Video: What Travel Shoppers Want
Expert: Tom O’Rourke of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing
People connect with video. When researching hotels online, travel shoppers want to see two types of videos: professionally shot and guest produced. They want to be enticed but they also need validation. In this episode with Tom O’Rourke of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, you will learn:
- The roles of professional and guest videos
- Tips for developing inspiring videos
- Why travel shoppers want to see video
I agree with Tom in that hotels should consider highlighting not only their own amenities, but also the attractions and destinations that make their location unique. However, I’d steer hoteliers away from having to produce a “travel video” that highlights the restaurants, theme parks and museums within an earshot of their front doors.
Employing the service of social media savvy ‘brand ambassadors’ to create the user-generated content, while investing in professionally produced videos (and I’m sorry, $800 is not going to cut it if you want the kind of quality a hotelier is going to be proud of) will deliver content that delivers the call to action for future reservations.
Online video is the new Advertising 2.0, companies need to embrace this, budget for this and be ready to showcase their services – because without it, you might as well close up shop.
Connie,
Depending on the size, complexity & quality of your web site, your clients could be spending anywhere from seconds to minutes on your site.
For comparisons sake, the average time on site for the last 30 days for Mantra is 4m23s and 4m15s for Circle on Cavill. I call attention to those two in particular because the former is a brand web site with over 50 properties to compare and choose between and the later is for an individual hotel web site.
If your concerned about whether or not video is a good fit for your properties, you could measure the impact of putting the videos onto your site using your favourite web statistics package such as Google Analytics. If it turns out that you see less or more conversions (whatever that might be for your web sites) – you can react accordingly by adding more video or removing them if they didn’t hit the mark.
Regards,
Al.
Connie – I hear your frustration. You are right that people are busy and impatient. That’s just why video is so important – it’s one of the things you can do to get people to slow down and pay more attention to your property, giving it serious consideration. We’ve found that adding video to a website encourages people to spend more time on the site than they otherwise might. It’s easy, it’s entertaining and it gives them a sense of confidence in the property.
Connie –
I agree with your comments, but remember, people will not stay on your website unless you have something to keep them there! Like Tom said, travelers want to see the “real deal” and visually see what your property as a destination has to offer. And yes, video can be very costly, but if you are not planning any major updates to your property, a professionally filmed video is definitely worth it, especially if you can get it as a packaged deal – I know that ResortsandLodges.com offers free video with many of their advertising campaigns. Also, most property videos professionally filmed are not “motion picture lengths” but instead 1-2 minutes showing the highlights of your property – just enough to get the traveler engaged and actually CALL your property to book! Here are a few examples of property videos I’m really impressed with:
http://www.resortsandlodges.com/lodging/usa/florida/northeast/summer-beach-resort.html
http://www.resortsandlodges.com/lodging/usa/wisconsin/wisconsin-dells/birchcliff-resort.html
Did you know that it took TV 13 years to reach 50 million users, while it only took YouTube 2 years to reach 137.5 million users? Just an mind boggling fact from another fabulous video on Socialnomics.net:
http://socialnomics.net/2009/08/11/statistics-show-social-media-is-bigger-than-you-think/
I hope you don’t give up on video just yet…
Good luck to you!
-Charise
i just watched your episode with Tom O’Rourke of O’Rourke Hospitality Marketing, all that he talks about is great but i have been told that people spend seconds on your website so would Video really be a good thing not to mention how costly it can be? i am still tring to find some one to redo the websites for both of my properties but with the hard times today industy not doing good i am having a hard time finding some one at a good price. And he did mention everyone is in a rush today don`t have the time to be watching a hotel video like they were watching a movie.
i have been in the Hotel industry for 24 years and i am still told images especially of the front of the Hotel so people can find it easly.
Thank you for that episode great points to think about.
Connie, you have started a very interesting conversation. Thank you.
At VFM Leonardo we are humbled by the response we have received on VTV. We are also amazed at how many of you visit and spend on average over 13 minutes on our feature web page. It is proof that good content will hold people on your site. It appears to have hit a chord with and provided a much needed environment for hotel e-business professionals to learn, share and challenge each other. The concept of online merchandising and in particular visual merchandising of hotels online, although not new, is starting to gain credibility and traction. I believe this is the case because we are finally starting to offer travel shoppers what they want – a visually rich experience that informs them about what your hotel offers and how that fits with their needs. The days of people spending only a few moments on your website are over – this was when websites were glorified brochures offering little interactivity and experience.
Travel shoppers are shopping and doing so in-depth. A Google report found that the average online travel shopper spent 29 days, did 12 different searches and visited 22 different travel sites before making a reservation. They also found that over 50% (upwards of 66%) viewed video at each of 5 stages of travel planning – for both leisure and business travel. A recent Adobe study found that what retail shoppers wanted:
“Shoppers need to feel like they are getting (sic) the experience when they’re shopping online…. In order to make a final decision, they want to continue to explore… by delving into the detailed long copy and visual information more closely.”
I personally think that the travel industry could learn a tremendous amount from successful online retailers – look at J Crew’s site to better understand how they use visually rich and detailed copy to sell basic items like a men’s white dress shirt!
A well merchandised hotel will use a mix of media types and written content to present their hotels. Photos/still images are an excellent way (really basis price of entry) to provide an easy, quick way for shoppers to evaluate a hotel – “is this a place I would like to stay at?” Virtual tours or 360° panoramic spins allow the shopper to see details of different room types and common areas and give them a feeling of being at the hotel – increasing confidence and excitement. Video allows the shopper to be more inspired and excited about specific attributes of the hotel that are interesting and unique. So, every type of media plays a role in the process and leaving one or more out really means that the shopper has not had the opportunity to fully experience what it would be like to stay at your hotel.
Now, if we acknowledge that a visually rich and well-presented hotel that has relevant and good content can keep travel shoppers engaged with your hotel online… how do we do it without breaking the bank? First, we need to look at this as an investment and ensure that there is a solid and well reasoned ROI model attached to the expenditure. Second, use technology to reduce the costs in producing and getting your content in front of travel shoppers. Technology and “the world is flat” outcomes have brought the price of producing rich visual content to ridiculously low amounts. Today, we are producing full motion video for less than $800 USD whereas 5 years ago this would have cost $10,000! Getting your visually rich experience in front of travel shoppers can also be done for $100 to $200 per month… 2 or 3 extra reservations for the average hotel!
Is this report that Google produced available on the Internet somewhere?
http://www.pmweb.com.br/noticias/arquivos/The_Travelers_Road_to_Decision_Webinar_Deck_72109.pdf