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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Looking or booking? Will mobile really drive new revenues?
Last minute bookings are not a new phenomenon. What is new today is that increasing numbers of travelers have the ability to search and make a booking via a mobile device. And they no longer plan the details of their trip in advance. According to recent research by EyeforTravel, LBS expenditure is expected to near $10billion by 2016, while smart phone sales are predicted to reach 982 million units by 2015. What is more, marketers are expecting an ‘onslaught’ of mobile apps and tools within three years.

How to Manage Facebook
Caterer & Housekeeper lists out five key strategies that a hotel must follow for effective marketing through its Facebook page. They are

  • Post eye-catching picture to attract followers
  • Select the  Brand profile picture carefully
  • Customize the app icons
  • Pin Up the important post 
  • Use milestone app for product launch or announcement
Online Travel Shoppers Respond Best to Intuitive Ecommerce Experiences
Like almost all online customers, travellers comparison shop to find the best deals. A Q4 2011 report on worldwide visitors to travel and hospitality websites by web analytics company iPerceptions found that price was the main barrier to shoppers completing online reservations. But after price, functionality and site design were among the biggest stumbling blocks for prospective customers.

Domestic visitors vital to London Olympics
The UK will only welcome an additional 330,000 international visitors as a direct result of hosting the London 2012 Olympics, reveals research at WTM Vision Conference London.  According to Euromonitor International Head of Travel and Tourism Research Caroline Bremner, the UK will welcome 29.4m international visitors this year, a 2% increase on 2011, or 588,000.

Leisure hotel rates set new growth record in March
Average daily rates paid by leisure hotel guests climbed +9.2% in March over 2011, beating the previous record of +8.3% set in December over 2010, according to the latest data from Pegasus Solutions. In North America, hotels benefited from a climb of +8.5% in daily rates for leisure stays, which outperformed the +7.3% record set in February.

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Hotelier’s 2012 Mobile Marketing MUST Dos and Don’ts
Max Starkov, HeBS Digital’s President and CEO, was interviewed recently by Michelle Renn, Managing Editor of “Inside Hotel Online Today (Hotel Online)” on this year’s hottest topic: mobile marketing and mobile distribution channel in hospitality.

Asian hotel revPAR continues to rise
According to the latest data from STR Global, the region’s occupancy increased 3.6% year-on-year to 66.5%, average daily rates (ADR) climbed 2.8% to US$146. This pushed revenue per available room (revPAR) up 6.5% to US$97. STR Global said however, that the year-on-year comparisons were impacted by Chinese New Year falling in January this year compared to February in 2011.

Search weighing down CRS

The continually increasing volume of booking options is causing growing stress on hotels companies’ central reservation systems, according to a study undertaken by Pegasus.

Average Hotel Rate in the UK Drops!A global report demonstrating how the cost of a nights stay in a major city can reflect the country’s economic health, has revealed that hotel prices in the UK are stagnating, with only London’s hotels being able to report a rise in the average hotel rate.

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


The Evolution of Online Travel

Since the rise of online travel in the mid-1990s, it seems that there’s an endless well of ways to get your travel fix.  It’s projected that within the year 2012, there will be 98.3 million bookings on the Internet, which translates into major profit for online travel companies. In Mashable’s infographic, you’ll see the progression of online travel, from its roots in old electronic booking systems to the newest and shiniest deals websites. Plus, get an inside look at how users behave while on online travel sites — and where they love to go.

The 5 Golden Rules of Social Media ROI

Facebook page? Check! Twitter account and dedicated hastags? Check! Competitions, discounts and giveaways? Check! Any real, measurable and abundant ROI from social media campaigns? A recent Eye for Travel survey of APAC travel brands shows that despite 67% claiming to have deployed social media initiatives, more than half admitted confusion or inability to effectively rack and measure ROI.

A hotelier’s viewpoint on the current status of the flash sales model

Social buying/ Group buying and flash sales sites will undergo a saturation stage in their lifecycle. Many will reach the end of the road but a few strong ones will survive – albeit with some innovative add-ons to the existing business models, says Ricky Ang, vice president – Sales & Marketing, Hotel Equatorial Group.

Global business and leisure hotel rates up

Global average daily rates (ADR) for both business and leisure hotel rooms continued to climb in January, according to Pegasus Solutions’ data. Following a record increase over 2010 in December 2011, January 2012 saw business rates grow +3.8 percent and leisure rates rise +7.0 percent over January 2011, shared The Pegasus View January edition.

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Newshound: Trends and Reports – Hotel Online Distribution


Defining success in revenue management

The best revenue managers are those who can not only mine the most data but those who can present it in the clearest, simplest way to support agreed-upon organizational goals.
http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx/6082/Defining-success-in-revenue-management

Corporate Travel Volume Hints at +15% Growth through August

The corporate hotel market saw global bookings increase +8.8% in June, according to data released today from Pegasus Solutions in The Pegasus View. Reinforcing healthy gains made overall in the first half of the year, the growth in business travel bookings could potentially climb to +15% through August, and possibly higher into the third quarter.
http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2011_3rd/Jul11_PegasusViewJune.html

Google Launches Hotel Search Tool With Room Price Data

Google has launched Hotel Finder, an experimental search tool, which enables users to define key lodging preferences in hopes of finding the perfect hotel for their travel needs.
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/external/4052400.html

Hotels Must Adapt to Shorter Booking Windows

Meeting planners have limited time to get their jobs done. And, if they can’t find outside space quickly enough, they just may hold their meetings at corporate headquarters. Hotels can keep the business if they’re prepared to help meeting planners hit their deadlines, says Mike Mason, ZEO and founder of Winter Garden, Florida-based, technology startup Zentila.
http://lhonline.com/news/hotels_adapt_shorter_booking_windows_0727/

The Price Is Right – Maybe

Pricing is a powerful and proven strategy for improving profitability, yet few organizations know how to do pricing well. “Pricing and Profitability Management: A Practical Guide for Business Leaders,” a new book released today by Deloitte, helps organizations to better understand and implement effective pricing management.
http://4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=6210

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Golden Tulip Implements ExtraConnect

Pegasus Solutions® and RateTiger Launch Collaborative Solution with One of World’s Largest Hospitality Groups

Louvre Hotels Group, one of the largest hospitality groups in the world, has implemented ExtraConnect, an integrated central reservation and channel management system from industry leaders Pegasus Solutions and RateTiger by eRevMax International. It is the first central reservation system (CRS) to combine the next generation enterprise delivery of Pegasus’ RezView® NG with the powerful channel management capabilities of RateTiger’s leading Channel Management technology.