SoLoMo

SoLoMo from vstephanieb

Presentation by Guillaume CHABRIER, Miguel MEDEIROS and Stephanie VALENZUELA. Case Study: Small Business Saturday

Booking.com: Your Worst Best Friend?

Booking.com now claims to be the number one online hotel reservation service in the World, and its flat commission model has been replaced by one of bidding for position on the first page of a destination, with hotels paying over 20% in commission to be on the first page.

Hotels might be receiving significant revenue from the reservations that are made through the site, but if they depend on Booking.com for their reservations, they have little bargaining power

That’s why hoteliers have with Booking.com a love-hate relationship. They are unpleased by Booking.com’s attitude to be the reservations leader but they can’t do without it as it really sells too much! “Many consumers consider that all hotels are on booking.com, at least all that matter”. The paradox here is that clients adore Booking.com and hoteliers detest it and that is what link Booking.com and hoteliers.

I have worked with Booking.com and it is unbelievable how they can be so persistent on their aims! They never give up! And unfortunately there is nothing you can do to avoid it because you need them. My manager even went to establish a price ridiculously high on the last room available in the hotel so to sell it directly instead of selling it on Booking.com. The relationship becomes really cynic.

But Booking.com’s influence can be balanced by hotel digital marketing. And the most important actions I believe are to have a great looking website as the majority of consumers prefer to book directly with the property (in the hotel I worked, this was the case) and to diversify the channels of reservation choosing the ones most relevant to the hotel’s segment. In this particular hotel there were not really implementing this and as it was an independent boutique hotel, in my opinion it could have been a good idea to get the hotel listed on mrandmrssmith.com for example.

So, to conclude, I would say that Booking.com is an inevitable partner of any kind of hotel (in fact, the hotel cited was one of the first to enter on Booking.com within all the hotels in the region) but, its sales can be abated, replacing them by other booking channels but most importantly, by trying to increase direct bookings.

SoLoMo Case Study: Louis Vuitton and Jeipang

Louis vuitton case study from vstephanieb

Louis Vuitton Brand page on Jiepang Louis Vuitton offers Checkins to fashion lovers in China

Increasing Direct Bookings - Sharing Ideas

Group:
Stéphanie Valenzuela
Benoît Poirier
Alexis Sananikone
Aurore Bruna

Key points:

• Multiple methods of payment when booking on the site
• Offer complimentary incentives/discounts when booking on the site
• Develop the portfolio of languages to make it accessible to a larger number of future guests (especially in order to address emergent markets such as China, Russia, Brasil...)
• Create a mobile site
• Develop a regional platform of booking with other hotels in order to reduce booking costs

Actions an Independent Hotel should take to get their faire share of Direct Bookings

Digital IQ

• What is meant by Digital IQ?

Digital IQ is a company (or a brand) use level of digital tools such as sites, mobiles, social platforms, digital marketing and its efficiency in using them.

• What are the components of Digital IQ?

The 4 sectors of Digital IQ are:
                      - 20% of Mobile (compatibility, optimization, and marketing on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices).
The components of the Mobile sector are: - Mobile Site: Compatibility, Functionality, Transaction
                                                                     - iOS Applications (iPhone & iPad): Availability, Popularity, Functionality, iPad Differentiation.
                                                                     - Android & Blackberry: Availability, Popularity, Functionality.
                                                                     - Mobile Innovation: SMS, Geo-local, Instagram, Other Mobile Marketing Innovation.

                      - 20% of Social Media (Brand presence, community size, content, and engagement on major social media platforms on global and select property accounts).
The components of the Social Media sector are: - Facebook: "Likes", Growth, Post Frequency, Applications, Responsiveness, Content, Interaction Rate, F- Commerce.
                                                                             - Twitter: Followers, Growth, Post Frequency, Online Voice.                                                               
                                                                             - YouTube: Views, Number of Uploads, Subscriber Growth, Content, Interactivity.


                      - 30% of Site (Effectiveness of brand site)
The components of the Site sector are: - Site Technology.
                                                              - Site Search & Navigation.
                                                              - Reservations.
                                                              - Property Pages and Destination Guides.
                                                              - Customer Service.
                                                              - Rewards / Loyalty Programs.
                                                              - Social Media Integration.
                      - 30% of Digital Marketing (Search, display, and email marketing efforts).
The components of the Digital Marketing sector are: - Search : Traffic, SEM, SEO, web authority.
                                                                                     - Display Advertising & Innovation: Text & Banner Ads, Retargeting, Cross-platform Innovation Initiatives, Presence on Emerging Platforms: Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+.
                                                                                     - Blog & Other User-Generated Content: Mentions, Sentiment, TripAdvisor Reviews.
                                                                                     - Email: Frequency, Content, Social Media Integration, Mobile Optimization.

70% of Brand pages are inactive

A study of 5.7 million (!!!!) Facebook pages proved that companies still don’t know how to use social media efficiently. Social networks present a real opportunity to companies, especially in the hotel industry and brands must to learn how to use these potential benefits and engage their customers through this new channel.

Less than 2% of businesses like restaurant, cafés, spas post more than 100 updates per month on their Facebook profiles whereas celebrity pages see their number of fans increasing day to day.

So, we can say brands have to be more like celebrities! Comments, likes and shares will allow them to reevaluate their reputation but also to make them a place in customer’s hearts. Let’s admit it, it is not very well known if a company ignores conversations on its own page….

So, what do you say? Do you think our generation could help these companies? I see a very appealing job opportunity here!

Designhotels.com

Designhotelsc.com from vstephanieb

Which booking option is most effective for independent hotels: Brand Portals, OTAs, Reverse Auction Sites, Hotel Site, Hotel Site with Facebook Fan Rate Offered, Mobile Booking App?

Let´s analyse each option one by one. To use a brand portal or a hotel site the hotel has to be already well known so that the guest could book directly. Otherwise the hotel won´t be found unless an effective SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is being applied to the hotel. The goal for an independent hotel is not to enter a battle of prices. This, on the contrary, could affect its reputation. The hotel has to mantain its standard. That's why reverse auction sites don´t seem a good booking option to me for this kind of hotels. This doesn´t mean that the hotel can´t offer promotions to their guests. A hotel site with a Facebook fan rate offered can be a good option to do this. The hotel is able to present its promotions. Social networks help winning the loyalty of guests. However,in my opinion,it is not the best option either. Mobile booking apps are more and more current nowadays. Smartphones are mostly a global accessory. So this could be the most logical, best booking option. Nonetheless, there are still people reluctant to this option. Either because they don´t have a smartphone, either because they don´t know how to use it. Finally, it seems to me that the most effective booking option for an independent hotel are OTAs. On this sites, guest have the most complete information about any hotel by just writing the name of the city they want to go. They have a general description of the hotel (address, email and phone number included) with photos, reviews from past guests, an average grade decided by guests, different rates and promotions and availability. Of course this characteristics could be found on the other booking options but I believe OTAs are the fastest way to find a hotel that is not necessarily well known and that maybe doesn´t have the same marketing budget than a great chain of hotels.

The Ice Hotel

The Ice Hotel in Sweden is a hotel constructed temporarily each year in winter. It is composed by 60 rooms which 16 are suites and a bar. weddings and baptisms are celebrated inside. The decoration and furniture are chosen by artists that have been selected. Rates are between €253,00 and €810,00 per night. Temperature doesn´t go beyond -8ºC and the hotel disappears with the thaw. This hotel is so particular that it can not be classified. As a consequence, it doesn´t have any star. Only some privileged people will be able to spend a night inside. Would the shower have hot water? The question I make to myself is: is it really necessary to spend so much money and ressources each year to construct a hotel that literally vanishes? Especially in the present times where the melting of the ice caps is one of the future's most significant worries. Is it really the price to pay to answer to a demand? To fulfill luxurious needs of guests? Luxury should come along with ethics and respect sustainable development. Those hotels, the ones that will encourage sustainability are those who will be sucessful. The idea of the Ice Hotel is ingenious and innovative without a doubt. But to do it every year seems an exaggeration to me. An option will be to construct it for example every five years and to ask for a higher rate per night. It could be a good way too to verify guests loyalty to the hotel.

Hotel Booking Opportunities

Hotel booking opportunities from vstephanieb

Discover a mew mobile application: Hotels Near Me

Hotels near me app from CShad