THE KNOWLEDGE 4 supplier perspective
Why hotel content should…
BE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GDS
Jon West, MD of HRS UK & Ireland, talks up content aggregation, explaining why it’s good for business and good for the business traveller
combined with an ever increasing choice of route to market – and that creates pressure. Content aggregation must be a key pillar in
T
a hotel sales and marketing strategy, as it puts them on a massive playing field, reaching a vast number of bookers at a low cost of distribution. First and foremost, content aggregation has
direct benefits for the business traveller. Travellers don’t care where the hotel content comes from so long as it is information rich with photos and maps, and is kept updated in real-time, so bookings can be immediately confirmed. Aggregators provide this service, and do so in a way that highlights a range of options in an easy to choose and book layout. Global aggregators
Jon West
Managing Director, HRS UK & Ireland
Jon joined HRS as managing director in 2009 from IS
Solutions where he had been for 12 years. Jon was
marketing director at IS Solutions and
was responsible for launching the internet and
analytics divisions, as well as bringing on board clients such as Thomas
Cook, Toyota GB and Manpower. Before IS, Jon was managing
director at the below the line marketing agency Visual
Assets, and before that Happy Eater. Jon can regularly be seen speaking
at industry events and is also a keen rugby player.
have to provide a seamless, attractive, easy to use customer interface which drives online bookings (despite offering a call centre option, 95 per cent of our bookings are made online) and they need to offer the widest breadth of content possible – at HRS we have over 250,000 contracted hotels. Smart hotel booking agents (HBAs) also make life as easy as possible. For example, integrating travel policies into a bespoke company portal – including office
“Global aggregators have to provide a seamless, attractive, easy to use interface which drives online bookings, and they need to offer the widest breadth of content possible”
locations, preferred hotels, negotiated rates, city caps and even a cancellation policy of up to 6pm on the day of arrival. By working with an HBA, a travel manager
has greater control over the negotiated rates, and by working with just one HBA they are able to not only secure the best rates for their employees, but can still offer the range and locations of beds and nights they need to successfully meet company requirements. Because of the volume of hotels and
exclusive content available from online travel agents (OTAs), there is a huge demand for this content to be made available through global distribution systems (GDS). Collaborations, such as HRS’ recent partnership with Amadeus, are enabling this to become a reality. This is just further proof that content aggregation is the way of the future, and that traditional travel distribution providers are seeking partners to help to get their content out there. For hoteliers, the most important thing is to
achieve full occupancy at the highest rate with the lowest cost of distribution. While an in-house website/call centre may be low on costs it is also low on volume, which is why
more and more hotels are looking to aggregators to bring them bookings. In order to ensure a level playing field,
hotels should seek OTAs who distribute content without preference, i.e. allowing a small independent hotel to compete fairly with a larger chain hotel, without having to pay to be prioritised. With volume, parity and reach all worked
out, the next decision to be made by the hotelier is how to keep costs down. In an ever decreasing circle of cost margins, it is vital that hotels work with OTAs or HBAs to enable them to take advantage of the biggest margin possible. Currently, the cost of distribution for a hotel can be as much as 30 per cent of the room price when the sales chain is a complex one. Simplify the chain and streamline the distribution costs. By going via a selected pick of global
aggregators – ones that offer market penetration, good conversion rates and so on – even the smallest independent property can play ball with the big boys. Being a content aggregator makes life for the traveller easier, it improves margins for the hoteliers and, yes, it's great business for us too.
he sales landscape for hotels has never been as demanding as it is today – increasing numbers of guests looking for lower room rates,
14 THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112