VTV Channel - A Vlog focusing on Hotel Merchandising Online » OTAs

How to Leverage OTAs and Brand.com for Maximum Conversion

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 13:00:40 +0000

Travel shopping behavior follows a cyclical flow – when demand is low, OTAs thrive because consumers are value-conscious and looking for the ‘best deal.’ When demand is high, shopping traffic moves back to supplier sites. Chris Anderson, Assistant Professor at Cornell School of Hotel Administration, shares his insights on how hoteliers can leverage OTAs and brand.com to achieve maximum conversion.

Key learnings:

The recent demand decline led to increased traffic on OTAs
Value-conscious consumers shop more – OTAs are vehicles to shop & compare
An enhanced presence on OTAs positively impacts bookings on supplier channels

Page Position: How to Optimize Conversions Online Using OTAs

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:53 +0000

In this three episode series with Jean Francois Mourier, Founder and CEO of RevPAR Guru, you will learn about three important factors that can help you optimize conversions online: page positing on OTAs, content and reviews. This first episode about page positioning explores how hoteliers can optimize their conversions online using OTAs and reveals that:

- OTAs should be seen as “Googles” for hotels because travel shoppers use them like search engines
- Lowering prices to get to the top of the first page is not good for RevPAR
- Hotels listed at the top of the second page can get sales at higher prices

The Role of OTAs in the Travel Planning Process

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:00:16 +0000

Travel shoppers use online travel agencies (OTAs) more for research and comparison than booking. Although OTA market share is small, hotel listings on OTAs influence a much larger share of transactions. Hotels that are listed on OTAs see increased reservations on their own sales channels (call centers, booking engines, etc.).

In this episode, Chris Anderson, Assistant Professor at Cornell School of Hotel Administration explains additional factors that influence conversions:
- Page positioning
- Advertisements
- Competitive offers

Basically, the better you merchandise your hotel on OTAs, the greater your conversion factor will be.

Developing an Effective Online Media Strategy

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:00:43 +0000

In recent years, hoteliers have had to adjust their focus from offline marketing efforts to online, which means developing an online media strategy that works. In this episode, Edward Perry, Senior Director of E-Commerce at WORLDHOTELS, identifies the key components of an effective online media strategy:

- A solid long-term business plan
- A knowledge of who your target audience is today your potential future audience
- An understanding of how your competitors are positioned in the market
- A presence on available digital channels, including OTAs

Also learn:

- How to attract and convert travel shoppers
- Where to spend your marketing dollars
- Which types of content are most effective

The Billboard Effect

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:00:31 +0000

Chris Anderson, Assistant Professor at Cornell University shares the results of a research study “The Billboard Effect” conducted in partnership with JHM Hotels and Expedia. In the study, four properties were cycled on and off Expedia over a period of three months.

Here’s what you will learn in this episode:

- Hotel placement on Expedia results in a 20% increase in bookings on other channels
- Reservations made on other channels (call center, brand.com, other sites) offset reservations made on OTAs
- Rates attained while being listed on Expedia were about 2-3% higher

The bottom line: Hoteliers need to think of OTAs as marketing vehicles versus reservation engines.

eBusiness for Hoteliers – Panacea or Pain?

VFM Leonardo — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:28 +0000

The internet has radically changed how consumers shop for travel. This has had a dramatic impact on the way hoteliers market and sell hotel rooms to travel shoppers. Due to the rapidly changing online environment, some hoteliers struggle with how to extract more value out of their presence online while others have found success.

Over the course of five specific topics, Henry Harteveldt, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, will discuss the impact of the internet on travel shopping and how hotels can turn the internet channel from pain to panacea.

1. How to Motivate the Content-Sensitive Traveler
2. The Role of Visual Content in Travel Shopping
3. The Pillars of Success in Travel eBusiness
4. OTAs and TPIs – The Gateways to Purchase Consideration
5. What Hoteliers can learn from Online Retailers