Hoteliers Say Distribution and Online Marketing Need Urgent Attention
Managed guest relationships, integrated technology systems, and improved data collection and security are the three most critical needs of hoteliers when it comes to distribution and online marketing, a whitepaper by hotel technology experts Dr. Peter O’Connor, SiteMinder and Revinate has found.
The whitepaper, Envisioning the Future of Hotel Distribution and Online Marketing, is based on research conducted in late 2015 with hotelier delegates of World Travel Market London. It found that hoteliers see overcoming the challenges of a fast-paced online environment, advancing technology and ever-increasing consolidation within the OTA space as priority.
Hotelier participants were asked what their key challenges and concerns were in relation to distribution and online marketing – now and over the next three years. Topping the list was the guest experience, with hoteliers admitting they invest too much of their already-limited time and resources into driving one-off transient bookings which lead to high guest acquisition costs.
The second and third greatest challenges and concerns, respectively, were integrated technology systems and improved data collection and security. SiteMinder, which has the industry’s largest channel management platform and in 2014 achieved PCI DSS compliance across its full product suite, says solutions to these exist but it is up to hoteliers to adopt them.
The whitepaper, Envisioning the Future of Hotel Distribution and Online Marketing, is based on research conducted in late 2015 with hotelier delegates of World Travel Market London. It found that hoteliers see overcoming the challenges of a fast-paced online environment, advancing technology and ever-increasing consolidation within the OTA space as priority.
Hotelier participants were asked what their key challenges and concerns were in relation to distribution and online marketing – now and over the next three years. Topping the list was the guest experience, with hoteliers admitting they invest too much of their already-limited time and resources into driving one-off transient bookings which lead to high guest acquisition costs.
The second and third greatest challenges and concerns, respectively, were integrated technology systems and improved data collection and security. SiteMinder, which has the industry’s largest channel management platform and in 2014 achieved PCI DSS compliance across its full product suite, says solutions to these exist but it is up to hoteliers to adopt them.