’re only exposed to paid content that is based on our own self-selection and is likely to appeal to us. Coupled with the content we’re already seeing organically as explained above, and—well you get the picture.

Moderating these posts will not be an easy task. Any action in restricting advertisers due to content will be a challenging balancing act. Lets face it, most news these days has a strong amount of point of view or opinion interlaced with facts. So who is to judge what is real news and fake news?

You can actually see this firsthand by looking at this article by the Wall Street Journal. It illustrates the stark contrast of how information on the same topic is presented by different sources to different audiences. It’s easy to see the side-by-side difference between News Feed articles shared by different “blue” and “red” followers. Depicted posts are sorted based on if they are shared more by those with liberal or conservative behaviors.

Facebook has stepped up to the task, announcing several steps they’re testing to battle misinformation both to provide more accurate information as well as protect the integrity of the platform. Facebook’s CEO outlined a plan of stronger detection, news verification and user warnings in an announcement made on his personal Facebook page:

So what does all of this mean to a hotel? Opportunity!

For one thing, we’ve learned from the echo chamber effect that you should speak to the friends & family of your guests the same way you speak to your existing guests. They share similar social and economic status, making them a targeted audience who are likely to make similar decisions (like booking your hotel). Do this right and ultimately it will lead to higher conversion for your hotel.

The bottom line? Authenticity matters, as does relevancy and truth in advertising.

The bottom line? Authenticity matters, as does relevancy and truth in advertising. The best marketing combines the three and gets the right content in front of the right people. Do that and everyone wins (Facebook and Google will love you for it too).

Canning spam: Relevancy, graymail, and the path to better communication for hotels

Unwanted email is something everyone can relate to. We’ve all been on the receiving end of what’s universally labeled as “spam.” Spam has become such an issue that it’s received intense, global legislative attention. While this has benefited consumers, it’s led many hotel marketers to err on the side of caution—what is spam? Too much email? In reality, this should beg the bigger question, “How do I better communicate with my guests?”

First, let’s look at Google’s definition of spam:

“Irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent on the Internet to a large number of recipients”

The key term in that definition is “irrelevant.” So, to try to prevent content from being flagged as spam, many marketers simply send fewer emails.

And sure, timing is important, but I’ll ask you this—when did relevancy come to be synonymous with quantity?

To some degree, what constitutes spam is ultimately the subjective opinion of the recipient. That makes it challenging for marketers to know definitively whether what they’re sending out will strike a chord or not.

Enter “graymail.” HubSpot defines graymail as “email you opted in to receive, but don’t really want.” (So blurred have the lines become that we needed a term for that in-between message that maybe you want, but not necessarily right now.)

Graymail isn’t necessarily spam, but it’s also not especially relevant to your customers either. In fact, email providers are often able to treat graymail differently from spam even though consumers are still not likely at all to engage with those messages.

For this reason, as marketers, it’s clear that how you communicate with your guests is equally important as what you’re saying.

For hotels this can be accomplished through real personalization, (more than just “Hi [firstname],”) and by considering where the guest is in his or her relationship with the property. For example:

Suppose you have a past guest from about a year ago that booked direct with you at a standard rate. From your post-stay communication, you know they enjoyed their stay. Here’s a common situation for hoteliers. Let’s take inventory of what you know:

Past guest = name, email address (possibly more)
Travel dates + booking dates = planning window
Standard rate = no discounting; they booked for intrinsic value
Overall a satisfied guest = no clear reason NOT to come back

We’ve learned a LOT— I’m only scratching the surface of what most hotels actually know. (Especially if you’re employing a CRM.)

However, what typically happens is this guest goes into a database, starts receiving the exact same emails as everyone else, and becomes progressively less interested until they eventually unsubscribe and start shopping around.

Instead, they could have been spoken to in a way that acknowledges the things they’ve told you and infuses them into your communication. And this is just a single example.

Whether it’s a past guest or a potential future guest, each may be at a different point in their relationship with your hotel. Once your messaging is on point, email volume doesn’t matter nearly as much because what you’re saying is relevant to your standing with the guest/prospect.

Understanding and expressing this through your communication is key to canning spam.

Hotels vs. OTAs: the issue isn’t what you think it is

At Flip.to, we’re constantly working with people in the industry that inspire us. Here’s a special post from our own team member, originally featured on LinkedIn Pulse. Looking to collaborate? Get in touch and let’s do something amazing together.

It’s virtually impossible to read hospitality headlines nowadays without seeing at least one piece on how hotels can “take back control” from OTAs. A noble pursuit indeed but do hotels know what sort of “control” it is they’re trying to take back? I would argue the answer to that is no in most cases.

Let’s look quickly at what OTAs are designed to do and why they’re good at it. OTAs are conversion machines. They bring in massive amounts of traffic and then excel at converting that traffic into room nights, car rentals, airline tickets, etc.

They’re able to do this because they’re better at getting consumer attention than hotels are and their websites are better at selling than hotel websites are.

Expedia spent, collectively across all of its brands, nearly $3 billion on marketing in 2014. If they’re willing to put that kind of money into the marketing aethers then it’s a sure bet they’re serious about converting that traffic when it lands on their sites.

Beyond that they’ve also invested heavily in keeping those customers coming back. They’ve accomplished this through a loyalty program, long-term nurturing, and a purchasing/discovery experience that favors the user. Not one of these three things is beyond the ability of any hotel reading this.

In most cases when I read these articles about wresting control from the OTAs the focus is on share of revenue and room nights. How can hotels shift more of that into their ecosystem? The issue with this “control” narrative is that it’s focused on symptoms and not the causal factors mentioned above.

Share of attention

As a hotel, it can be overwhelming trying to compete for the fleeting attention of travelers. Never before in human history have so many sources been competing for a person’s attention. OTAs are good at this because they have scale and budget. They can be in most places the consumer cares about, but not everywhere.

For hotels this means competing in spaces where OTAs are not yet part of the equation, and via means unavailable to them. To achieve this the hotel needs to be in front of the guest before that person is even in the travel-planning mindset. It’s better to stand out early than to be part of an arbitrary sorting algorithm on a third-party website.

On top of this, social media is so underutilized by hotels it’s hard to believe it’s actually 2016. This is a low-cost platform that can drive massive value for the guest both pre- and post-stay and yet more often than not I see hotels sending people there versus collecting traffic from those sites.

Experiences designed to sell

OTAs are good at selling. They’re really, really good. That’s because they don’t really care that much about which product someone buys, just that they buy any product while they’re on their site. That’s their advantage, money notwithstanding.

Conversely, for the average independent hotel, they have a single product to offer. Sure there are different rate plans, add-ons, packages, etc. In the end though the guest can only buy that single experience. That being the case, why is it that most hotel websites feel and function like digital billboards? It’s like, “hey, you’re in my shop but here’s an ad for my shop anyway.”

Bulleted amenity lists, professional photos of rooms, and canned descriptions of the product abound. It’s incumbent upon the hotel to nurture that visitor down the path to becoming a guest. Hotels can provide insight into the experience the guest can expect unlike any OTA possibly can.

Remember, the OTA is putting piles of hotels in front of the consumer. That person is there for options.

When a potential guest lands on a hotel’s website something has already grabbed her attention and she’s interested. Give her something worth her time, not a product spec sheet.

And on the subject of time, the importance of design cannot be overstated. Imagine if, instead of feeling like work, learning about a hotel was an experience in and of itself. An experience that’s just a taste of what the guest can expect during a stay.

That’s the sort of “control” that wins the day. Winning more share of attention and designing experiences that convert will ensure more business comes direct. But it has to be earned, not taken back.

Travel Trends that Matter: Insight from Flip.to and GCommerce

At HITEC we collaborated with Google and GCommerce to discuss up-and-coming travel marketing trends. Hosted at La Louisiane of New Orleans Hotel Collection French Quarter fame, it was an incredible opportunity to share what’s driving hospitality today. Guest experience, content marketing and personalization were the topics at hand. Explore more below from Chris Jackson, GCommerce President & Partner, and myself. Enjoy!

Richard Dunbar and Chris Jackson give their presentations on emerging travel marketing trends.

Travel Trends that Matter By Richard Dunbar, Flip.to Director of Partnerships

Travel Trends that Matter with Flip.to from Steve Stevenson

Hotels are facing a set of competing interests in the market that enjoy the benefits of large budgets, ability to scale, and share of consumers’ attention. These competing interests have invested heavily in designing user experiences that keep consumers engaged throughout the planning process, ultimately converting more business.

OTAs and sharing sites such as AirBnB are spending massive amounts of money to capture and retain share of attention, driving interested shoppers into compelling experiences that are designed to convert.

To combat this, it’s imperative that hotels focus their efforts to be in the places where OTAs and sharing sites are not strong. These are the low-cost, high-reach channels where hotels have a competitive advantage. The tools of that game are:

Guest advocacy
Nurturing past guests
Content marketing

Content marketing uses a hotel’s intimate knowledge of the destination but combined with guest advocacy it can be massively amplified. Content can be crowdsourced, and the potential exposure can be exponentially magnified.

This also helps to address the precipitous decline in organic reach via social channels like Facebook. User-generated content, shared by the user, means hotels are able to reach an audience far beyond the typical means.

Combined, these strategies ensure hotels can reach and inspire guests at the right time and in the right way. Aspiration and experience are the key competitive advantages in today’s market.

Hospitality marketing trends that matter by Chris Jackson, GCommerce President & Partner

HITEC 2016 – Travel Trends that Matter with Google, GCommerce, & Flip.to from Steve Stevenson

Rising Cost per Acquisition

Phenomenal growth won’t hide your rising cost per acquisition (CPA) any longer, so it is critical to understand and manage your CPA. How can you combat a rising CPA? Adjust your KPIs and the way you measure them:

Measure holistically
Measure on an attribution model
Measure from an online & offline perspective
Evaluate your data to see what works and what does not
Regain control of your inventory and pricing
Understand and determine your appropriate media mix

Predictive Analytics

Accurately predict customer behavior and buying patterns, and as a result, predict demand through Predictive Analytics.

Collective and shared data is far more powerful and useful than a single data report on a single hotel. Consider who you can partner with – airlines, golf clubs, spas, retail providers and your local tourism marketing board are all contenders.

Personalization

Connect with your audience! Focus less on selling your product and focus more on telling a story – sell the experience.

Micro-Moments

Billions of times per day, consumers turn to their search engine browser on their phone for “I want to know”, “I want to go”, “I want to do”, and “I want to buy” moments. Be prepared and targeted in your marketing efforts for when your product is presented during a micro-moment.

GCommerce is a digital marketing agency that works closely with hotel, resort, casino and restaurant clients to develop everything from website design to social media campaigns. Be sure to visit their site to learn more about their services and explore their work.