Web 2.0, Travel 2.0 – What is it and why does it matter Part 1 - Customer Reviews

Web 2.0 was born out of the Web 2.0 Conference and is now in its fourth year. So what is it and why the ‘hype’? In 2001 we saw the famous ‘dot-com bubble burst’ in the USA and with it the cynics concluded that the web was over hyped. Certainly many got burned at that time and lots of people and businesses lost money. But it was pioneers like Tim O’Reilly and Dale Dougherty that observed that what survived the collapse was more important than ever and out of this turning point emerged a call to action and concept called Web 2.0 and with it the first Web 2.0 Conference in 2004.

There is still a lot of debate about what Web 2.0 is. Some people call it a meaningless marketing buzzword and others accept it as the new conventional wisdom. I will give a short definition of Web 2.0 but the intention of this article is to put Web 2.0 (and Travel 2.0) in context, and then to examine one aspect that is of huge importance and relevance to the hotel industry and which we should ignore at our peril, and that is consumer generated content.

So let’s start by taking a look at some definitions. Some people acclaim Web 2.0 as the next revolution on the Web! The common notion is that it’s all about social networking, user-generated content, glowing drop-shadowed logos, blogs, AJAX, mashups, and tagging.

Tim O’Reilly provides a compact definition as follows - Web 2.0 is the network as platform, spanning all connected devices; Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network effects through an "architecture of participation," and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experiences.

In the Britefire Glossary we define Web 2.0 as follows - The term used to describe the evolution of the web from a series of more or less centralised silos of information to the web as a high-speed platform for distributed services, especially social networking and collaboration. User generated content is a key characteristic of web 2.0, which is also known as the read-write web.

While the definitions are important, the appreciation of what these definitions means comes from an understanding of the context of Web 2.0. Web 2.0 is the result of some fundamental changes and a mind shift with regard to how we use the web. If one does not understand this, then the whole value of web 2.0 is lost and it is relegated by those that don’t appreciate this change to a buzzword or hype. Yes, Web 2.0 is real but let’s not get caught in the euphoria of the buzz but rather understand this evolution and the change that has brought it about.

Timing is everything and the constellation of events and thinking in 2004 was what gelled Web 2.0 into what it is today. I don’t believe that Web 2.0 would have been a reality were it not for the specific point in time when it was born. The other emerging trend that importantly collided with Web 2.0 was the whole thinking about the new consumer and the way the web has democratised the new consumer. At last – after years of saying the ‘Consumer is King’, and the ‘customer is always right’ – we have arrived at a point where one can actually begin to see this becoming a reality with the emergence of the truly democratised consumer. The Cluetrain Manifesto – written by Levine, Locke, Searls, Weinberger in April 1999 (essential reading - read the book for free online) was also revolutionary, un-corporate and confronted the establishment. It’s a great read and contains 95 theses and some of my favourites are

• “We are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. We are human beings – and our reach exceeds your grasp. Deal with it.”
• “Companies need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships”
• “Markets are conversations. “
• “Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors. “
• “Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.”

So, the stars aligned, the constellation of timing, events, people and thinking take the evolution of the web (whether you call it Web 2.0 or not – and I personally like the definition, and even more the concept as it has been developed) and put it together with the rise of the new consumer and you have a powerhouse deluxe!

How does this apply to the travel and hospitality industry? I just want to look at one aspect of this, and that is consumer-generated content in the form of hotel reviews.

There is quite a lot of buzz about hotel reviews too. The point is that consumers research their travel. In the ‘old’ days we bought travel guidebooks, read articles and magazines, spoke to friends, friends of friends, and asked travel agents. Today the medium has just become much more powerful. Travellers now research their holidays online (a study in the US by Burst shows that 79% of people will research their personal travel on the internet) and seek advice, opinions and reviews by connecting with people all over the world. Consumers can now relate their stories - both good and bad. Cynics will find multiple ways to discredit this and indeed there are potential issues that we need to deal with. And we can deal with the inherent problems.

Amazon.com has featured reviews on its site since 1995. People have been able to write reviews and consumer guides in a form of self-publishing actually long before Web 2.0 was even defined. Five years ago, you might read the comments at TripAdvisor.com or IGoUGo.com or ask a question at BootsnAll.com or Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum. Just last week, Priceline.com added reader-generated Zagat reviews — and, for better or worse, it shows no sign of dying down any time soon.

“Surveys show people are more influenced by Web sites than traditional media,” says Jeffrey Grau, senior analyst with eMarketer.com. “They’re making [travel] decisions based on peer reviews more than magazines and TV shows.”

Today, everybody and their dog is a guidebook writer. On sites like Gusto.com or Yahoo! Travel you can search for destinations and pick up ideas. Or there are sites where you can find something more personal - people with similar interests, a sense of community, or even someone with whom you can share an upcoming adventure. Sites like TripUp.com and Eons.com are essentially social networks with a travel twist. Defined by the ages and interests of their members, the vibe is either Match.com or Modern Maturity.

Gusto.com’s CEO Jeff Wasson says “We’re not necessarily competing with Frommer’s and Fodor’s. We’re providing another source of information.” And, yes, sometimes that information is invaluable. Even the best guidebook can’t cover time-sensitive issues such as menu changes and the latest renovations.

About two months ago I was helping some American friends plan a safari. It’s been a long time since I have been to the Kruger Park and Mpumalanga. So here’s what I did. I went to the bookshop to see what books I could buy on safaris. That wasn’t very successful – the choice of books is abysmal. I did buy a map… and that too was rather disappointing. I sent the book, Getaway magazine and the map via mail (at some extortionate price) to my friends – hoping that it would arrive safely and intact. In the meantime I turned to the web and spent quite some rewarding time searching and reading. The most valuable resource for this trip was SAN Parks forum.

It was there that I found the most amazing community of people talking about what to do, what they had seen and sharing information and experiences with generosity, passion and enthusiasm. I posted a simple question on the forum. Quite a boring question, I thought, and most certainly a very frequently asked one – what to do in 3 days with American visitors. The response was astounding! From this simple question I learned so much – I learned about the latest camps in the Kruger Park – which ones are best for certain experiences, all about the new concessions in the Park, and was recommended some incredible online resources that eventually led to my booking the most wonderful 4 days.

I could not have done this without the help of others – without the community on the SAN website. No book contains this information. The information I got was UNIQUE – there was no other way that I could have got this information and made the booking. And it didn’t take me that long either! And furthermore, I now have newly made friends in KZN and Mpumalanga that I know I can contact in the future. And I hope I can reciprocate the generosity some time in the future too.

Yes – there is also the downside of reviews – there are bogus reviews, there are people who write attacking and damaging reviews too – and there’s everything in between. But websites are getting much smarter about ensuring reviews are genuine. For example, on Priceline.com you can only enter a review if you can prove that you have stayed at a hotel.

Also, the consumer has some intelligence – people make judgments when they read reviews – they consider the message and also the messenger. I once observed some user testing where a traveller was looking through reviews on TripAdvisor. The traveller was going to a city he had never visited. Part (by no means not ‘ALL’) of his research was to check reviews on TripAdvisor. There were several good reviews and a few bad ones. He read them all, and it was interesting to see how he made judgments about the credibility of each of the reviewers as he went through them. I was even interested to see that he was sophisticated enough to look at even the nationality of each of the reviewers. Some nationalities are far more fussy than others – and he was taking that into consideration too!

For marketers social networking is important because by encouraging people to share information, the marketers can monitor and ‘listen’ in on these communities and learn more about consumers and their behaviour, and can determine their likes and dislikes. It helps marketers position advertising better. For example if you position advertising to reach brand advocates early in their research process, it is likely that the consumer will then help to spread awareness by telling twice as many people as you could reach. A ‘personal recommendation’ from an empowered consumer is much more powerful than you pushing adverts in the traditional way on traditional media.

Take a look at this interview with European MD of TripAdvisor where he is asked about fake reviews, and plans for the site.

While on the subject of TripAdvisor – in a move to embrace the openness of the web, hoteliers can now publish TripAdvisor reviews directly on their own hotel web sites. TripAdvisor provides a web page that automatically generates html code, allowing the property to instantly publish TripAdvisor reviews on their own sites. Find out more here.

Priceline.com has announced an agreement with Zagat Survey under which Zagat will create exclusive online hotel reviews for priceline.com customers to access for free. Brett Keller, priceline.com's Chief Marketing Officer said 'We believe that Zagat's survey-based hotel reviews, combined with priceline.com's proprietary hotel star rating system and our growing database of reviews written by priceline.com customers who also have stayed at these properties, make priceline.com a premier destination for shopping and comparing top-brand hotels and prices.'

Web 2.0 (or Travel 2.0 - the travel industry’s collective application of Web 2.0) holds great promise and potential for the tourist and hospitality industry. Travellers are keen to take control of creating the perfect trip, not just the cheapest trip. And companies need to embrace this trend and use it to differentiate themselves in this vast travel marketplace. A good starting place is ‘listening’ to and learning from the customer…

Hotel Internet Marketing Budget Planning and Best Practices in Hospitality: A Benchmark Survey by the HeBS Team

As the next year’s budgeting process approaches, hotels will be considering how much budget to devote to the online marketing channel. The dynamic nature of the Internet doesn’t help things much with its constantly changing environment, new media formats, new competitors and new tools, and methods. It is not necessarily the size of the budget that is most important but rather how it is used and allocated. What is clear though is that if you are not planning to spend some budget in the online channel you are making a huge mistake. If this is your first year with an online marketing budget – then what is important is that you make a small start, and learn as much as you can.

Some things that should be taken into consideration are

• Direct online distribution is the way to go. More hotels in the US and Europe are selling online than ever before. In South Africa the majority of hotels still do not sell directly online. This is a massive opportunity and an area that deserves serious consideration. Indeed it should be a ‘no-brainer’ as the evidence is compelling – greater amounts of room inventory are being sold, at higher ADR’s directly from hotels’ websites and at lower cost per transaction. The Internet is by far the largest distribution channel – far exceeding the GDS and traditional channels. In the US, the cost to sell directly via your hotel website can be as low as $3 - $5 per booking – compared with the cost of the GDS at $27 (for a 2 night stay at $100/night). And TPI such as Expedia and Travelocity charge $50+ (for a 2 night stay for $100/night). These figures apply to the SA market.
• Elsewhere in the world customers are opting to buy directly from hotels rather than third party intermediaries (TPI’s) and the negative impacts of TPI’s is being felt to a lesser degree than before.

This is the first international survey of its kind and offers some invaluable insights and pointers as to how the hospitality industry in aggregate is planning to allocate marketing budgets. Some hotels have been working hard on growing their online revenues, others have yet to climb on to the bandwagon. But regardless of where you are now – the outcome of this survey will be of relevance to you.

The conclusions of the survey show that online marketing for hotels is growing at an incredible rate. What is important for South Africa is that hotels gain the skills and know how of all the techniques so that they can more fully participate in and enjoy the benefits and increased ROI from online marketing.

A short overview of these are below, with some definitions:

Website development – creating your own hotel website (see website redesign for details)

Website redesign – there are a lot of hotels, large and small, that need to take their websites to a new level of sophistication and in doing so take advantage of the opportunity to redesign and/or relaunch their website and brand. Typically a hotel website should be re-designed every 2-3 years. This doesn’t have to mean a major redesign, but it should be revisited at least to ensure that it is still meeting its objectives and takes advantage of any new developments that would benefit your hotel.

Redesign involves redesign of the site structure and navigation, review and renewal of the content (text and images), review and renewal of the graphic design (look & feel) of the site, redesign of transactional processes (e.g. online booking, site search). When redesigning the site, one needs make sure that the new design is ‘search-engine friendly.

Website Maintenance - Your website is like your hotel – it needs to be maintained on an ongoing basis. You cannot create a website and then walk away from it and expect it to work for you or expect customers to beat a path to your online door. You need to ensure that you allocate resources (time and money) to maintain your website on an ongoing basis. As with you hotel, you need to ensure that your site is all in working order, that the content (text and images) is accurate, current and constantly refreshed and enhanced.

Creating a website is the start of a ongoing journey – it is not an end in itself. This is a mistake many people make – they sit back having developed their website, heave a huge sigh of relief and turn to the next project. Not good! Your website investment is only as good as your ongoing effort to keep it alive. So, allocate time and money in your budget to update it regularly – for example have a budget for images, get in a photographer to take some professional pictures of your hotel.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – All of the tactics and tools used to market a site through search engines. These include:

• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)- The practice of designing and writing web pages to be attractive to the search engines. SEO attempts to place pages highly within the “natural” or “organic” listings on search engines, as opposed to paid ads. An optimised site improves the website usability and performance, improves its visibility in search engine rankings, and increases conversion rates. At the very minimum one should allocate funds to optimise content and keywords.
• Pay per Click (PPC) - In pay-per-click advertising, the advertiser pays a certain amount for each click through to the advertiser's website. The amount paid per click varies considerably. Your budget should make provision for buying keywords on a monthly basis (Google, Yahoo, MSN, Local search). The search engines provide tools that enable you to control this easily – you can specify how much, at what time, and geo-target your efforts.
• Linking strategies – the creation of relevant and quality links from external sites to your site, and the creation of internal links within your site for the purposes of increasing credibility with search engines that results in higher rankings in search engine results

E-mail marketing – marketing your products through e-mails. Your email strategy should include customer email capture initiatives (online and offline), email marketing to the hotel's own opt-in list (monthly promotions, local news, game sightings reports, seasonal emails), email marketing to key market segments and in key feeder markets.

Local search - is a query that includes not only information about "what" the site visitor is searching for but also "where" or geolocation information.

(Web 2.0/Travel 2.0 channels) Consumer-generated content / Consumer generated media – Any of the many kinds of online content/media which are generated or influenced primarily at the user level. Personal web pages, such as those found on MySpace are rudimentary examples; blogs and podcasts are more evolved ones. Creating the facilities and framework for consumers to publish their own content (e.g. hotel reviews) in prominent places (e.g. on www.TripAdvisor.com).

Banner ads and display advertising – Banners are advertising images that appear on websites. Originally static billboards about an inch and a half high and about four inches long, banners now come in a range of standard shapes and sizes, and are frequently animated. Typically, a banner is also a link—click on the banner and you are taken to the product or page it is promoting.

From this survey you can see that the results suggest the continued importance of search engine techniques through

• website optimisation (i.e. customer centric website design to improve the user experience, to provide rich and relevant content)
• search engine optimization and organic search (i.e. higher ranking derived from better website design and richer deeper content)
• website re-design

The above three top solutions show the (correct) acknowledgement that no matter what you do – the most important thing is to get the fundamentals right on your website. And the rule of thumb is that your website needs to be CUSTOMER CENTRIC. It needs to serve the customer with deep and relevant content. It needs to be structured and designed so that people can easily navigate through the site, find the information easily and have a wonderful experience as they do so.

A summary of the conclusions of the survey are:

• marketing budgets will continue to shift online
• the results suggest a stronger emphasis on search engines (see the above list of search engine techniques ranked highest)
• linking strategies will be important
• budgets will go into specialised searches like local search
• email marketing is still a popular tool for building one-on-one relationships with customers, especially for international properties
• web 2.0 stuff like consumer generated media will grow in popularity and the early adopters will determine the model for the industry. Interestingly this survey indicates that international hotels will spend more on new media formats than the US.
• display advertising will take the biggest cut – this may be true for US and Europe – but within South Africa banner display and advertising is still in its infancy. For hotels this is important – if your market is overseas visitors then you need to know that users in Europe and the US are much more sceptical of banners than in South Africa.

Benchmark Hospitality’s Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2007

This is a useful and easy to read checklist for hotels with Meeting and Conference facilities.

This benchmark was conducted on hotels in the US and Asia – but are relevant for our local market – and there are some ‘cool’ ideas. For example, how about culinary team building – now that’s different, and after watching Gordon Ramsay in Hells Kitchen the mind does rather boggle. Not every team event needs to be about scaling cliffs or forging rivers in home-made rafts or other life threatening physical feats, though I could imagine the kitchen becoming quite a devilish environment too!

And then there is the constant quest by meeting planners (who are they – see the article) for new venues. And hey – in South Africa we have a diversity of places to knock the socks off any one!

Starwood Hotels Gives Insider Access to Exclusive Events with New Auction Website

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and its Starwood Preferred Guest program, the award-winning hotel loyalty program, has introduced a new online auction website where members can use their Starpoints to bid on exclusive, once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Moments by Starwood Preferred Guest lets members transform their Starpoints into extraordinary lifestyle events - giving them insider access to red carpet movie premieres, closed rehearsals with today's top music artists, private dinners with world-renowned chefs, rounds of golf with PGA TOUR pros and more. Members can visit Moments and bid on a full range of specially created experiences not available anywhere else.

It's Better on the Inside...

Sit in on a private pre-show sound-check with Justin Timberlake or watch Gwen Stefani rehearse unscripted before taking a front row VIP seat at their concerts. Attend the premiere of Showtime's original series The Tudors and mingle with the cast on the red carpet, tour renowned artist Georgia O'Keeffe's private residence or sit ringside at the upcoming Oscar de La Hoya/Floyd Mayweather fight and celebrate at the private post-fight party. These are just a few of the exciting happenings that are now available for bidding. The auction site will be updated regularly and upcoming events include a private dinner with Jean-Georges Vongerichten at his signature, namesake restaurant in New York City, red carpet access to upcoming Hollywood premieres and more.

According to Robin Korman, Vice President of Loyalty Marketing for Starwood, during a three month pilot for the new auction site several events created a bidding war among members. A Justin Timberlake private sound-check session and VIP concert tickets started with a minimum bid of 20,000 Starpoints and was auctioned for more than 120,000 - the equivalent of a 12 night stay at The Westin St. Maarten or Le Meridien Cancun. A Superbowl package, including tickets to the game and access to several private pre-game events, started bidding at 250,000 Starpoints and ultimately sold for more than 500,000.

"Moments by Starwood Preferred Guest give our members access to once-in-a-lifetime events that go beyond just offering tickets to a concert or sporting event," said Korman. "We want to make an emotional connection with our members that extends outside of our hotel doors by providing them with rich experiences that go beyond the world of upgrades and free flights. Moments is designed to play to people's passions with amazing events that are available only to our members."

To make sure members don't miss out on the experience of a lifetime, Moments will introduce a cash and points option to the site shortly - allowing bidders to use a combination of cash and Starpoints for auction events. For more information about Moments by Starwood Preferred Guest please visit Moments.

Hilton Re-launches Two Web Sites and announces Spanish version of the Booking portal.

Hilton Hotels announced the re-launch of two of the brand's online channels - HiltonJourneys.com and HiltonToHome.com. In addition to the two refreshed sites, the brand recently completed the translation of its Hilton.com booking portal into Spanish, and is in the process of completing a French version of the site.

'The explosive and global growth of the Hilton brand has led us to rethink the way we use the internet to connect with our guests,' said Jeff Diskin, senior vice president, brand marketing and management - Hilton Hotels. 'With these refreshed sites we have three unique touch points that allow our guests to connect with Hilton in ways that are most relevant to them.'

HiltonJourneys.com

As demonstrated by its sponsorship of the Grammy Awards and the launch of its award-winning 'Travel Should Take You Places' advertising campaign featuring emerging musicians, Hilton's marketing initiatives use music to connect with consumers at an emotional level. At the new HiltonJourneys.com visitors will be able to follow the personal journeys of the six emerging artists featured in the ads. In addition to videos of the six ads, interviews with the artists and an acoustic performance from each, the web site also features 'Behind the Scenes' interviews with each musician discussing their favourite things to do while travelling.

Also featured on HiltonJourneys.com are many of Hilton's new products and services, including Hilton On Time, a system allowing guests to pre-order items - such as extra towels or pillows, snacks and drinks - for delivery in room upon check in.

HiltonToHome.com

This e-commerce site offers consumers the opportunity to buy 'for home versions' of the same products they enjoy in Hilton hotel rooms. Crabtree and Evelyn(R) La Source bath products, the Hilton Family Exclusive Clock Radio, and Cuisinart Two to Go Coffeemakers are just a few of the items found on this site.

In its upgraded version, Hilton leverages its relationships with strategic partners. The Hilton Serenity Bed Collection, including mattress/box spring and linens, are now branded with 'As Seen on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,' promoting Hilton's relationship with ABC's TV hit program. To further enhance Hilton's sponsorship of the Grammy Awards, visitors to HiltonToHome.com can purchase the 2007 Grammy Nominees CD.

World Travel & Tourism Climbs to US$ 7 Trillion in 2007

World Travel & Tourism is expected to generate in excess of US$7 trillion in 2007, rising to over US$13 trillion over the coming decade according to the World Travel & Tourism Council's (WTTC) Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) research, sponsored by Accenture and prepared by Oxford Economics.

The new TSA results show strong performance for Travel & Tourism Demand in 2007, growing at a rate of 3.9 per cent. This forecast points to a mature but steady phase of growth for World Travel & Tourism in the short and medium term, averaging 4.3 per cent per annum, between 2008 and 2017.

Some findings summarised from the report are:

• The US is still in number one position accounting for US$1,689,3 billion this year
• China is going to gain ground and grow at almost 10% per annum over the next 10 years
• By 2017 the Russian Federation will enter the top 10 countries
• The world’s highest performers are Montenegro, China and India
• Other high performers are Croatia, Romania, Namibia

No mention of South Africa… we ought to be there!

Global Hyatt Launches Bold New Brand - Hyatt Place™ - Designed Around Travellers’ Integrated Mindset

On March 26, Global Hyatt Corporation unveiled its new brand Hyatt Place™, an innovative hotel concept with strong appeal to the “24/7” lifestyle customer.

For this group of sophisticated travellers, personal and professional activities have intermingled. “Hyatt Place is the first hotel of its kind to cater to both the functional and emotional aspects of today’s business and leisure travellers,” said Tom O’Toole, senior vice president of strategy and systems, Global Hyatt Corporation. “For many, the separation between professional and personal life is obsolete, but unfortunately, hotels have not successfully evolved with this trend – until now. Demonstrating that we know what matters most to our guests, we’ve created a hotel brand defined by a mindset of a whole person who is combining personal fulfilment with professional growth while travelling.”

Hyatt Place is designed to meet the needs of this new customer segment and offers travellers a balanced mix of comfortable and functional guestroom amenities such as: 42-inch high-definition televisions with next generation entertainment content; free Wi-Fi access; a comfortable, eight-foot sectional sofa-sleeper, all within an oversized, suite-like room with 20 percent more space than the average hotel room. In addition guests can buy hot breakfast entrées along with Starbucks® specialty coffees or enjoy a free continental breakfast. Hyatt also offers a variety of freshly prepared, café quality items, including made-to-order entrées, sandwiches, soups, salads and pizza which guests can order 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a touch screen menu in the Guest Kitchen or from the Gallery Host.

more about Hyatt Place
press release