More than 30 percent of hotel bookings come directly from the web, and online shoppers visit at least three websites before making an online hotel reservation purchase decision. These statistics and more are central to understanding Internet marketing, a topic of increasing interest for Asia Pacific hoteliers. According to Smith Travel Research, for the first 10 months of 2008, occupancy has been down 6 percent for the region, while RevPAR is up 6 percent on the strength of the steady average daily rate (ADR). As occupancy continues to be a potential challenge for the region—as well as for other areas of the world—building web-based business is a key requirement for hotel profitability.
To help Asia Pacific's leading hotels and resorts better understand actionable online reservation strategies and best practices for Internet marketing, TravelCLICK hosted a seminar series throughout the continent. To date, the event has been presented to hoteliers in Singapore; Maldives; Bangkok, Thailand; Ko Samui, Phuket, Thailand; Tokyo, Japan; and Guam, US --with nine more presentations scheduled for cities in Malaysia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The seminar addresses such topics as maximizing hotel direct web revenue, optimizing the role of online travel agents and metasearch sites, creating effective websites, understanding search engine marketing, managing online customer relationships, and making the most of analytic software.
Asia and keynote seminar speaker. "As these choices expand, trends in consumer behavior are rapidly shifting—online consumers are shopping longer and investigating new alternative online channels. Asian hotels are eager for the expertise and guidance that will help them seize the opportunities that the Internet provides for building brand, increasing revenue, and maximizing profitability."
iHotelier Central Reservations System clients in the Asia Pacific region grew revenue 33 percent and increased room nights 24 percent. The collective performance of these hotels is attributed to industry-recognized best practices for driving revenue through electronic channels, personalized service, and an unmatched network of local market experts.
Comments from seminar attendees affirm the industry need for this type of education—delivered by a proven authority with local market expertise, such as TravelCLICK:
CONTACT
Katrina Pruitt-Andrews (TRAVELCLICK)
Director of Marketing
Phone: 410-865-9093
Email: kpandrews@travelclick.net
ORGANIZATION
TravelClick, Inc.
www.travelclick.com
300 North Martingale Road, Suite 500
USA
- Schaumburg, IL 60173
Tollfree: 1.866.674.4553
Phone: +847.585.5000
Fax: +847.585.5498
Email: salesinfo@travelclick.com