Six Things You Need to Know from Google’s “The 2013 Traveler” Study
Do you, as a hotelier, put yourself in the shoes of travel shoppers? You should, and this study will help.
If you missed Google's full presentation, you can view it here.
Although this insightful presentation was released in late 2013, it's worth revisiting… or
visiting for the first time for some. As Google states on the second slide, they wanted to know the following: "How have the attitudes and behaviors of leisure and business travelers changed over the past year?" Well, here are six ways travelers have changed over the past year, and what your property can do to capitalize (i.e. better reach, engage and convert these "changed" travel shoppers in the form of direct website revenue):1 - 60% of leisure travelers and 53% of business travelers rely on search
engines.This is NOT shocking, or even new, but should continue to be a point of emphasis. The
bottom line is that you can have the most beautiful and engaging website in the industry, but if travel shoppers can't find it, it's worthless! And how are the bulk of those shoppers finding your direct—also known as independent or vanity—website (their preferred location for booking
according to #1 in this article)? Search engines, namely Google and Bing (per Search Engine Land, Google currently has 2/3's of the market share). And it's simply not sufficient to have a one-time setup approach to search engine optimization (SEO). Professional, ongoing SEO that adheres to Google's algorithm updates, researches trends in themed searches, understands the impact Google+ has on the first search engine results page, and realizes how SEO and pay-per-click advertising work in concert is 100% imperative. No questions asked.2 - 42% of leisure travelers and 55% of business travelers read reviews.
It's actually surprising that these numbers are not higher. Unless I've stayed at a hotel
previously, I read reviews before every booking. So do my all friends and family members. Travel shoppers put a high value in earned media, such as reviews… it's less corporate website copy from the hotel and more honest opinions from their peers. First, you have to monitor your review and other social media mentions with one of several programs available. Second, you have to promptly, sympathetically and tactfully reply to ALL of your negative reviews and some of your positive reviews on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp in order to show travelers you genuinely care. No one is a better authority on this matter than Daniel Edward Craig.3 - 25% of travelers book hotel rooms on smartphones.
Do you have a separate mobile website that displays when visitors are on smartphones?
Or do you have a fully responsive design that renders well across all devices? If not, you're behind the times. Travelers are increasingly researching and booking rooms on both smartphones and tablets. As they get more comfortable with the security and usability of these devices, 25% is going to be 50% before we know it. You must have a mobile solution that is condensed enough so that it's easy to use, yet still provides ample information so that travelers can make a purchase decision. And make sure your website experience is seamless across all screens, as shoppers often jump from one screen to another in various patterns, from the beginning to the end of their purchase process.4 - 51% of leisure travelers and 69% of business travelers watch online travel
videos.Internet users enjoy consuming information through a variety of means, including, and
often preferring, video. And they're not just watching 30 seconds of a video in the planning stages; they're utilizing it throughout the purchase funnel, from planning to booking. A picture is worth a thousand words, and you can say the same about a video's worth to travel shoppers. Does your property have a YouTube account? Do you have a mixture of corporate produced videos and user generated content in the form of homemade videos? Are guests encouraged to post, tag and share their homemade videos? Although video marketing isn't quite a mainstay, it's the type of content that can elevate you above your competition, especially at a high end destination property.Please read the entire presentation
, as there is quite a bit of valuable data not included in this article. If you have questions about your property's online marketing, or would like to discuss how to optimize your efforts, feel free to reach the Vizergy team at 904.389.1130, [email protected] or via social media.About Vizergy®
For more than 20 years, Vizergy has served the hospitality industry with leading marketing technologies, knowledgeable talent and exceptional service for clients worldwide. The company deploys complete travel life-cycle marketing solutions from conversion-optimized website design to award-winning digital marketing programs, reservation solutions, media planning and execution. Vizergy's platform is touted as the #1 digital marketing system – easy to use, turnkey and SMART, and continually enhanced with tools to help hotels compete and maximize revenue. At Vizergy, hospitality marketing is not only our mission, it's our sole focus.
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Kristen M. Poillon
Director of Corporate Marketing
(904) 389-1130 x 171
