“Flashing up that only two rooms F
are left keeps the pressure up” Martin Evans
or managers of small or mid-range hotels, digital marketing may be daunting. “But, the first thing you need to know,” stresses
Martin Evans, managing director at consul- tancy the Tourism Business, “is that digital marketing is very important to your business.” Like all marketing, it sets out to promote your brand and increase sales. However, because it uses interactive channels, such as mobile phones, SMS, MMS, websites, email, social media and so on, it has a massive reach – particularly when it comes to engaging with the Generation Y market. It’s also a must-have for reducing what you
pay online travel agents (OTAs). Digital market- ing is what gives the OTAs their muscle, but you can do it just as well. “Hospitality businesses should be spend- ing 5%-8% of turnover on generating sales – some of which will be commission-based,” says Evans. “But you need to spend more of that budget on digital marketing each year as that is what customers are using.” Few hospitality operators are technical experts, so make use of agencies. But beware: it is easy to get bamboozled by jargon and overcharged if you don’t have a basic under- standing. Evans says: “Speak to experts at
www.thecaterer.com
marketing organisations, ask around for recommendations and look at your competi- tor’s websites.” Steve Lowy, co-founder of Umi Digital, adds that it is important to use agencies with hospi- tality expertise. “Avoid using a local agency that either doesn’t understand hotels, sets you up and then leaves you to it, or sends complicated reports that you don’t understand.”
Web design in 2015 Websites are an essential digital marketing tool. You need to do two things: first, pull as many visitors as possible into your website; and second, hook them and compel them to make a direct booking rather than slide off to an OTA or a competitor. At the very least, you need a professional-
looking website with large photographs that reflect the brand of the hotel. You also need rel- evant information so that nothing discourages the potential guest from making that booking – for example, availability, room rate, room types, menus and so on. More importantly, there should be a clear call to action, such as a ‘book now’ button on every website page. Choose a simple booking engine that guides the guest to payment in just
Technology Prospectus 2016 | 17
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