HotelTech Archives - Flip.to Blog

Resort Data Processing and Flip.to announce new preferred partnership: bringing high-performance operations and advocacy together to boost revenue

December 11, 2018 — Vail, CO — Leading property management software, Resort Data Processing (RDP), and Flip.to, the advocacy marketing platform, are proud to announce a new partnership to help hotels, resorts, vacation rentals and travel brands worldwide grow booking potential and win more travelers.

RDP and Flip.to bring unique solutions to travel

Flip.to is reimagining hotel marketing with a powerful platform that lets travelers share the high points of their experiences with the travel brand at the center of the story. This taps into the warmest, most receptive audience yet, while tracking back all the impact, driving revenue and creating a lifelong return traveler base.

Paired with RDP’s latest update in property management software, RDPWinV5, the ability to earn impact and grow revenue for your property with these new tools is easier than ever, enhancing technology and marketing stacks with solutions built for the 21st century hospitality industry.

This seamless partnership will amplify the impact of your PMS solutions. With RDP, data is readily actioned to build impact for your property—from easy-to-run, premade reports to SQL access for super-users.

In fact, RDP allows segmentation for your campaigns by many metrics such as prior dates of stay, guest type, region, source of business, nightly revenue, and many more.

This pairs easily with the advocacy platform, building richer profiles that help build stronger relationships with guests and travelers. And together with the Flip.to platform, is proven to increase bookings, as well as return guests reservations.

Get in touch

With RDP, travel marketers get back to spending time putting heads in beds, we will handle the rest. Get in touch at http://www.resortdata.com for a walk through.

Spark interest in your property with Flip.to, today. To learn more about the impact of advocacy for your resort, hotel, vacation rental or destination, take a tour.

2018 Hospitality Technology Study, uniting hotelier and vendor technology perspectives, now available worldwide

Fuel Travel, StayNTouch and Flip.to examine technology trends to better align suppliers with industry wants and needs

ORLANDO, FL — July 19, 2018 — Fuel Travel, StayNTouch and Flip.to have partnered to launch a new study that examines perspectives from hoteliers and suppliers on industry technology. First debuted exclusively for attendees of the HITEC Hospitality Technology Show in June, the results are now being distributed globally.

The study surveyed hoteliers and suppliers to learn how the industry can improve from a technology perspective, with key takeaways for readers from both groups:

For hospitality decision-makers, the results provide guidance on the latest technology trends, as well as opportunities to invest valuable resources for growth.
For suppliers, the study informs ideas on the most pressing technology issues facing the hotel industry today.

With data surveyed from 358 respondents—all responsible for purchasing or selling technology in hospitality—the study is unique from other research in that it goes beyond standard reporting to identify similarities and differences in priorities for where the industry and travel technology should be headed.

Overall, the results showed many positive indicators that hoteliers and suppliers are closely aligned.

Take, for instance, considerations for a new PMS. The factors which were “most important” for respondents from both groups fell in sync, with ease of use and seamless integration topping the list. In fact, the need for improved integration between existing products garnered a strong consensus from respondents. Guest experience was also a top priority.

Frewoini Golla, Director of Marketing for StayNTouch noted why findings like this are so critical for industry growth. “Better understanding where priorities lie helps vendors stay in tune with the challenges our customers are responsible for, and how we can serve their needs while topping their goals.”

Other areas where the study reported similarities and differences include factors influencing marketing spend, perspectives on new and emerging technology, and the process for considering new technology purchases.

Stuart Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Fuel Travel said of the results, “As vendors of this space, our eyes are fixed on the trajectory of travel technology and marketing, so having a better understanding of the wants and needs of those in the front-lines of hospitality really helps us all get better together.”

Richard Dunbar, Director of Partnerships at Flip.to echoed this sentiment. “It’s really important that we focus on helping our customers and all of the industry move the needle. The results of this survey have opened up a really compelling dialogue to grow the industry, today.”

To get your free copy of 2018 Hospitality Technology Study, download it here.

Opt in (to better marketing): the real intent of GDPR

There’s only days left until the May 25th deadline for GDPR compliance. Since our primer last month, we’ve continued to put a lot of thought into the regulation, its role in the marketing landscape, and traveler-focused approaches.

That’s also meant making observations on how marketers the world around are handling it, too. Today, we got a fresh face on camera—Max, one of our front-end developers—to share some of our thoughts about one of the more rigorous aspects of GDPR compliance: opt-in and consents.

The bottom line: the intent of GDPR is to make us all better marketers. Steer clear of less-than-stellar methods that don’t treat your travelers’ data with care. A good rule? Practice the same hospitality your property or brand provides during their visit in the digital world, too.

By shifting not only your marketing strategy but also your approach to handling traveler interactions online, you’ll build a more engaged audience than ever before—and that’s a great thing.

Want to talk about leveling up your marketing and starting better conversations with travelers (before or beyond May 25)? Give us a shout.

We’re excited to become better marketers together!

NAVIS Leaders Conference 2018: Hidden treasures

Earlier this month, we got to participate in the NAVIS Leaders Conference 2018 at the Tradewinds Resort in St. Pete Beach—just a short drive from Flip.to’s home base in Orlando.

From on-point presentations to opportunities to connect with some pretty amazing people, NLC left its attendees with incredible insights that truly got to the heart of hospitality marketing. Thanks to NAVIS for a fantastic event and the chance to take part!

Check out the video below for my highlights, including the winners of our Hidden Treasures story contest—thank you to everyone who shared stories!

We love shaking up the hospitality marketing scene alongside folks like NAVIS (and in beautiful locations like Tradewinds). We can’t wait for next year’s event!

Flip.to joins OPMA, together sparking new conversations in travel marketing

Advocacy platform pairs with Onsite Rental Management Association to foster education and partnerships in the diverse vacation rental market

ORLANDO, FL — February 14, 2018 — Flip.to—the advocacy marketing platform that helps reach, inspire and convert travelers worldwide—announced its membership with the Onsite Property Management Association (OPMA), a nonprofit and advocate for the rental management and condo hotel sectors representing a select 53,000 resort accommodation units. Flip.to will work in tandem with a collection of minds together aimed at bettering the travel space.

Flip.to is thrilled to be joining the OPMA’s exclusive roster of 37 suppliers personally invited to share membership with management companies across the US and globally who are focused on shaping the landscape of hospitality marketing and growing the industry as a whole. OPMA provides a network of partnerships, educational opportunities and a forum for cooperative efforts to advance the rental market, emphasizing collective growth and mutual support.

“It’s easy to see where OPMA and Flip.to are aligned, with advocacy a cornerstone to both our identities,” said OPMA Chief Marketing Strategist John Dalton about Flip.to. “Likewise, they have a drive to constantly improve marketing as we know it today. The Flip.to team has a deep understanding of not only the travel industry, but also the specific marketing challenges rental managers face daily, so we’re glad to welcome them on board,” said Dalton.

The Flip.to platform empowers guests to share the high points of their stay throughout their traveler journey. Along the way, travelers introduce family and friends to resorts and vacation properties in an authentic and trusted way, reaching new audiences at an incredible scale—ahead of competitors and other dominant players. The platform earns and tracks new bookings while growing brand awareness, web traffic and warm leads.

Flip.to has made strides in enhancing the marketing efforts of hospitality providers across the travel industry, seeing incredible success in the vacation rental market. Corporate Director of Sales and Marketing, Maurice Arbelaez, of Millenium Management Corporation—founding member of OPMA and fellow customer of Flip.to—echoed this sentiment along with the value of membership for the advocacy platform.

“Flip.to is an example of an industry partner providing incredible value, promoting authentic perspectives on the resort from a trusted source—our travelers. This is key for professional management companies like Millenium who uphold the highest level of service, guest experience, and infrastructure,” said Arbelaez.

“Likewise, these are the values that define OPMA, which is why their organization is key in helping leaders in our industry maintain these standards. We’re excited to work together with partners who not only provide top-notch solutions that help highlight these clear differences, but also share a mutual interest in bettering the industry as a whole.”

Flip.to kicked off their participation with a speaking session at OPMA’s 2017 leadership summit late last year. On attending, Richard Dunbar, Director of Partnerships at Flip.to, said, “We saw firsthand the significant value of membership with OPMA, from learning even more about the challenges within the industry to forming new connections and partnerships with those who hold a shared vision for the rental market. As we look forward to seeing the strides OPMA continues to make for rental management companies around the world, we’re excited to now be a part of it!”

To learn more about OPMA membership and its efforts within the rental management and condo hotel industry, visit www.theopma.org or contact John Dalton at jdalton@theopma.org.

To learn how Flip.to is helping vacation rentals reach, inspire and convert travelers each and every day, see who we’re working with.

We asked: HomeAway boosts fees for 2018—but what’s the cost?

If you’re at all tuned into news circling the vacation rental industry, it was hard to miss HomeAway’s announcement on new 2018 fees making waves last week. We first came across it in Amy Hinote’s latest piece on VRM Intel.

The tldr:

HomeAway will increase subscription fees 25% (from $399 to $499 per listing)
In addition to this increase, for direct bookings from guests who previously used HomeAway in their travel research, they’ll charge a 10% transactional fee

In other words, for direct bookings made where HomeAway can attribute similar searches on their websites, they stand to take a piece of the pie—what they’re calling performance credit for “off-platform” bookings. Amy sums the cost increase in a way that puts it in perspective: this adds up to over $700k from an average vacation rental management company managing 250 properties.

But in the long term, what’s this big news really mean for rental managers at large?

Now that the initial story has had a little time to settle, we asked around to some of our friends (and foremost authorities in the industry) to see their initial thoughts, and recommendations for a path forward.

Take a peek at their insights below:

Alex Husner, CMO, Condo-World Resort Properties

“While I understand the reasoning behind wanting to prevent leakage of bookings off HomeAway’s platform, the most recent announcement has the potential to be a paradigm shift for what is deemed acceptable in vacation rental/OTA partnerships. HomeAway is learning from Expedia’s early days and is working to apply this hindsight as quickly as possible. Had technology been as advanced years ago as it is now, Expedia would have asked to match back email addresses/dates and to be paid a commission for any bookings that originated from a search on their site. Could Expedia do that now with their hotel clients? Sure…but the hotel/OTA relationships are far too involved and strained at this point to attempt something like that. HomeAway is still at a relatively new stage in their relationships with VRMs, many of whom are highly vested in the company from both a software and advertising perspective and consider themselves at mercy to any changes the company wants to make.

Between the addition of the booking fee a couple years ago, to removing the ability for VRMs to communicate with guests during the booking process, and now implementing a match back process to automatically recoup any bookings made off platform — HomeAway is making it hard for both guests and VRMs to want to do business with them. With this newest announcement, VRMs could potentially pay double commission and LOSE money if a guest searches on HomeAway but then books on another OTA. (Example: 10% to HomeAway and 15% to Booking.com = 25%… which is well above the average commission fee for most PMs).

Removing the ability to communicate with guests has also been troublesome for us—if HomeAway were to truly facilitate the booking from start to finish, we would have no problem with not being able to communicate with the guest. But to provide a lead—and then restrict what information can be sent, and how it can be sent—creates a customer service and operational nightmare.

Total OTA revenue only makes up 3% of Condo-World’s annual sales— but there are many in our industry who rely specifically on HomeAway/VRBO for up to 70% of their sales. All of our listings are pay-per-booking, so we are going to continue on with 2018 as normal and then evaluate the true effect of these changes at the end of the year.”

Stuart Butler, COO, Fuel Travel

“This is a greedy move and one that could backfire. There’s no way I will recommend that my clients participate in this new model. The notion that HomeAway claims 10% commission for bookings where a consumer at some point made a search on HomeAway is nonsense. We know that consumers shop around and look at the same property on multiple sites. What if they all did the same thing? Imagine if a consumer finds your property on the local CVB site, then shops you on HomeAway, TripAdvisor, and another local portal, before finally booking on your own website. Are you to give 10% commission to all four of those touch points? What if they also saw a retargeting ad for your property and that vendor also took another 10%?

My advice for rental managers is to boycott HomeAway. Spend your time crafting an amazing book direct strategy by creating a frictionless, mobile-first booking experience, applying psychological sales tactics through the funnel, and providing unique value and incentives to guests who book direct.”

Matt Raab, Director of eCommerce, Sterling Resorts

“I believe the move is intended to drive PMs away from their subscription program and onto their pay per booking program. When Expedia took over it was expected that the way HomeAway collects revenue would eventually mirror Expedia. The transition started with the introduction of pay per booking, then elimination of subscription levels, and now the latest changes. Within a year or two subscriptions either will not be economical anymore in comparison with pay per booking or be outright eliminated as an option.

Diversify and develop brand loyalty. We will be staying on the same path we began down long ago—with integrated software and connections partners most third party websites are easy to add as distribution channels. We utilize as many that make sense to us in terms of cost and rental policy.

With the right technology partners, there is not a manpower burden, and it makes a significant impact on the percentage of revenue that originates from HomeAway. Once the guest is booked, however—from any channel—the goal is to collect data, impress the guest, and rebook direct. This sector is where the most exciting new technologies and services are being developed.”

Even early on, the news is hard hitting. A vacation rental owner and manager in the Southeast went on to add this:

“Bold move for sure because they risk owners who will leave because of the increased pricing. Also, curious how they will access Vacation Rental Managers data to know who to “charge” other than Escapia and V12 users, as they can potentially access those databases because they are HomeAway PMS’s.

As a VR Manager, we are not, and will never be, in a position to pay websites which a guest visits prior to ultimately booking direct with us. That is ridiculous.

Our path forward will be to educate all homeowners as to why they should put their units with professionally managed companies who can help them better navigate the ever changing vacation rental market.”

We have a feeling this story is far from over. Got perspectives on this (or anything else bubbling up in the VR industry)? Join the conversation.

In the meantime, get the full scoop in the original VRM Intel article, and for more like this give Amy a follow here.

Flip.to on the road: property managers winning with OPMA

A big focus at Flip.to in 2017 has been better understanding the ins-and-outs of the vacation rental market. It’s a segment within our industry that faces all of the same, yet also entirely different challenges than other accommodations providers.

Issues range from regulations and split ownership, to homeowners’ associations and conflicting marketing messaging due to third parties. Navigating that space adds layers of complexity that any operator could easily do without.

When we learned about the Onsite Property Management Association (OPMA) and its efforts to advocate for property managers, we were immediately intrigued. Flip.to became members in short order and participated in our first OPMA summit in our hometown of Orlando this past November.

What we took away is that OPMA has made great strides for property managers—and are working hard on loads more to be done. Topics covered included recent legal victories, paving the way for a better guest experience, all the way to the importance of adopting a mobile-first approach, well, everything.

Our resident video-documentarian and fellow Flip.to contributor to the blogosphere, Hunter Garrett, joined me at the OPMA conference and put together these highlights of our 2-days at Reunion Resort. Enjoy!

Hotel Tybee strikes Gold at 2017 Adrian Awards with Flip.to

Customer success: we can’t stop talking about it. That’s because the results earned by travel brands on our platform are the biggest measure of our success.

So, when other people start talking about it too? Well—we can’t help but celebrate.

That’s what we’re doing today with Hotel Tybee, who we’re proud to be recognized alongside for taking home a 2017 HSMAI Gold Adrian Award in Digital Marketing! Hotel Tybee’s success on the platform stood out among a crowded field of more than 1,100 entries.

So what’s advocacy at work look like with Hotel Tybee? When you see the numbers, it’s clear why the judges took note. Take a peek below:

In 7 months and 898 advocates, the property earned:

Hotel Tybee’s advocates drive incredibly warm traffic and high conversion for pennies on the dollar.

Brett L. Loehr, CHA and General Manager to Hotel Tybee had this to say about the platform:

“Today’s reality is that it’s more expensive and competitive to earn guests. Add to that other investments we’ve made in our hotel following three hurricanes just this year, and the importance of growing profits without sacrificing hospitality for our guests comes even more into focus.

We’ve got a strong marketing team who together with Flip.to have done both. For one thing, we’re getting in front of interested travelers in the best way—our existing guests—and the numbers tell the story for what follows.”

Advocacy is a potent marketing channel that properties like Hotel Tybee have unlocked. With trust built in, quality of the audience is a natural lead into great performance.

Stacia Miele, Online Marketing Director echoed Brett’s sentiment.

“Hotel digital marketing isn’t a matter of doing one thing really well—it’s doing a lot of things really well that come together into a strategy that works for your property. Flip.to has been a great add to our stack, with the value of this new marketing channel going beyond lower cost-of-acquisition.”

“All in all—we’ve been huge fans since the beginning,” Brett went on to add.

For a peek at just a handful of what Hotel Tybee’s storyteller’s are sharing, tune in below:

If you’re ready to switch on advocacy, let’s chat. We’ll share how advocacy is changing the game for the hospitality and tourism industries worldwide.

Infographic: Classic Resorts nets a new channel of travelers by launching advocacy

There are tons of reasons to switch on advocacy, and every story about getting started with Flip.to is unique. That’s because advocacy works for all types of hotels, and all types of travelers. By design, it helps your brand get introduced to the perfect audience in a big way.

We’re taking a peek at just what that looked like for Classic Resorts: two resorts out of the islands of Hawaii. Their team had their sights on achieving more in 2017, and paired up with Flip.to to help conquer their goals. The result? Big wins for their properties and their travelers!

Together with Flip.to, Classic Resorts is inspiring travelers around the world with authentic stories shared by their travelers. And while the ROI has proven to be off the charts, it adds up to something bigger than that:

Building relationships with their travelers with even more hospitality, widening their scope to their best audience yet, and diversifying their strategy to helping their resorts get better every day.

If you’re interested in how advocacy is changing the game for vacation rentals, hotels and destinations, let’s chat. We’ll share more on the impact, and make it a fun chat while we’re at it. (Not to mention, kicking off is incredibly easy.)

100 days of advocacy: massive, new audiences and travel stories shared worldwide for Thomas Beach Vacations

We love helping hotels, resorts, and vacation rentals get introduced around the world thanks to their travelers. Guests relive their favorite moments, their friends and family learn about their candid experiences in the best way possible, and the properties earn warm introductions to new folks along the way. It’s a win-win-win for everyone.

Today, we’re highlighting one company that recently celebrated a special milestone—100 days shining on the Flip.to platform! 🕶

Growth — A natural result of advocacy

In just their first 100 days, Thomas Beach Vacations has seen the incredible impact of the advocacy platform for their vacation rentals.

244 of their visitors shared about their stay, personally introducing Thomas Beach Vacations to over 225,000 friends and family—like-minded travelers across the globe perfectly matched for their properties.

More than 23,000 of these travelers took the extra step of visiting Thomas Beach’s website, converting 1,700+ into warm leads with the help of Flip.to.

With over 350 vacation rentals in North Myrtle Beach, beautiful beaches, and warm ocean waters are just some of the experiences Thomas Beach Vacations provides guests at any of their oceanfront homes, luxury condos, and incredible villas.

The big picture?

For each advocate that shared about the high point of their stay, Thomas Beach Vacations were introduced to 923 new travelers in the best way possible and earned 6 warm leads.

On top of that, Thomas Beach Vacations earned the first chance to nurture these leads into future guests and capture more travelers booking direct. And the best part? With Flip.to the impact was tracked in real-time—so the team saw the growth each and every day.

It’s also worth mentioning that Myrtle Beach is South Carolina’s premier beach destination.

From renting boogie boards and playing in the surf, to catching an early morning sunrise or just soaking up some Vitamin D, the memories you make while staying at one of Thomas Beach Vacations hundreds of rental accommodations last a lifetime.

Don’t just take our word for it

Check out this story from Michael C., a recent guest of Thomas Beach Vacations.

Michael shared this genuine moment with 5,417 of his family and friends—and Thomas Beach Vacations was at the center.

Not only did Michael help Thomas Beach Vacations tell a richer narrative for their property, but 30 of those connections visited the Thomas website from these personal introductions, with several claiming an offer on a future stay.

Ever-growing impact

As you can see, the power of advocacy is unmatched.

In fact, according to Forbes, word of mouth marketing is “the one that consumers trust above all others and the one that is most likely to drive sales to your company.” With Flip.to, Thomas Beach Vacations is harnessing this strength daily. And the best part? It never stops growing.

Stay tuned to learn how this story and hundreds more live on, continuing to help attract and convert future travelers.

In the meantime, if your vacation rental property is ready to switch on advocacy, let’s chat. We’d love to help you top your goals (and promise a fun conversation to kick-off and a simple process to launch!)