marketing your hotel to business travelers: art & science of visual storytelling
DESCRIPTION
In this webinar we learned how the business traveler is researching hotels, what they are looking for and how to cater your hotel’s visual story to appeal to this market. Speakers: Joff Romoff- Director of Supplier Relations, Global Supplier Management at Concur David Attardi- Vice Presiden of Interactive Marketing at B.F. Saul CompanyTRANSCRIPT
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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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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
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