Just finished the Mobile World Congress, it is a good time to talk about a concept that had been nothing but speculation until now: booking through voice and what it means for the hotel industry.
It is becoming clearer that using voice commands to search for and book hotels is going to be disruptive in the hotel industry and will soon be changing the rules of the game. Certain studies have anticipated that voice will account for 50% of searches in under two years. What seems unquestionable is that users will be searching the net very differently before too long.
We have come to yet another turning point where hotels are forced to “adapt or die” in the fight to defend and boost direct bookings. Voice search poses a new threat for those who are lagging behind, but it also represents an opportunity for the more active businesses that are ready to act fast.
The new priority now involves connecting your direct channel to the end user right from their first point of contact with the Internet, which increasingly means the voice assistants available on phones (like the Google Assistant or Siri) and home devices like Google Home or Amazon’s Alexa. This unstoppable shift in user behaviour is likely to shake up the traditional online distribution model, starting with OTAs who will have to reinvent themselves, and also direct channels that need to find their new place.
The good news: You can now link your direct channel to Google Assistant
What could be better than offering your prices instantly in real time and allowing users to book your hotel through Assistant, the almighty voice technology app by Google that runs on both iOS and Android which is forecast to claim almost 50% of the assistant market share by 2020?
Google recently announced that people can now book hotel rooms through the Assistant on Android or iOS smartphones, and Mirai is one of the companies to offer hotels this new service. At Mirai, we are very proud to already have all our clients bookable using the Google Assistant.
Book on Google – the technology that makes it all possible
Book on Google (BoG) is Google’s endeavour to enhance the user experience when searching for and booking flights and hotels.
Launched in the USA in late 2015, in the UK in 2016 and available in most European countries since 2018, Book on Google makes it easier for users to book online with a more seamless booking process, through a Google-hosted site designed to minimize friction and drop off. This avoids potential friction and the risk of losing a client when they change website to complete their reservation (especially on mobile devices). In the metasearch engine industry, this concept is known as Facilitated Booking.
Connecting your direct channel with the Google Assistant is possible thanks to Book on Google functionality, which shows one more time what a strategic tool this is for the future.
