Chances are that if you’re reading this article you’ve read a dozen others on how the pace of change in the travel industry is faster than ever, on how technology is shifting the way people travel and how your organization has to be nimble to stay ahead. Those platitudes may motivate you, or trouble you, but what do they mean for your bottom line?
In the past year, Expedia has allotted a significant amount of its technology investment into researching, designing and implementing tools to capitalize on this real time phenomenon. Read on for insights into how these new features can drive incremental revenue for Expedia hotel partners.
1. Real Time Feedback
Launched in 2015, Real Time Feedback originated from a need expressed by hoteliers who wanted to better understand guest sentiment to ensure they have the best possible stay experience. Data shows that 68% of travelers are influenced by reviews when booking (eMarketer, 2013) so a negative review can dissuade them from a property, impacting the bottom line. The interface of Real Time Feedback is simple. Shortly after a guest checks into an Expedia.com-booked hotel, they receive an email asking them three short questions:
“How was check in?”
“How is your room?”
“Are you happy with the location?”
Guests can then enter specific feedback, i.e. “I need more towels.” The reviews are transmitted in real time to the hotelier via Expedia PartnerCentral. The hoteliers now have the opportunity to act upon the feedback and transform a potentially negative guest review into a delighted review. Nearly one million guest reviews have been shared with hotel partners to date and early results show improved hotel review ratings.
2. Sell Tonight
As more than 15% of rooms are now sold same day, managing last minute pricing to ensure no rooms go unsold is a challenge expressed by many hoteliers. Sell Tonight enables hoteliers to generate last minute revenue by pushing out same day rates and availability to Expedia.com and Hotels.com customers globally, and to more than 80 million mobile apps. Rolled out in 2015, the tool informs hotels in real time of same day rates in their market, providing them with the insights they need to better compete and increase their share of same day bookings. Empowered with this information, hoteliers can update and broadcast same day deals in a few seconds to ensure maximum occupancy levels.
3. Market Watch
Time is money. Expedia research found that hotel revenue managers were spending anywhere from 45 minutes to four hours daily simply validating availability and rate competitiveness across various different distribution channels. As an answer to this hotel need, Expedia designed Market Watch in Expedia PartnerCentral. It enables a hotel manager to “follow” competitive hotels of their choice and track their active promotions, rates and how they are performing. In a few clicks, hotels can adjust inventory, rates, promotions and content to ensure they stay ahead of the competition.
To request more information, click here.
—Benoit Jolin, VP Global Product, Expedia