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Well, Forrester Research estimates that 32% of hotel bookings are online and that the travel industry as a whole allocates 29% of its marketing budget to digital. The number is increasing year after year. An overwhelming 77% of respondents said that their website traffic is growing and 70% confirmed that revenue from this channel is also increasing.
HSMAI Foundation is an association that analyzes marketing strategies and disseminates knowledge to improve and optimize the online marketplace. This institution has published a study intended to serve as a guide for the hotel market. This study is broken down into three broad categories: websites, marketing and measurement and analytics.
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Web Sites
The hotel entrepreneurs who are part of this study highlight the importance of integrating ecommerce with their business strategy and having a website with interesting content and a modern, attractive design. All of them highlight 5 aspects to take into consideration in a hotel website (in order of importance): adaptability, flexibility, navigation, content demand generator and visual appeal.
Internet Marketing
The next step immediately after building a website that meets all the requirements is to design a good online marketing strategy. Interesting data emerged from the study: almost 70% monitor customer feedback, more than 50% have designed a social media campaign, 42% spend one-fifth of their budget on online marketing strategies and 70% claim that the highest ROI is obtained through the online medium.. And so is the impact of the various marketing initiatives carried out:
Measurement and Analysis
The study determines that it is extremely important to measure progress and setbacks, if any, to gauge the impact of our actions. You need to regularly monitor your online presence, evaluate and identify ROI by channel, track booking page abandonment and time spent, and determine annual progress.
Once again, this study highlights the complexity and wide range of areas covered by ecommerce. Website design, website content, booking engine, marketing and email campaigns, banner advertising, SEO, PPC, GDS, mobile marketing and social media… It is practically impossible for a small hotel professional to carry out a good, successful and profitable online strategy. In many cases, outsourcing a team of experts generates greater visibility and the investment pays off handsomely in the long run.