The distribution and cost-per-guest-acquisition landscape remains complicated and ever-changing, hotel owners and operators said during a panel discussion which touched on direct-booking campaigns versus outside booking channels.
Navigating the hotel distribution landscape isn’t getting any easier, but hoteliers are becoming more skilled at it, and as a result, Brand.com might be gaining some ground, sources said.
Central to success are realizing that consumers think about booking in radically different ways than hoteliers, and acquiring different types of leisure and group business require different strategies based on market location and company profile.
During a panel titled “Hotel owners and operators speak out” at the Hotel Distribution Event 2017, panelists praised and damned both brands and online travel agencies, while admitting that consolidation with hotel firms and OTAs provides scale and benefits for both.
Still, they said, education and a continued push in direct-booking campaigns might help Brand.com regain some footing within the next few years.
Bottom line, cost-per-guest-acquisition strategies remain complicated, and distribution partners can best be described as “frenemies.”
“We want our sellers to talk in a brand voice. Everyone in the hotel firm understands those brands, but that is not always the case with sellers, and the recipient often might not be as familiar,” said Geneviève Materne, regional VP of distribution strategy for Europe, Asia, Middle East, Southwest Asia and Asia-Pacific at Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “Within the hotel company, there is a lot of pride in regards to brands, but more customer awareness is needed.”
Strategy and the ability to spot trends are vital. Flexibility is the key.
“Branding and selling should be separate,” said Simon Teasdale, managing director at Lapithus Hotel Management, which operates 21 hotels in the United Kingdom. “Estates often tend to push the two together too much. (Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) is somewhat a local sale, while transient business obviously is not. You have to see what the gaps are.”
