Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Hotel Direct Bookings - For Class 17/02

In the previous semester, we looked at 3 party online distribution...essentially reseller opportunities.

This semester, we will examine hotel direct booking ... the most profitable channel. In keeping with the 'customer in charge' concept, let's review this HEDNA presentation - Travel 2.0

Most effective Hotel Websites are:
  • Easy to find
  • Easy to use
  • Easy to book

Exercise - compare 2 hotel direct websites - Post due Monday 15/02 by 9 PM

1. Choose 2 non-chain hotels - search online, as if you were a guest looking to book
  • by brand name
  • by location and type of hotel
2. What easy was it to find the hotel's own website? How did it rank in Google search results?
  • List the 3rd party sites that had more visible results, using the brand
  • List other 'competiting' hotels were ahead of your hotel in search results
3. How easy was the site to use
  • Assess - ease of access to 'decision' information
  • Guestroom details
  • Ammenities - facilities
  • Location
  • Pricing
4. Click through to the booking engine
  • Which booking engine (look at the URL)
  • Assess - appeal - 'sell' the hotel
  • Pricing, product and conditions clear
5. Conclusion - Which hotel is doing a better direct sell effort? How do you know?


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