9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search

Certified

Powered by TripAdviso

r

Premium Partner

www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 2

We’re living in the era of the empowered buyer!

With the prevalence of smart technology and the need it has created for both efficiency and immediacy, travelers have become more connected and tech-savvy than ever before. Almost all travelers now gather their information through meta-search engines – search tools that send user requests to several other search engines and aggregate the results into a single list – in spite of most travelers probably being familiar with the ‘meta-search’ term.

Enter TripAdvisor, Google Hotel Finder, Kayak, HotelsCombined and Trivago – meta-search engines that are steadily becoming a key element in the buying cycle. These, among many others, pull rates and offers directly from major online booking channels, such as Expedia.com or Hotels.com, allowing travelers to compare properties in real-time.

The outlook is rosy

Recent research conducted by TripAdvisor states that 21% of travelers plan on spending more on their trips in 2014, with 85% of travelers worldwide willing to sacrifice spending in other ways in order to fund their travel plans. It’s critically important for even the smallest properties to stay abreast of these changes, exploit the opportunities offered by the online marketplace, and educate themselves on why joining the meta-search society is no longer just important, but unavoidable.

Here are our top nine reasons why hotels need to capitalize on the trend towards meta-search.

9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search

www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 3

1. It increases domestic and global exposureBy placing your rates and inventory on the major meta-search engines, you’re unifying online visibility as you give potential customers the opportunity to find all your offers using one single website. Most travelers now use these types of engines to research destinations, hotels and activities before making a booking.

As an example, TripAdvisor, with its 41 sites in 24 languages, records 260 million visitors per month and in April 2013, stock analysis firm Trefis1 estimated total searches worldwide on Kayak to triple from 1.2 billion in 2012 to 3.6 billion by 2019.

Base: Shop for travel online. Source: PhoCisWright Inc.

These numbers reinforce the importance of moving your hotel onto meta-search engines (in addition to online booking channels) in order boost both your domestic and global reach.

2. It increases brand awarenessBy focusing on online distribution and having your hotel appear in search results across multiple channels, you not only increase sales but also brand awareness. People will start recognizing you. Be smart and use meta-search engines not only as a tool, but also as a key part of your online marketing strategy. Meta-search engines can be easily controlled and used as another marketing instrument to sell your hotel.

The more online booking channels your property can be found on, the greater your reach and exposure across search engine results. HeBS digital explains this in their 2013 post Meta Search Marketing: The New Revenue Frontier in Hospitality:2 “Meta search marketing is an important tool to help hoteliers lessen their dependency on the OTAs and drive more direct bookings through the property website. Independent hotels are particularly OTA-dependent. Last year, more than 76% of online bookings for non-branded hotels came from the OTAs and just 24% came from the hotels’ own websites.”

By allowing potential customers to find you across meta-search engines and having your property appear in search results, you’re naturally increasing your brand awareness as well as brand reach. Potential guests will be more inclined to book through you directly, as a result.

1 http://www.trefis.com/stock/kyak/articles/175716/hotel-queries-on-kayak-expected-to-grow-significantly/2013-04-02

2 http://www.hebsdigital.com/blog/meta-search-marketing-the-new-revenue-frontier-in-hospitality/?chebs=eyepr_0314

www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 4

3. It increases direct bookings and improves the bottom line

Travelers use meta-search engines as a research tool to find best rates, best availability and best reviews. Generally, the best rate can (and should) be found on the hotel’s own website. Being visible on meta-search engines doesn’t necessarily cost you anything – perhaps a key reason why meta-search engines are growing fast and becoming increasingly popular. You will only pay commission on successful bookings, for paid search entries, or if you wish to place an advertisement.

By using rates in a manner that makes it attractive for potential guests to book directly through your website, you’re able to reduce third party commissions and increase traffic to your website. Trivago, for example, fosters 50 million connections between hotel searchers and hotel owners per month, while HotelsCombined 3generates and refers $1 billion in online booking revenue annually for its various partners.

4. It improves a hotel’s value proposition to online travel consumersAs eyefortravel.com4 sums up quite comprehensively, “Meta-search marketing’s value proposition to travel consumers is undeniable: by adding real-time availability and pricing and enabling rate shopping, travel planners are now provided with everything they need to research and book their hotel stay.” Meta-search tackles all four fundamentals online consumers are looking for in a hotel: location, hotel details, reviews and real-time rates – not to mention availability.

Suddenly shoppers have all the information they need to make an educated decision on where they want to spend their money and they WILL spend it when they come across a

deal that suits their needs. According to financial platform Trefis5, Kayak’s hotel requests are rising at a faster pace and are more profitable, with $321 of distribution revenue per 1000 queries.

3 http://press.hotelscombined.com/Media-Kit/Press_kit_2014_web.pdf

4 http://www.eyefortravel.com/distribution-strategies/4-multi-faceted-ways-meta-search-can-and-must-help-hotels-take-otas

5 http://www.trefis.com/stock/kyak/articles/175716/hotel-queries-on-kayak-expected-to-grow-significantly/2013-04-02

www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 5

5. It increases capability to track competitors Using meta-search engines from the customer’s perspective, allows you to investigate what your competitors are offering, their rates, what the common trends are, and also how you’re positioned within the marketplace. By analyzing your rankings within meta-search results, and benchmarking against your competitors, you’re able to use this information to your competitive advantage, ensuring your property is always on top of its game.

Dynamic pricing software is one example of a handy tool, which allows you to update your rates and inventory in real-time, across all channels, as soon as you detect trends and changes in the marketplace.

6. It increases a hotel’s social proofSocial proof, also commonly referred to as ‘social influence’, works on the principle that if other people are doing it, you should be doing it too. When it comes to hotels, social proof influences which properties get the most bookings. A hotel that has more reviews than its competitors, and mostly positive reviews, is more likely to generate additional direct bookings, as there is social proof that people should stay at this particular hotel.

Meta-search engines give you the ability to see what customers are saying about you via the reviews they post on your listing, providing you with the opportunity to engage and respond accordingly. Additionally, positive customer reviews will increase your social proof by showing what a stay is really like at your property.

Engaging with customers via their reviews – positive or negative – increases your social proof and customer engagement. As importantly, it also demonstrates that you value their feedback. Reviews can provide other benefits too, for example, giving insight into customer experience and areas such as what processes they feel may need to be improved at your property. This is a great way to stay ‘switched on’ via direct market research.

Online Travel Ad Revenues Worldwide, by Site, Q1-Q3 2013 & Q1-Q3 2013 millions, % of total revenues and % change

Q1-Q3 2012

Q1-Q3 2013

% of total revenues

% change

TripAdvisor* 535.8 638.0 87.2% 19%Expedia 98.0 235.0 6.5% 140%Priceline** 10.2 111.5 2.1% 993%Note: *includes click-based and display advertising; **primarily includes advertis-ing bus also other revenues.

Source: eMarketer compiled from company reports, Q3 2013; eMarketer calculations, Nov 8, 2013

www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 6

7. It has free analytics and research toolsMeta-search engines often offer free analytics and research tools, providing you with handy, free tips and tricks to ensure you get the best out of your listing. These tools help you understand how you’re performing and provide insight on areas of improvement on your listing. Hipmunk, for example, uses integrated software TrustYou, which allows the hotel owner to analyze consumer feedback, positively influence reviews, and find out what is working and what isn’t, so potential glitches can be fixed before they start becoming an issue.

Trivago’s Hotel Price Index6 is another fantastic research tool, a handy little helper showing the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular cities worldwide.

From TripAdvisor’s TripBarometer April 2014: Global Edition

8. It levels the playing fieldPlacing your hotel on meta-search engines is a must-have addition to your online marketing strategy. It’s a pivotal channel for all types of properties, allowing potential guests to access

a collated view of available search results that meet their specified filter settings. Suddenly, smaller and independent accommodation providers can compete online with larger chains that have bigger marketing budgets.

6 http://www.trivago.com/hotelprices

The AmericasPhone: +1 800 511 6038

OceaniaPhone: +61 2 9221 4444

EuropePhone: +44 (0)20 3151 0730

AfricaPhone: +27 (0)21 403 6327

AsiaPhone: +66 2 660 3733| | | |

However, if you don’t want to just rely on organic search results, then there are also paid options available to propel your property towards meta-search success. TripAdvisor is

just one example that offers Cost-Per-Click advertising, with TripConnect perfect for independent properties.

9. You don’t want to be left behind!Meta-search is an invaluable tool that could potentially surpass the popularity of online booking channels in the future. The Internet is too large for any one-search engine to index, so it’s important to be across both online booking channels and meta-search engines to ensure your property is visible, as most of your competitors already will be. In 2012, 36 percent of online travelers used meta-search tools7 when researching and booking hotels online, up from 28 percent in 2010 and this is only the beginning.

Listing on meta-search engines increases your brand’s exposure and saves your potential guest from having to use multiple search engines separately. The process of fusion also improves the search results, naturally increasing your brand awareness and, consequently, potential guests will be more inclined to book through you directly.

Why meta-search engines are a must have

These nine reasons illustrate why adopting a meta-search strategy has become unavoidable in today’s digital age and should be an integral part of your online marketing activities. Meta-search engines have fast become the ‘virtual database’ of the future, with potential travelers leaning both on traditional online booking channels and today’s meta-search ecosystem. Not only do they complement traditional online booking channels, they also excel by allowing hotels to draw valuable information from reviews and analysis.

Using meta-search engines increase direct bookings and improve your bottom line, but they also provide additional benefits such as making the booking experience easier, more personalized and much more centralized.

It’s crucial that you figure out the right balance to propel your property to online booking channel and meta-search success. By having the right mix of integrated technology, together with a cost-effective commercial model that provides a consistent ability to convert more direct business, hotels around the world will have a huge opportunity to lower their cost of acquiring direct business.

7 http://www.statista.com/statistics/295040/share-of-online-travelers-using-meta-search-tools/