Hotel Sales Blog

Expedia now has study to confirm the Billboard effect!

As much as many hotels feel a love/hate relationship with Expedia, research results were published this week to prove what they have always maintained — that ‘for every reservation made on Expedia, another is made through the hotel web site.’ If ever there was an example of the OTA as travel search engine and the ‘electronic billboard effect’ this is it. The study and the corresponding graph illustrated the percentage increases in reservations to four hotels’ web sites when they appeared on Expedia and when they didn’t or were dark on Expedia. The increases in reservations to the hotel’s web site when they appeared on Expedia ranged from 7-26% — the 26% increase was for an independent hotel. Expedia is still the ‘Big Dog’ in the OTA space – like it or not.
This study was conducted by Cornell University and appeared in HotelMarketing.com on 11/12/09.

See the graph below.

I have always maintained that The OTAs and the internet in general levels the playing field for independent hotels — in this study they were the big winneers in the BillBoard effect!

Tweets to Appear on Search Engine Results

Am I the only one that thinks this could be game changer?

While the dust up between Choice and Expedia was being heralded as ‘the story of the year’, a giddy Steve Ballmer anounced an agreement with Twitter to show Tweets in its search results on Bing. Google quickly and more quietly followed suit announcing it’s agreement with Twitter.

Think about this for minute. Given how much money and time is devoted to SEO, what will it mean for hotel and destination marketng on the web? Tweets are not controllable whether they come from satisfied or dissatisfied customers.

Will those hotels that push out promotions on Twitter move up the page rank more than those hotels that don’t engage Twitter?

While Google has not announced exactly how Tweets will appear or influence page ranking, you can bet that they will figure it out in time for spring and summer leisure travel. Are hotels going to wait and see or develop a proactive Twitter presence?

I wouldl love to hear your comments.