Briefing: Understanding your digital skill level

According to the L2 Digital IQ Index, Marriott has the highest digital IQ of all luxury hotel brands, at 162. This is a considerable margin above the second ranked hotel group, which has been given a Digital IQ of 137. An understanding of how to engage online is vital to the success of a hospitality business today, but given that traditional hotel brands’ strongest skill is in service, they will always be at a disadvantage to specialised tech companies in the digital arena, as our hospitality experts discuss:

The Index assesses the digital competence of 55 Luxury Hotel brands by looking at the ‘effectiveness of brand site and E-commerce investments’, ‘Search, display and email marketing efforts’, ‘Social Media presence, community size, content and engagement,’ and ‘Mobile compatibility, optimization and marketing on smartphones & tablets’.

One reasons for Marriott’s high score is its online visibility. The study shows that in a Google search made from the US, Marriot is the most visible brand when looking for hotels in The Americas and Asia, and top three in Europe and Asia.

The study found that 81% of online travel booking is abandoned before completion. The study highlights frustrations during the booking process as key factor in and says that nearly 40% of sites surveyed required four or more clicks from search result to reservation.

Another barrier in the booking journey is the device used. According to the study, 46% of travellers who performed research via a mobile device did not execute their booking on that same channel.

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

Briefing: mobile – the big sell

Mobile technology is expanding at such a rate that it is really any wonder how people keep up with it. iPhone 5GS, Samsung Galaxy S4, Windows 8, Android, and BlackBerry are just a handful of terms that are in our modern-day vernacular without many of us really understanding what it means for us and for business.

Mobile smartphones are the most powerful selling technique which is set to dominate long into the future and we need to be utilising this medium across our business. Whether that’s checking emails, social networks, looking for reviews, playing games, watching films, purchasing hotel rooms and perhaps after all that making a phone call. It should certainly be embraced and our experts this week discuss this with comment from:

  • Cyril Ranque, SVP of Global Market Management for Expedia on the power that these devices bring to the consumer.
  • Douglas Rice, Executive VP & CEO of Hotel Technology Next Generation on expectations being raised with mobile
  • Leo Brand, CEO of Swisscom Hospitality Services on the need for hospitality to up its game
  • Peter O’Connor, Professor & Academic Director of ESSEC Business School on seizing the immense power of mobile in hotels

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Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: embracing the mobile world

The escalation of mobile technology is something to be admired. The speed in which the digital world moves is often very hard to fathom. However, getting the basics right when using these tools is essential and the best hotel companies are grasping the opportunity that mobile technology gives them.

Uptake of mobile technology is nothing new, but with more and more guests using their devices to research, understand and make decisions on where to stay, embracing this new world of communication is integral. In this briefing we hear from experts about the mobile world, including:

  • Alex Kyriakidis, President – Middle East and Africa for Marriott on why hospitality should grasp mobile technologies
  • Nigel Huddleston, Industry Head of Leisure for Google on the information mobile technologies can provide
  • Ewan Cameron, CEO at Lonhro Hotels on the African market being more sophisticated than many Western markets when it comes to mobile
  • And Cyril Ranque, SVP of Global Market Management for Expedia on the likelihood of mobile overtaking laptops in terms of usage.
 


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Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

Briefing: investment in data is the future of hospitality

Staying connected to your customer is of paramount importance as customer loyalty is to brands. The hospitality sector is very unusual as the amount of data a hotel might have about an individual is perhaps more than any other industry. But how should hospitality embrace new technology to capitalise on the enormous amount of data it has?

Many believe there is a revolution coming in the way we communicate with consumers, colleagues and stakeholders and investment decisions about the use of new technologies requires much thought and understanding.

In this briefing we hear from technology experts in the realm of hospitality that discuss where the future of the digital world lies and where hospitality fits into this picture, including:

  • Nigel Huddlestone, Industry Head for Travel at Google on making data relevant to your business
  • Andrew Sangster, Editorial Director for Hotel Analyst Distribution & Technology on connecting the huge data silos within a hotel business
  • Cyril Ranque, SVP of Global Market Management for Expedia Lodging on his company being the ‘technology lab’ for many hotel business
  • And Arthur de Haast, Chairman – Hotels & Hospitality for Jones Lang LaSalle on the speed in which digital technology speeds up businesses.
 


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

Video clips produced by ybc.hpgcms.wpengine.com for the Hospitality Channel, including interviews from industry conferences such as the most recent IHIF conference as well as specific Hospitality Channel shoots.

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