Special RepoRt : 2015 forecast
2015 forecasT
Talking Tech
While Facebook posts and tWitter Feeds aren ’ t going to stop shoWing up on hoteliers ’ marketing to-do lists , experts contend the operational models of “ sharing economy ” sites like Airbnb mean hotel companies need a seismic shift in their thinking . That starts with upping the ante on all aspects of the mobile experience . HOTELS : What are the " mobile musts "? Robert Cole , founder , RockCheetah , Menomonee Falls , Wisconsin : Responsive website design so the content shifts to support the device . Mobile sites will get much better at integrating images and video into the user experience . The imagery and content will become adaptive to the guest ’ s needs , profile or navigational actions . Third-party booking engines must improve to eliminate the often jarring transition from navigating through site content to transacting a booking . Universal analytics must be deployed to integrate the tracking of mobile sessions for an individual with desktop , tablet and offline touchpoints .
H : What do hoteliers tend to overlook about mobile ?
Cole : Analytics . If they don ’ t get captured , it is doubtful the hotelier can truly know the guest to the point where their needs may be anticipated .
H : How can hotel companies use mobile to boost CRM and personalization initiatives ?
Cole : Mobile devices need to be tied into the analytics platforms and bigdata capture processes . CRM / loyalty programs need to be altered to deal with multiple traveler personas based on the purpose or objective of their itinerary . Relevant data from all customer touchpoints needs to be associated with the guest profile , and communication streams need to be captured to facilitate more efficient service delivery .
H : What ’ s the most futuristic trend for 2015 ?
Cindy Green , CEO , Kalibri Labs , Rockville , Maryland : Wearable technology , like watches .
H : What do hoteliers need to do with apps to stay relevant ?
Green : Instead of companies having their own apps , consumers will want to have shared platforms to support the full travel experience where they can access many hotel brands , airlines , car-rental companies , ground transport , restaurant info and local attractions .
H : How can hoteliers make the most of revenue-management software ?
Green : Revenue management is looking at revenue streams besides the room and variables to think about forecasting besides past history . Using top-line revenue as a guide for evaluating a hotel ’ s performance will need to be supplemented with measures that provide an indication of profit contribution , like Net RevPAR .
H : What do mobile platforms need to offer to compete ?
John Burns , president , Hospitality Technology Consulting , Scottsdale , Arizona : One-click booking , especially
“ instead oF companies having their oWn apps ,
consumers Will Want to have shared platForms to support the Full travel experience Where they can access many hotel brands , airlines , carrental companies , ground transport , restaurant inFo and local attractions .”
– Cindy Green , Kalibri labs
on mobile devices , as achieved so effectively in Amazon Prime .
H : What ’ s your view on the relationship between mobile and CRM ?
Burns : We should not be trying to use mobile to optimize CRM , but use CRM to improve the mobile relationship . We need to drill down into both the macro ( trend ) and micro ( individual guest ) data levels to better understand both of them . OTAs and sharing economy operators are so far ahead of hotel companies in this area — in understanding and skillfully applying analytics .
26 HOTELS December 2014 www . hotelsmag . com