creating a mobile strategy for hotels | orc2014

nakedsecurity.sophos.com

Loyal App User?

Facebook Recommendation Asker?

Review Site Checker?

Pre-Trip Visual Experiencer?

1. Why does mobile really matter?

2. What does “mobile optimization” actually mean?

3. How to create a multi-channel mobile strategy?

4. Where to begin?

5. Q&A

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

Visits by Mobile

Hotel in Nashville, TN

Hotel in Nashville, TN

Visits by Device Category

Mobile

Tablet

Desktop

Mobile

Tablet

Desktop

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Male Female

By Gender

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+

By Age Group

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Less than50K

$50-100K $100-125K $125-150K $150K+ Declined toAnswer

By Household Income

Anatomy of Mobile Shoppers

nielsen.com

• Generate more quality traffic

• Increase bookings

• Increase conversion rate

• Increase ADR

• Boost guest engagement

• Increase WOM/social referrals

Enhancing your hotel’s presence on all mobile devices, thereby creating an efficient shopping and traveling experience for all mobile users. • Mobile App • Mobile version of your Desktop Website • Responsive Website • External mobile channels (social media, OTAs) • Increase WOM/social referrals • Simplifying the Experience & Booking Process

Channels & Strategies Impacted

• Instagram – mobile app

• Foursquare – mobile app

• Facebook ~ 80% mobile usage

• Twitter ~ 76% mobile usage

• Pinterest ~ 75% mobile usage

...and many more social media channels

comscore.com

o Travel is the most popular topic on Facebook

- 84% of people are inspired by friends’ holidays on Facebook

- 70% of people can easily imagine going to a place if they see

friends and family have been there

tnooz.com

Channels & Strategies Impacted

• Local Search Optimization • Social Media Channels • Online Travel Agencies • Online Review Sites • Paid Search Advertising • Hotel Website

Recommendations via social media are a huge influence Consumers are 71% more likely to purchase based on social media referrals There are 500 billion word of mouth impressions on social media each year in the United States; each individual post by a consumer reaches an average of 150 people

Most Popular Travel Websites in March 2014

38 million unique visitors

35 million unique visitors

25 million unique visitors

16 million unique visitors

20 million unique visitors

Google AdWords provides robust mobile targeting by

• Time of Day • Location • Device • Demographic

Last year in the US, the share of paid search clicks from mobile devices rose from 21.8 percent in January to 34.2 percent in December. Paid search clicks from smartphones almost doubled throughout 2013.

Channels & Strategies Impacted

• Online Travel Agencies & Mobile Deal Apps • Mobile site presence • Site Design and Development • User Experience • SEO/Content Marketing

Mobile First – Start with mobile & build from there

• Mobile site vs responsive web design • Mobile-optimized website versus app • Mobile design and site architecture • Conversion optimization and tracking • Content creation • Mobile only offers and deal apps for last minute shoppers

Responsive Website Design automatically reformats to fit your device screen size, enhancing the user-experience while shopping on mobile, tablet, desktop, or TV!

A Mobile Website is a separate site from your desktop site, and can be set up to detect a user coming from a mobile device so it can send the user to the correct mobile web page

Mobile Apps have strong user experience over their browser counterparts, and high levels of engagement and conversion optimization

Did you know… About 80% of the typical mobile user’s time is spent on mobile applications!

Channels Impacted

• On-Property/POP • Provide share-worthy guest experience • Educate team about hotel’s social media • Incentivize team for online reviews

• Mobile Website

Can you remember…. the last time your phone was not within earshot?

fastcompany.com AGES 18 – 44

Mobile allows guests to write reviews in

real time.

Your hotel’s mobile site is the concierge’s best friend. “Unclutter” the front desk (maps, menus, things to do lists)!

Channels & Strategies Impacted

• Social Media Channels • Online Review Sites

• Five minutes of famed

• Freebies at hotel

• Chance to win/Giveaways

Reward User-Generated Content to maintain control and acquire content

Promote social media engagement in keycard inserts

Market your social channels around the hotel. Implement a check-out strategy to ask guests for online reviews.

First Steps

• Dig through your current analytics

• Assess your current mobile strategy on all applicable channels

• Determine the necessities

• Ensure consistent messaging across devices, including email and SMS, and explore cross-device marketing functionality

Local Listing Optimization

• Assess your current local listing status • Determine your correct NAPU and begin updating the major players!

OTA Optimization

• Assess your OTA listing content and reputation • Run mobile-only offers and utilize mobile deal apps • If beneficial, sign up for mobile OTA upgrades (like TripAdvisor)

Create your social media strategy

• Dedicate a resource to social media and define your goals • Determine which channels work for your needs • Use a content calendar and follow mobile best practices • Encourage on-property engagement!

Educate and incentivize your staff

• Provide the best guest experience ever

• Implement an online review strategy

Site Design/Development with User Experience

SEO & Content Creation • Responsive Web Design vs. Mobile strategies

Paid Search Advertising • Develop mobile-targeted PPC campaign with mobile-friendly landing pages

Bring it all together - Interlink your optimized mobile channels so they all effectively contribute to the all five stages of travel!