2014 best global travel websites...and why

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Global Customer Lifecycle SM

The Best Global Travel Websites …and Why

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With You Today …

John Yunker – Speaker

President

Byte Level Research

@johnyunker

Clint Poole – Moderator

VP, Corporate Marketing

Lionbridge

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Benchmarking Methodology

Localization & Social

25%

Global Navigation

25%

Global/Mobile Architecture

25%

Global Reach

25%

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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

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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

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Overall Language Leaders

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Travel Sector Language Leaders

41

38

29

26 26

24

22

20 19

17 16

15 15

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Languages

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What languages should you support?

Native languages of the

2.7 billion Internet users

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Global consistency; local flexibility

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Global templates; different brands

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What’s your global gateway strategy?

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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

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The global gateway should be prominent and consistent

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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.

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Don’t overtranslate your gateway

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Use a “universal” global gateway

Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission

Hotels.com

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Global Consistency

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Mobile Website and App

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Geolocation and language negotiation

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Global gateway + currency gateway

What about the flags?

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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

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New, responsive global template

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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.

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Global gateway has room to improve

Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission

Hertz

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Responsive, consistent global template

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Responsive, consistent global template

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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

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Gateway Needs Work

Copyright 2014. Confidential – Distribution prohibited without permission

Discover America

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Global Consistency

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For the most part…

www.gousa.cn

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The global gateway and flags

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Local-language blogs aid in search

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Local Social Platforms

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User-generated content can be as valuable as company generated content

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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

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30

21

17

36

34

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18

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Booking.com Hotels.com TripAdvisor Expedia

NumberofLanguages

2013

2014

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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

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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

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