Using technology to gainstrategic advantage

Des OʼMahony PhDCEO & Founder, Bookassist

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hotels serve travel, they don t̓ create ithotels can only react to situations

hotels are not in control of their market

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the industry needs to be able to react decisively and with agility

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what are the factors influencing the industryʼs future?

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technology driven society

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global economy & society

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economic realities we canʼt control

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political realities we canʼt control

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environmental realities we canʼt control

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city 01/2009 01/2010 change

Dublin 167.2 97.44 -42%

London 145.60 142.16 -2%

Milan 142.68 121.80 -15%

Barcelona 115.64 93.96 -20%

Vienna 116.06 103.35 -11%

Budapest 78.56 64.96 -15%

Berlin 126.44 100.92 -22%

Average Price for a Double Room Online data 2009

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-30%

-23%

-15%

-8%

0%

8%

15%

23%

Mar-03Mar-04

Mar-05Mar-06

Mar-07Mar-08

Mar-09OccupancyAverage room raterevPAR

European Data - Primary City Destinations% change - seasonally adjusted

STR Global / Bookassist

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trough

recovery

peak

decline

economic cycle

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Hotels cannot assume they will followthe same path to recovery as before

Hospitality must work now to seizethe new opportunities available

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Distribution continues to move rapidly to the internet

Distribution on the internet is moving from indirect to direct

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2

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Asia Pacific Europe N. America

Hospitality eBusiness StrategiesPhocusWright, Merrill Lynch, HeBS

Online Hotel Reservations as a percentage of Total Hotel Reservations 2005-2009

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

20052006

2007

2008

2009

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in 2010 it is expected that 50% of all LEISURE bookings worldwide will be made via fixed and mobile internet

“Hospitality e-Business Strategies HeBS

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“Opaque” - Priceline, shoppers

“Merchant” - Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity

“Retail” -HRS, Bookings, Venere

Hospitality e-Business Strategies HeBS

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

own brand website

3rd party commissionable

3rd party net rate

3rd party opaque

75.1%

5.3%

10.6%

9%

Internet Booking Source 2009 - Top 30 Hotel Brands

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indirect sale

top travel sites are now discussion sitesincreasingly value-conscious guestincreasingly detail-conscious guest

direct sale

change in guest behaviour...

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These findings reinforce the belief that the hotel website is its most important branding tool and revenue generator

“Fonte: Hospitality e-Business Strategies HeBSSeptember, 2009

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3thingshotels need to focus on

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3thingsInternet strategy needs to be core strategy, not peripheral

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Traffic

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Conversionlook book

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Traffic Conversionweb site strategy

communicatecall to action

remove barrierscompelling offer

service levelrate parityexclusivity

last available room.

branddomain strategysegmentationcompetitive

analysistargetspend

analyserefine.

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(Analysis)

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3thingsWebsites, booking capability and mobile access need to be up to speed andready to serve

1 2

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Hotel Websites

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Unoptimized Website

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Optimized Website

versus 62.8%

versus 18%

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I am struck by the explosion of mobile computing - mobile is clearly going to win the battle with traditional computers.“Eric Schmidt, CEO GoogleAbu Dhabi, March 10, 2010

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Mobile web access is growing at three times the pace of computer web access

Taptu Mobile Touch Web Report Jan2010Survey of 110M websites monthly

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iOS web access presents ~67% of all mobile web access, or twice everything else combined (June 2010)

67%

33%

AndroidWindows Mobile

SymbianBlackberry OS

iPhoneiPodiPad

iOSMobile Web

Apple WWDC June 2010,Bookassist Analytics Q1 2010

80-85%34

Ecommerce is the fastest growing area of mobile web access

Taptu Mobile Touch Web Report Jan2010Survey of 110M websites monthly

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+49.94%

+52.75%

Dublin Hotel Q1-Q2

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Webapps (mobile enabled web services - cross-platform) are growing at three times the rate of downloadable apps

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

2008 Q12008 Q3

2009 Q1

2009 Q3

Webapps

iPhone apps

Android apps

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automatic redirect

easy return

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Route

Location Services will be critical - interactivity

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Location Services will be critical - advertising

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Apple is likely to add a location component to its mobile ads so, for example, coupons from local stores could show up on a person’s phone“

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3thingsAlign offline and online strategy to target indirect guests and build lifetime value

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The end of broadcast internet

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Audiences expect more and they want to be involved more -This change [social networking] is the answer to our economic problems.“

Rupert MurdochNAPTE, Jan 27 2010

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Itʼs about conversation

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with the world watching how you interact with your customers

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Social Media allows you to project your customer service outside your establishment in an unprecedented way

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Website/Mobile

Blog

Facebook

YouTube

Twitter

Concurrent Advantage in Search

Competitors

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1

2

3 Align offline and online strategy to target indirect guests and build lifetime value

Websites, booking capability and mobile access need to be up to speed and be ready to serve

Internet strategy needs to be core strategy, not peripheral

Thank you!

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