2014 best global travel websites...and why
TRANSCRIPT
1
Global Customer Lifecycle SM
The Best Global Travel Websites …and Why
2
With You Today …
John Yunker – Speaker
President
Byte Level Research
@johnyunker
Clint Poole – Moderator
VP, Corporate Marketing
Lionbridge
3
Lionbridge – Travel & Hospitality Practice
Experts in Multilingual
Communication
Travel & Hospitality Practice
More Than Translation
The Largest in the Industry
Offices in 26 Countries
Trusted Advisors
Dedicated Travel Specialists
4
Agenda
• The leading travel websites
• Best practices: Language, design, global navigation
• Website profiles
• Hotels.com
• KLM
• Hertz
• DiscoverAmerica.com
• Social and mobile developments
• Q&A
5
Is any industry more global than travel?
• Each year, more than one billion people travel internationally. The number will reach 1.8 billion by 2030.
• By 2015, emerging economies will, for the first time ever, receive more international tourist arrivals than advanced economies — reaching one billion by 2030.
• By 2030, five million people will cross borders for leisure, business or other purposes every day.
6
Is any industry more challenging than travel?
• Ecommerce challenges: Different currencies, payment methods, fraud mitigation
• Customer support challenges: Language, time-sensitive, time zones (follow the sun)
• Platform challenges. Users may purchase ticket on PC and expect to use it on smartphone
• Geo challenges: Location-specific services; Travelers may have slow wireless connections
• Social challenges: Travelers may get “social” when they’re unhappy
7
US-only companies must also think global
• China and Brazil are quickly becoming major exporters of US tourists
• How does your website respond when it detects visitors from outside the US?
Canada 23.39 3
Mexico 14.34 1
United Kingdom 3.84 2
Japan 3.73 1
Brazil 2.06 15
Germany 1.92 2
China (excludng HK) 1.81 23
France 1.5 3
South Korea 1.36 9
Australia 1.21 7
India 0.86 19
Italy 0.84 1
Venezuela 0.79 17
Colombia 0.75 24
Argentina 0.69 12
Spain 0.62 2
Netherlands 0.59 0
Sweden 0.48 8
Switzerland 0.47 -1
Taiwan 0.38 33
Country of Residence
2013 Visits to the
United States
(millions)
2013 vs. 2012
% Change
8
Benchmarking Methodology
Localization & Social
25%
Global Navigation
25%
Global/Mobile Architecture
25%
Global Reach
25%
9
Leading Travel Websites
From 50 companies across the following sectors:
• Airlines
• Cruise Lines
• Hotels
• OTAs
• Rental Cars
• Review/Meta Search
• Visitor Bureaus
1. Hotels.com 2. Booking.com 3. TripAdvisor 4. Kayak 5. KLM 6. Hertz 7. Expedia 8. InterContinental Hotels 9. MSC Cruise Lines 10. Delta 11. British Airways 12. Starwood Hotels 13. American Airlines 14. Royal Caribbean 15. Hyatt
10
The language benchmark continues to rise
Source: The Web Globalization Report Card
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
2005 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
AverageNumberofLanguages
11
Overall Language Leaders
12
Travel Sector Language Leaders
41
38
29
26 26
24
22
20 19
17 16
15 15
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Languages
13
What languages should you support?
Native languages of the
2.7 billion Internet users
14
Global consistency; local flexibility
15
Global templates; different brands
16
What’s your global gateway strategy?
17
Country Codes Work
Of the 50 websites reviewed, 18 websites do an
“average” to “above average” job of supporting
country codes. Notable websites include:
• Air New Zealand
• Enterprise
• Expedia
• Fairmont Hotels
• Hilton
• Kayak
• Travelocity
• TripAdvisor
18
The global gateway should be prominent and consistent
19
Geolocation works, but use it carefully
Of the 50 websites reviewed, 20 use geolocation to help
direct users to local content based on their location.
20
Don’t overtranslate your gateway
21
Use a “universal” global gateway
Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Hotels.com
23
Global Consistency
24
Mobile Website and App
25
Geolocation and language negotiation
26
Global gateway + currency gateway
What about the flags?
27
Wave Flags with Caution (if at all)
• Flags should not be used to indicate language
• Flags carry significant culture baggage – positive as well as potentially negative
• Flags limit reach
• Flags do not scale well
• Flags can convey a sense of “home”
Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
KLM
29
New, responsive global template
30
Translation, mobile and social investments KLM is the language leader, with support for 26
languages, followed by American Airlines and British
Airlines, with support for 15 languages each.
31
Global gateway has room to improve
Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Hertz
33
Responsive, consistent global template
34
Responsive, consistent global template
35
Hertz on the Phone
• As real estate shrinks, functionality expands
• Visuals are a luxury, not always a necessity
• Responding to the device is step one of many
36
Gateway Needs Work
Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission
Discover America
38
Global Consistency
39
For the most part…
www.gousa.cn
40
The global gateway and flags
41
Local-language blogs aid in search
42
Local Social Platforms
43
User-generated content can be as valuable as company generated content
44
Mobile App Language Leaders
• Few companies provide language parity across their websites and mobile apps
• Booking.com, Hotels.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia are the language leaders in mobile apps
22
30
21
17
36
34
21
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Booking.com Hotels.com TripAdvisor Expedia
NumberofLanguages
2013
2014
45
Web Globalization Best Practices
• Support 30 or more languages
• Solicit local requirements/use cases early on
• Maximize design template and code re-use
• Provide a consistent and prominent global gateway
• Be locally relevant (and functional)
• Support local-language social networks
• Support platform parity (between mobile and desktop)
• Focus less on merely translating words and more on localizing for usage scenarios
46
Global Customer Lifecycle SM
Q&A / Thank You
twitter.com/Lionbridge
www.lionbridge.com
facebook.com/L10nbridge
blog.lionbridge.com
twitter.com/johnyunker
www.bytelevel.com
globalbydesign.com