www.travelzoo.co.uk
The Deal Experts. Over 26 Million Subscribers Worldwide.
Changes in digital distribution for hotels
Joel Brandon-Bravo, UK MD
Yorkshire Hotel Show, Feb 2014
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What do I know?
Winning business online
Reviews and Social
Flash sales Phenomena
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What is your potential customer thinking?
• I know exactly which hotel I want to stay in
• I know where I want to go but not which hotel
• I don’t know where I want to go I just want a break
• I’m not even thinking about a break
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I know exactly which hotel I want to stay in
Owning your own customer
• Already looking specifically for your hotel
• Why pay Booking.com to sell your own customer?
• Have reviews and ratings from a ‘Google’ approved’ ratings vendor including their own reviews.
• Guaranteed Best in the snippet
• Get the email on the registration card with promo opt in.
• Offer a discount for next stay – micro loyalty!
• Make it transferrable
• Ask for a review
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If you were required to visit a destination that you had never been to before where would you turn for advice and information on accommodation*?
Tripad
visor
Family
/frien
ds
Online
trave
l age
nts (B
ookin
g.com
, Exp
edia
etc)
Social
med
ia (Fac
eboo
k/Twitte
r etc)
Traditio
nal m
edia
(e.g.
natio
nal n
ewsp
apers
and m
agaz
ines)
Listin
gs an
d ente
rtainm
ent g
uides
(e.g.
Mich
elin r
ating
s/Tim
e Out)
Guide b
ooks
(e.g.
Lone
ly Plan
et)
Other (p
lease
spec
ify):
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%85.88%
59.87%
37.02%
5.82%14.70% 9.61%
30.81%
6.89%
(*select the top 3 sources you would use)
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User Reviews : Respond
If you don’t care about feedback on Trip will you care when they are with you?
Step1 – don’t give them an issue
Step 2 – if they have an issue get them to vent while you still have time to correct it
Step 3 – if they still have an issue get them to express it before they leave
Step 4 - for the remaining annoying people who wait, say nothing, and then vent on Trip..respond to the good and bad
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Social Integration into reviews
My friends of friends help indicate the ‘type’ of hotel
• More people share travel than talk about births, deaths and pets.
• 51% of people say travel is one of the top three posts they see on the social network.
• 64% agree they would not know about friends holidays if it was not for Facebook and 84% are inspired by friends’ holidays.
• 70% say they can easily imagine going to a place if they see friends and family have been there.
• 52% say when they use FB they start dreaming about a holiday even when they did not have one planned.
• 74% agree they will only book once they feel confident to do so and friends and family play a role in this.
• 83% agree even more confident when friends and family validate/recommend
(source Tnooz 14/2/14)
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I know where I want to go but not which hotel
Owning your destination
• OTA add most value here
• Choice, price comparison, mapping, reviews, mobile, loyalty
• Yorkshire.com representing you
• Good job - Feversham Arms & Wentbridge House
• Opportunity for you as an organisation to collaborate
• This meeting is the perfect forum to enable that
• Siteminder could build it
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'Travel App of the Week'
The Sunday Times
The Coniston Hotel
(ibookedonline)
This IS the year of mobile (finally…)
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Ryanair
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Capturing the growing ‘flexible’ market
• I know exactly which hotel I want to stay in
• I know where I want to go but not which hotel
• I don’t know where I want to go I just want a break
• I’m not even thinking about a break
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How much would you value Travelzoo’s recommendation on hotels in places you are planning to travel to?
I don
’t valu
e it
I am in
differ
ent
It’s us
eful a
nd im
porta
nt to
me
It’s ex
tremely
usefu
l and
impo
rtant
to me
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
1.67%
14.16%
69.00%
15.16%
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££
£
“I know what I want”
££££
“I have a good idea what I’m
looking for and also want a good price”
£££“I’m
flexible about
‘what’ and am looking for a great
deal”
£££
“I’m not even
looking to go away”
££
Four Types of Customer – by how much?
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What is a flash sale?
• Compelling offer for a fixed period
• Sent to an online audience, daily?
• Voucher sold by third party site
• Revenue share basis
• Increased sales volume
• Brand exposure
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The Benefits
• Zero upfront cost
• New customers
• Repeat business
• Exposure
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The Rub
• Little Margin
• No guarantee of up-sell / repeat business
• Hidden costs
• Overselling/lack of control
• Emails are not always solus
OVERSELLING
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How to make it work
• Incremental business, focus on need period.
• Deal structure
• The right discount
• Attracting the right audience
• Ask for testimonials
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Travelzoo Getaway® Case Study
DetailsLough Eske Castle – Donegal
Results:
• 2,326 vouchers sold and 3,222 room nights.
• 1,482 x 1 night
• 792 x 2 nights
• 52 x 3 nights
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Spa
“The volume is most unexpected...”
“...the clientele are of high calibre and 95% new customers and at least 20% are buying extra treatments”. Adam BellBusiness Development Manager Macdonald Manchester Hotel Spa
“We do see this type of tactical marketing taking over from our more conventional marketing spending. We see this working especially well for us as our business remains stubbornly 'seasonal’ ”
Peter LavinGeneral ManagerConway Castle
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Restaurant
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Summary
• Voucher model can work if:
– The right deal
– To the right audience and size
– In the right area
– With the right business
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Restaurant’s General Manager says she’s crossing her fingers “…that we don’t lose money.” Three months after 2,243 vouchers were sold for a four-course dinner for two.
“But we loaded it up too much” Bowman says. “We didn’t leave ourselves enough room for up selling.”
..there have been enough stories from disgruntled establishments using other vendors, such as Groupon, to provide some caution for suppliers about the business model. She adds: “I don’t think we are losing money, but I wouldn’t bet that we are making money,
either.”
A lot of customers may tip on the voucher amount and not on the much-higher retail value.
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Thank You!
Joel Brandon-BravoCountry Manager, UK
Phone +44 (0) 20 7420 0402Email [email protected]
@joelbrandonbrav