Briefing: Meta-disruption in hotel bookings

According to Statistica, over 35% of Millennial and Gen X travellers (all adults under 48) use ‘meta-search’ when planning travel, allowing them to automatically combine search engine results. It is ten years since the launches of two well-known meta-search sites Kayak and Trivago in 2005. In 2015 meta-search is one technology that is developing fast and impacting on hoteliers. According to Skift, changes to Google’s hotel finder search will make Google a big player in the meta-search arena this year.

With the hospitality booking landscape constantly changing these videos have expert discussion on approaches to distribution:

Meta-search allows the consumer to limit the amount of ‘clicks’ from the beginning of their holiday internet research to their booking. While the actual booking is made with the OTA or the hotel the search site allows the researcher to compare deals on the same trip across different sites. This ease and efficiency has made meta-search popular. With consumers choosing to use this shortcut it is important for hospitality businesses to consider whether or not they are showing up in the search results. To appear in meta-search results hoteliers can list themselves on the website (an option on sites such as TripAdvisor or Kayak), or on an OTA (Trivago only lists OTA inventory), which tend to be more prominent in results.

Trivago is the world’s largest online hotel search with 100% growth every year since 2008. It shows results from 266 booking sites (which encompasses 726,065 hotels).

Kayak receives over one billion queries each year. It also has a mobile app which has been downloaded 40 million times.

Metasearch is also frequently used for booking flights on sites such as Monomondo, Skyscanner, and Travel Supermarket.  There is even an apartment specific meta-search site Apartum for consumers preferring alternative accommodation to hotels.

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Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: Look to the Future of Hospitality

If we could take a glimpse at the hospitality industry in five or ten years’ time what would it look like? 95% of people think, ‘hotels will increasingly look to new technologies to drastically increase efficiency, reduce costs, personalize the customer experience and improve service’. In the Future hotels will need to provide more personalised service and enhance guest experiences online and off. They will need to connect with their guests and allow them guests to connect to their devices. They will be deconstructing and reimagining hospitality spaces and considering new possibilities.

This week our videos explore what the future of hospitality will look like:

Connecting to mobiles and apps can help hotels personalise service. According to Grant Thornton’s Hotel 2020 report: ‘46% of millennials agree that being able to check in/out using a mobile device would motivate them to return.’ The report also shows that towards 2020 hotels will be making a bigger effort to connect with customers on digital platforms, with 30% of global hoteliers planning to hire staff specifically for social media.

Technology will continue to enhance guest experience with guest being able to more easily control their room features through mobile devices. New technologies like augmented reality could change how travellers interact with the space around them using wearable technology or mobile phones. Some companies are already starting to use virtual reality technologies. Best Western gave children an opportunity take a photo with a virtual Disney movie star and Marriot offered a 4D virtual travel experience, as reported in the Guardian.

A survey for Amadeus, Hotels 2020-Beyond Segmentation, asked people in the travel industry and on hotel discussion forums about the future of hospitality. 86% of respondents thought that by 2020, ‘customers will have the ability to choose the size of room, type of bed, amenities, audio-visual facilities, business equipment, etc. on booking and pay accordingly’. 96% said that ‘hotels will need to develop strong social media ‘listening skills.’

If you’ve been sent to this page and you’re not yet on the circulation list to receive these regular briefings and you would like to sign up, you can do see here. It’s free.

Video clips produced by yBC for the Hospitality Channel, including interview from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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