Is Your Hotel Website Leaking Direct Online Bookings? The 4 Phase in the Online Hotel Booking Cycle and How You Can Leverage Each Phase to Increase Your Top Line What is the average number of years EHMA members have been Hotel Managers? 20 Years HOW YOU BROWSED IN 1994 YOUR DESKTOP IN 1994 YOUR SMARTPHONE IN 1994 HOW YOU SEARCHED IN 1994 THE CLOUD IN 1994 BOOKING.COM IN 1994 The amount of data and information created each day makes it impossible to keep up “Every morning when you wake up you’re a little bit more stupid.” Dr. Kjell Nordstrom 39% of website visitors abandon the hotel sales funnel during the browsing phase Heat mapping helps you find how your users are moving around your website. In person testing is a valuable way to understand your users and find weaknesses on your site. Eye tracking follows users eyes on your site and helps your web team design a high preforming website. Cornell University used eye tracking to study hotel websites – what were the top factors during the browsing phase? Are these optimized on your site? Properties with at least one photo see an increase of +138% in travel engagement Properties with more than 1,000 photos see an increase of +203% in travel engagement Expedia does a great job of this – does your site? 37% of website visitors abandon the hotel sales funnel during the comparing phase According to Google, the average length in days before a purchase is 24, and visits 21.6 websites before making a decision “Best is not the name of the game anymore, because the standards have reached a point that you can not easily make them higher, but I think we’re back to basics…every hotel…has to show their real nature…[because] people are searching for something very specific. So you have to have your own personality.” Jacques Mayer Beau Rivage Hotel Is your traffic funnel optimized? Are you bringing visitors back to your site? Do you have a review strategy? 29% Website Visitors Abandon the Hotel Sales Funnel During the Booking Phase What would a 29% increase in online bookings mean to your bottom line? User experience testing ongoing Right tools to determine the opportunity Someone on your team reading the data Booking system should always be improving "Last year Fouquet's Barrière worked with StringCan Interactive to look at our online obstacles and opportunities, the audit StringCan provided was very in-depth, actionable and insightful generating real results." Monika Moser Director of Rooms & Spa Hotel Fouquet's Barrière Paris JASON McDONALD Director of StringCan Europe jason@stringcaninteractive.com www.stringcaninteractive.fr JAY FEITLINGER CEO / Founder THANK YOU!

1. 42nd
EHMA Annual General Meeting
REVOLUTION
Geneva 17-19 April 2015
Geneva 2015
COMMUNICATION
The 4 Phase in the Online Hotel
Booking Cycle and How You Can
Leverage Each Phase to Increase Your
Top Line
Is Your Hotel Website Leaking
Direct Online Bookings?

2. 20
Years
What is the average number of years EHMA
members have been Hotel Managers?

3. 20
Years
What is the average number of years EHMA
members have been Hotel Managers?

4. 20
Years
What did the world look like 20 years ago?

5. Source: http://blogs.microsoft.com/firehose/2014/08/07/throwback-thursday-microsoft-com-
among-the-earliest-commercial-websites-has-been-on-the-web-for-20-years/
HOW YOU BROWSED IN 1994

6. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_3.1x
YOUR DESKTOP IN 1994

7. YOUR SMARTPHONE IN 1994

8. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-15-years-of-
yahoo-home-pages-1994-2009-2009-7?op=1&IR=T
HOW YOU SEARCHED IN 1994

9. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the-difference/
THE CLOUD IN 1994

10. Source:
Kenneth
Allen,
McKelvey
Travel,
Omagh
-­‐
geograph.org.uk
BOOKING.COM IN 1994

11. Source: by Orlando Uy
TODAY LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT

12. The amount of data and information created
each day makes it impossible to keep up
Source: Dr. Kjell Nordstrom: International Business Thought-Leader, Best Selling
Author, Keynote Speaker
HOW DO YOU KEEP UP?

13. “Every morning when you wake up you’re a
little bit more stupid.”
Dr. Kjell Nordstrom
Source: Dr. Kjell Nordstrom: International Business Thought-Leader, Best Selling
Author, Keynote Speaker
HOW DO YOU KEEP UP?

14. Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
71% of EHMA Members
wanted to learn
more about
website sales
funnels
STRATEGY TO DECREASE THE GAP

15. Phase
1
Phase
2
Phase
3
Phase
4
Browsing
Comparing
Confirming
Booking
HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

16. Phase
1
Phase
2
Phase
3
Phase
4
Browsing
Comparing
Confirming
Booking
HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

17. Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
39%of website visitors abandon
the hotel sales funnel during
the browsing phase

18. USER BEHAVIOR USING HEATMAPS
Heat mapping helps you find how your users
are moving around your website.

19. Source: http://answerlab.com/services/websites/
IN PERSON TESTING
In person testing is a valuable way to
understand your users and find weaknesses
on your site.

20. Source: SMI Eye Tracking, www.smivision.com/egts
WHERE DOES THE EYE LOOK?
Eye tracking follows users eyes on your site
and helps your web team design a high
preforming website.

21. Source: Using Eye Tracking to Obtain a Deeper Understanding of What Drives Online Hotel
Choice -Vol. 14, No. 518 FSepbrteumarbye2r0210414
IMPORTANT DURING BROWSING
Cornell University
used eye tracking
to study hotel
websites – what
were the top
factors during the
browsing phase?

22. Source: Using Eye Tracking to Obtain a Deeper Understanding of What Drives Online Hotel
Choice -Vol. 14, No. 518 FSepbrteumarbye2r0210414
IMPORTANT DURING BROWSING
Are these
optimized on your
site?

23. QUANTITY & QUALITY
• Properties with at least one photo see an increase of +138% in travel
engagement
• Properties with more than 1,000 photos see an increase of +203% in travel
engagement
• Expedia does a great job of this – does your site?
Source: http://fredericgonzalo.com/en/2014/12/23/why-visuals-are-key-in-travel-marketing/

24. Phase
1
Phase
2
Phase
3
Phase
4
Browsing
Comparing
Confirming
Booking
HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

25. Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
37%of website visitors abandon
the hotel sales funnel during the
comparing phase

26. According to Google, the average length
in days before a purchase is 24, and visits
21.6 websites before making a decision
Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning,
HeBS Digital
COMPARING. NO BAD DECISIONS

27. How often does your browser have this
many tabs open? It’s easy to have 21
touch points today – has your team
optimized all of them?
Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning,
HeBS Digital
COMPARING. NO BAD DECISIONS

28. Your Online Presence
98.8% of
EHMA
Hotels are
using
Facebook
Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

29. Your Online Presence
98.8% of
EHMA
Hotels are
using
Facebook
53% of EHMA
Hotels have a
defined
strategy or
goals for
Facebook
Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

30. Your Online Presence
98.8% of
EHMA
Hotels are
using
Facebook
53% of EHMA
Hotels have a
defined
strategy or
goals for
Facebook
Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

31. Your Online Presence
98.8% of
EHMA
Hotels are
using
Facebook
53% of EHMA
Hotels have a
defined
strategy or
goals for
Facebook
100% of hotel
managers
know the
power of
online reviews
Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

32. Your Online Presence
98.8% of
EHMA
Hotels are
using
Facebook
53% of EHMA
Hotels have a
defined
strategy or
goals for
Facebook
100% of hotel
managers
know the
power of
online reviews
84% of EHMA
Hotels have
NO digital
review
strategy
Source: EHMA 2014 Members Survey
COMPARING. ONLINE PRESENCE

33. HAVE YOUR OWN PERSONALITY
“Best is not the name of the game anymore, because the
standards have reached a point that you can not easily make
them higher, but I think we’re back to basics…every hotel…has
to show their real nature…[because] people are searching for
something very specific. So you have to have your own
personality.”
Jacques Mayer
Beau Rivage Hotel
Source: Source:The McKay Interview: Jacques Mayer, Michael McKay is talking to Jacques Mayer, the fourth
generation of his family to run the famous Beau Rivage Hotel in Geneva. 09 December 2013

34. Source; The Smart Hotelier’s Guide to 2015 Digital Marketing Budget Planning, HeBS Digital
Your
Website
• Is your traffic funnel optimized?
• Are you bringing visitors back to your site?
• Do you have a review strategy?
OPTIMIZED TO SELL

35. Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com
BROWSING. PRICING STRATEGY

36. Phase
1
Phase
2
Phase
3
Phase
4
Browsing
Comparing
Confirming
Booking
HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

37. Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
21%of website visitors abandon
the hotel sales funnel

38. Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com
CONFIRMING. EASE AND URGENCY

39. Source: Booking.com and Expedia.com
CONFIRMING. EASE AND URGENCY

40. Source: http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/ https://reservations.roccofortehotels.com, http://
www.aqualuxhotel.com/en/
CONFIRMING. EASE. URGENCY. VALUE.

41. Phase
1
Phase
2
Phase
3
Phase
4
Browsing
Comparing
Confirming
Booking
HOTEL GUEST SALES FUNNEL

42. 13%
Booking Process Too Long
Complicated Checkout
Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
WebsiteVisitors Abandon
the Hotel Sales Funnel During
the Booking Phase

43. 9%
Technical Issues
Lost Connection
Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
WebsiteVisitors Abandon
the Hotel Sales Funnel During
the Booking Phase

44. 7%
Payment Issues
Lack of Options
Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
WebsiteVisitors Abandon
the Hotel Sales Funnel During
the Booking Phase

45. 29%
Source: http://www.tnooz.com/article/travel-booking-abandon-infographic/
WebsiteVisitors Abandon
the Hotel Sales Funnel During
the Booking Phase

46. Source: Source: Expedia’s CEO defends commission structure, December 16 2013, http://
www.hotelnewsnow.com - By Jeff Higley
What would a 29%
increase in online
bookings mean to your
bottom line?
FIXING ISSUES. WORTH THE EFFORT

47. Source: Source: Expedia’s CEO defends commission structure, December 16 2013, http://
www.hotelnewsnow.com - By Jeff Higley
• User experience testing ongoing
• Right tools to determine the opportunity
• Someone on your team reading the data
• Booking system should always be improving
BOOKING. ALWAYS IMPROVING

48. Define Goals
Review Competitors
Audit Website
Audit Online Presence
Analyze Data
Create
Strategy
SALES FUNNEL OPTIMIZATION PROCESS

49. WE CAN HELP
Monika Moser
Director of Rooms & Spa
Hotel Fouquet's Barrière Paris
"Last year Fouquet's Barrière worked
with StringCan Interactive to look at our
online obstacles and opportunities, the
audit StringCan provided was very in-
depth, actionable and insightful
generating real results."

50. JASON McDONALD
Director of StringCan Europe
that win!
@StringCanEU
stringcaninteractive.fr
jason@stringcaninteractive.com
CEO / Founder
that win!
@StringCanAgency
stringcaninteractive.com
jay@stringcaninteractive.com
JAY FEITLINGER
LET’S CONNECT

51. Q&A
THANK YOU!