Weekly Roundup: Travel, Tech and Social Media
Happy Friday! This week is coming to an end and that means it is time for us to look back at this week's industry highlights. See below for insights into everything from social media trends and mobile bookings stats, to modern hotel marketing and new product releases.
Happy reading!
Industry News
TrustYou Releases TrustYou Stars to Help Hotels Get More Reviews and Enhance Content on Google
TrustYou has launched a new product, TrustYou Stars, aimed at helping hotels gain more reviews and enhance their review content by seamlessly pushing guest satisfaction survey reviews to Google. These reviews are also incorporated into TrustYou’s TrustScores and Meta-Review summaries, which appear on hundreds of sites worldwide, including Google, Trivago, KAYAK, Skyscanner, Wego, Sabre GDS, and more.
Starwood Accelerates Expansion in South Asia
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced it is aggressively expanding its footprint in South Asia, anchored by the Indian market. Since January 2015, the company has opened nine hotels and signed deals for 16 new hotels. The company recently surpassed its 50thhotel in the region, with 54 hotels operating and another 34 hotels under development.
How Virgin Hotels is Building a Brand and a Commodity Free Culture
Virgin Hotels may not be “saving babies or doing rocket science” but giving people a great experience, whether they are travelling for business or pleasure, is “actually important,” says Clio Knowles, the firms VP of People, who has been with the brand for two and a half years.
Trends and Insights
How Hotels Can Stay Competitive in 2016
Mobile bookings are the name of the game this year. As is making the travel research and purchase process as simple and visually appealing as possible. When it comes to the valuable real estate of a mobile screen, travelers need their hotel research to be relevant and lightening fast, take as few clicks as possible, and be more visual than ever. And a hotel’s job this year is to ensure that across all platforms—especially the search engines, where a majority of travelers start their travel planning—they are contributing to making the experience better. Those that do will outpace their competitors.
How the Internet of Things Is Transforming Travel
Whether it’s monitoring the performance of airline engines, enabling keyless entry to hotel rooms or helping tourists find their way around Disney World, the internet of things (IoT) is creating exciting opportunities for the travel and hospitality industry.
European Tourists Changing Travel Habits
European travellers, once loved by suppliers for their tendency to book months in advance, are increasingly confirming their trips much later in hopes of scoring attractive last-minute discounts.
Consumers, both B2C and B2B, have become sophisticated buyers. They have the tools to make smart, fully informed buying decisions every time. They are demanding, digitally savvy and unforgiving of brands that do not serve them well, especially on social media. They expect easy, enjoyable experiences in store, online, and with the products and services they buy. In a nutshell, they want it good, fast, and cheap, and if they don’t get it from you, they’ll find it somewhere else.
Do Hotels Innovate Better During Tough Times or Good Times?
"We’d all like to think that “good times” are when we innovate the most. That’s when we have more resources and more time for new initiatives. But in my opinion, the reality is just the opposite. Hard times force us to be smarter about doing things better.", says Rich Maradik, nSight founder.
Last year is “so last year” in the social media world. Here’s how hoteliers should think in the new year.
