Mobile, Personalized Marketing, and Millennials in Hospitality

This week in hospitality news, Criteo released its 2014 Travel Flash Report, Skift reported on personalized marketing in travel, and Hotel News Now reports on the 6th annual Hotel Data Conference.

Mobile Bookings Continue to Grow

Tnooz covered a Criteo report this week that revealed some interesting stats. The 2014 Travel Flash Report looks at worldwide activity from 1,000 travel websites for the first six months of this year. The highlights indicate that it’s only becoming more important for hoteliers to get on board with a mobile solution:

• Mobile bookings are growing faster than desktop. The research shows a 20% increase via mobile compared to just two percent for desktop computers the first six months of 2014.
• Smartphones and tablets now account for 21 percent of hotel bookings.
• In-app bookings account for 12 percent of total mobile bookings.

The report also touches on destination and demographics-related stats. CLICK HERE to read the Tnooz article.

Personalized Marketing in Hotels

Personalized marketing is now a “must have” according to a new report from Skift.

“As consumers become accustomed to customization in other parts of their lives — banking, retail, dining — they are going to expect travel companies to be at that standard very soon,” says Henry Harteveldt, travel industry analyst at San Francisco-based Atmosphere Research Group.

The report also finds that:

• 8 in 10 consumers say that personalized marketing has some impact on their decision to purchase.
• Personalized marketing can help you improve conversion rates by 10-20%, increase revenue 5% per week or more, and drive loyalty and increase 3-7x revenue per visit

For hoteliers, this means collecting more and more information about guests. Pre- and post-stay communications, interactions with staff, purchases, and preference data can all help hoteliers learn more about their guests and deliver personalized marketing. CLICK HERE to get the report and learn more.

Millennials and Loyalty

Guy Langford, VP of travel, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte, reported on the Millennial demographic at the 6th annual Hotel Data Conference. He recommended that hoteliers invest time in discovering brand enthusiasts, analyzing guest preference data, and delivering a customized guest experience.

“Millennials, who will comprise 50% of the workforce in the next ten years, expect a lot more initiatives, which in turn could help drive loyalty. For them it is not just about price but about the rewards,” Langford said.

Presenters at the conference also discussed how hoteliers are benefiting from the current state of the economy, and the opportunity that outbound Chinese travelers present. CLICK HERE to learn more.