marketing your hotel to business travelers: art & science of visual storytelling

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Marketing Your Hotelto Business Travelers: Art & Science of Visual Storytelling

February 27, 2013

vfmleonardo.com facebook.com/vfmleonardo @vfmleonardo

Vice-President, Best Practices, Online Merchandising

VFM Leonardo Inc.

@darlenerondeau

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@vfmleonardoTweets & Questions:

#vfmlwebinar

How visual stories impact business travelers’ hotel decisions

Where and how business travelers shop for and book hotels

How the line between leisure and business travel shopping is blurring

Director of Supplier RelationsGlobal Supplier ManagementConcur

Vice PresidentInteractive MarketingB.F. Saul Company

Used by more than 20,000 clients and 20 million users (travel and expense) in over 100 countries

Over 1/2 (305) of Fortune 500 are Concur clients, incl. seven of top 10 U.S. companies (Sept. 2011)

Owns online itinerary aggregator TripIt with 7.1 mm users

About 2/3 of Concur managed corporate clients book via Concur Travel◦ Recently won the U.S. Travel Government Bid

Online corporate travel bookings have grown significantly and areexpected to increase

PhoCusWright's U.S. Corporate Travel Report: Market Size and Technology Trends

Used by more than 15,000 clients and 15 million users (travel and expense) in over 100 countries

Over 1/2 (305) of Fortune 500 are Concur clients, incl. seven of top 10 U.S. companies (Sept. 2011)

Owns online itinerary aggregator TripIt

About 2/3 of Concur managed corporate clients book via Concur Travel

of corporate travel dollars will be spent online in 2013

56%

PhoCusWright's U.S. Corporate Travel Report: Market Size and Technology Trends

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

A shift in corporate travel booking patterns is starting to emerge…

from ‘command and control’

to‘enable and monitor’

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

of business travelers are under mandated programs

21%

of business travelers are lightly managed, operating under ‘travel guidelines’

47%

Embrace the leisure experience and put it in a context that’s congruent with managed travel.

Nick Vournakis, Senior VP and GMCarlson Wagonlit Travel Canada“

Source: Hotel News Now, Next gen blurs lines of corporate, leisure

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

Hotel location & loyalty programs continue to be driving forces

Free Breakfast

24-Hour Business Center

24-HourFitness Center

Promotions & Discounts

in guestrooms

It’s all about interacting with the customer at the right time, at the right place. 

Lorraine Sileo, vice president of researchPhoCusWright

“Source: New York Times, Hotels Seek an Edge in Offering the Right Digital Perks

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

Making your property stand out makes a huge difference

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

When a hotel is“not preferred” in thebooking tool, sort order defaults to price.

When a hotel is“not preferred” in thebooking tool, sort order defaults to price.

Ensure your hotel is “Preferred” in corporate booking tools

Work with your TMCor corporate client to ensure you are selectedas “preferred” if you have an agreement with the account.

Work with your TMCor corporate client to ensure you are selectedas “preferred” if you have an agreement with the account.

© 2011 Concur, all rights reserved. Concur is a registered trademark of Concur Technologies, Inc.

When a hotel is“preferred” in thebooking tool, sort order defaults to corporate negotiatedrates.

When a hotel is“preferred” in thebooking tool, sort order defaults to corporate negotiatedrates.

Make sure preferred agreement is highlighted in the tool

Hotel information needs to be accurate

Find ways to make your hotel stand out through visual stories

Travelers do their research◦ Ensure visibility and consistency across web and devices

Vice PresidentInteractive MarketingB.F. Saul Company

Vice President, Interactive Marketing Integrated approach of marketing and e-commerce Basically… ensure people are finding, booking,

AND talking about our hotels across all channels

20 properties◦ 7 IHG◦ 7 select service Marriott◦ 4 Hampton Inns◦ 1 Best Western◦ 1 independent

Mostly all business class hotels

Large concentration of office space in our DC sub-markets◦ Northern VA (Loudoun, Arlington, and Fairfax Counties)◦ Montgomery County, MD

Major airport markets (IAD and DCA) Over 50% of annual room nights are

corporate/government travelers Over 55% of annual revenue is from

corporate/government travelers

They take travel seriously…◦ Road warriors are on the road a lot, so hotel accommodations are

often times more important than to leisure guests

Focus on what is important to them◦ High-speed internet access◦ Breakfast◦ Fitness center◦ Lounge and café options◦ Meeting space◦ Ad-hoc meeting space (public areas)◦ Work space in the guest room

Video is so easily accessible and consumed◦ Through mobile consumption especially◦ Almost expected

The days of the ‘hotel overview’ video are gone Short, easily digestible, specific videos◦ Perfect for targeted market segments◦ 30 to 60 seconds

Fun, creative, and catchy videos◦ ‘Explainer’ video style

Videos for specific market segments / occasions◦ Focus on the important pieces of your hotel’s value proposition for

that audience. Ex: business traveler High-speed internet access Breakfast Fitness center Lounge options Meeting space Ad-hoc meeting space (public areas) Work space in the guest room

Content for specific market segments / occasions◦ Focus on the right content, but be sure it’s on the right shelf!◦ Custom media (video, photos, etc.) within the right channels

Concur Cvent Other BTA online booking tools

Telling the complete arc of the business traveler’s guest experience…◦ Check-in… efficient, recognized as a loyal guest◦ In-room experience… comfortable, convenient, and contemporary◦ Breakfast and coffee… reliable, free (?), and fresh◦ Service… attentive, sincere, and proactive

Accomplished with visuals (photos and video) in the context of their shopping funnel

‘Explainer’ Videos◦ Stealing a page out of the technology and SaaS industry◦ Creative and fun (often animated) way to articulate your hotel’s

unique value proposition… Key persuasion At the end of this video, we want people to ________

Possible ‘Explainer’ Videos for BFS◦ O’Malley’s Online Ordering (O3) – pre-order lunch service

Give us two minutes and we’ll give you twenty…

◦ Executive Conference & Training Center (ECTC) The unique conference center difference

We have mobilized websites for all of our major web presences

We see that anywhere between 15 and 27% of our website visits come from mobile devices

Utilize mobile-friendly content to show our imagery across mobile devices

We have a big investment in our online reputation Huge focus for us to get great actionable feedback,

competitive insight, and increase our exposure◦ Monitor for what business travelers are saying about what they

do/don’t like about their experience at our hotels◦ Use that information to improve highlight with visuals

ReviewOurHotel.com – internal tool we use to grow our reviews and get feedback

ReviewOurHotel.com – internal tool we use to grow our reviews and get feedback

Focus on what’s important to the business traveler Leverage short “explainer” videos Show the whole experience through visual

storytelling Pay attention to what they are saying on review

sites They’re always connected◦ Multiple devices

Recording of this webinar◦ Share it with your colleagues

Free guide◦ Corporate Travel Storytelling Guide: Getting the Business

Traveler to Choose You

Invitations to upcoming webinars◦ Topics include Visual Merchandising with VBrochure and

how to optimize your hotel website for mobile devices

Watch your inbox for…

www.vfmleonardo.com

vbrochure@vfmleonardo.com

1.877.593.6634

@vfmleonardo

facebook.com/vfmleonardo

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Connectwith us!

Joff Romoff

David Attardi

www.bfsaulhotels.com

www.concur.com @Concur

Questions and Best Practices