E-Biz Professionals Reveal Top Tactics for Web Res Conversions

VFM Leonardo, Inc. has just released the results of its first Hotel E-Business Survey which was conducted from March 1, 2010 through April 30, 2010. The key goals of the survey were to identify and analyze what hotel e-business professionals are currently doing and what they plan to do in the next year to enhance the online presence of their hotel, the travel shopper experience and drive online booking conversions. The results were compiled based on responses from 590 companies across the world representing hotel interests and e-business responsibilities.

The features that many e-business professionals are currently using do not align with those that they believe to be most effective. For example, 64% of respondents believe that "hotel tours (combinations of guided spin, zoom imagery, videos or animation)" are very effective yet only 41% have deployed this tactic.

Highlights from the survey include the most popular planned and deployed features and their effectiveness across two categories: rich media/merchandising and social media.

At a glance, the top five most effective rich media merchandising and social media tactics include:

• User ratings and rankings: 67%
• Hotel tours (combinations guided spin, zoom imagery, videos or animation): 66%
• User comments and reviews: 64%
• Videos for merchandising, advertising and demonstration: 60%
• 360 degree spins/panoramas: 49%