A presentation discussing the changing hotel distribution landscape by Robert Cole of RockCheetah. The briefing was designed to address emerging trends impacting revenue management. The audience was the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International's hotel management company sales & marketing executive roundtable held Thursday, October 10, 2013 at the Crowne Plaza Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virgina,

1. An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape
HSMAI – Management Company
Sales & Marketing Roundtable
October 10, 2013 | Arlington, VA
Image Credit: gnuckx | (cc|flickr)

2. Session Overview
• Channels
– OTA | Meta | Hotel Websites | Mobile | Call Center
– Time Constrained – Consolidation, Ad Spend, Analytics
• Concepts
– Parity | Personalization | Engagement | End-2-End
– Time Constraints – Reviews, Images, Video, Creepy Line
• Conclusions
– Seeking: Simplicity | Autonomy | Loyalty
– Reality: Complexity | Layered Attribution | Disruption
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3. Online Travel Agencies
• Travelers Like OTAs
– Cross-Product & Cross-brand Shopping | Discounts
– MMGY’s Digital Elite – 53% Prefer Using OTAs
• OTA Share Growth Misleading
– Supplier Direct Growing | Shift from Offline
– Meta-Search Share Growing | Largely to OTAs
• Content Management
– For Targeted LGBT Promotion, Does Hotel Align?
– Important to Audit & Update Upstream Content
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4. Meta-search
• Meta-search Is Advertising
– Different Dynamics – Bidding Determines Position
– Conversion & Analytics are Critically Important
• Where Traffic Goes
– Kayak Sends 57x More Traffic to OTAs than Hotels
– TripAdvisor Sends 11x More to OTAs than Hotels
• Watch Google – Focus is on Context
– Hummingbird | Knowledge Graph | Carousel
– Hotel Price Ads? Knowledge Graph Works Better?
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5. Hotel Websites
• Require Seamless User Experience
– Cross-Platform Support
– Dynamic Content Management
• SEO Is Not Dead
– Site Architecture
– Menus & Navigation
– Content Management Strategies
• Semantic Web
– Open Graph – Facebook | Schema.org G-M-Y
– Relationships with Social Platforms | Authorship
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6. Mobile
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• Responsive Design Fills a Gap
– Content Layout Adapts to Screen Size/Orientation
– Consistent Cross-Device Experience
• Mobile Apps with Purpose
– Must Be Downloaded
– Must Be Used
– Must Be Relevant
• OTAs & Meta-search Beating Hotel Brands
– Not Hotels in Top 15 Hotel App Downloads
– Also Trailing (Badly) in Satisfaction

7. Call Centers
• The Mobile Connection
– Frequently Forgotten: Smartphones Are Phones
– Spontaneous Use / Last Minute – Click to Call
• Alignment with Localized Content
– Auto-Identify Call Center & Language
– Dynamic Content Create Dynamic Complexity
• Data Integration
– Provide Custom Phone Number for Web Session
– Capture Web Browsing Activity & Link to Call
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8. Rate Parity
• Resale Price Maintenance
– Illegal in UK | Questionable in EU
– Legal in US | Can’t Be Detrimental to Consumer
• Proposed UK Office Fair Trading Solution
– Rate Parity Continues for General Public
– Does NOT Apply to Returning Customers
• Discounts/Rebates to Frequent Guests
– Good for OTAs – Wider Breadth of Product
– Bad for Hoteliers – Discounts to Best Clients?
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9. Guest Personalization
• Frequent Guest Number is Insufficient
– Brands Frequently Exclude OTA Stays
– May not Qualify for Points, but Stay Data is Lost
• Ultimately Requires Itinerary-Specific Personas
– Guest Has Multiple Personas – Spouse/Kids/Friends
– Need to Understand Purpose of Trip
– Trip is Work of Art | Guest = Artist | Hotel = Frame
• Big Data Changes Everything
– Predictive Analytics Identify Patterns
– Cue / Response / Reward Reinforces Behaviors
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10. Guest Engagement
• User Experience
– Targeting Consumer Fairly Easy
– Website Content Dynamically Adaptive
– Use Technology to Empower Guest
• The Proven Formula for Guest Satisfaction
– Provide Value
– Anticipate Needs
– Exceed Expectations
• Bluetooth 4.0 (Low Energy) Changes Everything
– Smart Motes / Beacons Interact with Customer
– 300 Foot Range | Triangulate Location | Transfer Data
– Powerful with Wearable Devices | Gear or Glass
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11. End to End Experience
• Seven Step Travel Process – All Impact Distribution
– Inspiration
– Research
– Planning
– Validation
– Booking
– Travel
– Sharing
• Trip Starts Departing Home & Return Home Ends
– Hotel Traditionally Focal Point of Itinerary (% of Time)
– Who Knows Destination Best with Access to Traveler?
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12. The End Game
• Guests Seek Simplicity & Convenience
– Save Time & Money | Add Efficiency & Entertainment
– Respect Privacy & Intended Nature of Relationship
• Loyalty is Earned
– Discounts & Point Incentives are Transactions
– Loyalty is Emotional | Willing to Pay More for Brand
• Disruption is Inevitable
– New Technologies Increase Speed / Reduce Cost
– Innovation Strives to Improve Efficiency | Bust Rules
– Dawning of Sharing Economy | Reduces Margin Needs
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13. An Evolving Hotel Distribution Landscape
Questions?
Copies of the Presentation?
Comments?
Robert Cole
twitter: @robertkcole
phone: +1.262.309.9560
email: robert@rockcheetah.com
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