SPECIAL REPORT
brand companies and the OTAs can create win-win . It ’ s a recalibration . I really don ’ t like it when the media says it ' s a war . IT ’ S NOT A WAR .
Bonke : Ten-plus years ago , where all of a sudden the consumer simply assumed that there was a better price out there if they don ’ t book it direct , we got caught on our back foot and need to figure out how to fix it . It took us a very long time to get after that and not until we really have more robust connectivity platforms can we also address some of that a little bit better .
So the education and creating clarity that there is price parity out there is critically important . We love drafting behind the likes of Hilton and are grateful for that effort , because from a consumer perspective it ’ s key , and the second key is to attract data at the end of the day in some ways . If there is a war , IT MIGHT BE A WAR OVER DATA .
HOTELS : WHERE DOES THE HOTELIER-OTA RELATIONSHIP GO FROM HERE ?
Morrison : We ’ re evolving into a broader travel technology company . We ’ ve spent a lot of money over the last several years to improve the functionality of the platform and now we can do things like these partnerships . We ’ ve also been working on ways to share data with hotel owners . For example , we ’ re starting to look at guest reviews on specific amenities and tell an owner that people are starting to complain about their pool or lobby . It might help them focus on where they might allocate capital .
Kong : AccorHotels does a great job here and fundamentally believes that the OTA channel is an acquisition channel . They don ’ t mind paying that commission the first or second time , but they are intent on acquiring those customers through the OTAs into their own channel and signing them up in the loyalty program . At the same time , they want the traffic to go to them , not the OTA . So they opened up the marketplace and now have independent hotels listed on their website . Just imagine how much traffic they drive through that ?
“
I DON ’ T THINK IT ’ S FARFETCHED TO THINK THAT HILTON , MARRIOTT , BEST WESTERN WOULD ONE DAY HAVE AIRBNB- TYPE ROOMS FOR SALE , BECAUSE WHAT WE DO THEN IS WE OFFER
MORE CHOICES
TO THE CONSUMERS . ANYTIME YOU OFFER MORE CHOICES YOU ENRICH YOUR BRAND .
– DAVID KONG
”
HOTELS : I ’ M NOT SURE I WOULD WANT TO BE ONE OF THEIR FRANCHISEES , THOUGH .
Kong : You have to think about not just protecting the size of your pie , but how you can GROW THE OVERALL PIE . If you are a franchisee all of a sudden you ’ ve got five times more traffic to the website . The rising tide lifts all boats .
HOTELS : “ OWNING ” THE CUSTOMER IS THE END GAME . WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO STRENGTHEN RELATIONSHIPS WITH GUESTS ?
Conley : Data scientists are to the hotel industry what revenue managers were 20 years ago . But if you counted the number of data scientists that we have in the company representatives at this table , it wouldn ’ t be a very long list . One of the first things I experienced when I joined Airbnb was there was a whole data science team , and we have a HUNDRED DATA SCIENTISTS alone just in the company right now whose only job is literally figuring out how to architect data in such a way that we understand the needs of customers better so we can personalize and customize to them , and then we can actually connect them with each other .
Linnartz : I ’ ve just added a new role on my team : chief experience officer , and it ’ s all about hiring more data scientists , doing a better job creating a more robust and integrated CRM system , data strategy and data architecture because at the end of the day we have so much data . We just don ’ t collect it and use it . People stay with us for days on end , weeks on end . How do we harness data to create a ONE-TO-ONE RELATION- SHIP , a personalized experience ? I think it is the key to creating that loyalty to our brands .
The other key to this idea of creating this one-to-one relationship with people for the hotel industry goes BEYOND THE FOUR WALLS of the hotel . We ’ re creating our own content for people because we can add value to their lives beyond the hotel stay , the whole travel experience , and entertain them .
HOTELS : THE ABILITY TO USE AND INTEGRATE DATA IS LIMITED BECAUSE TOO MANY DISPARATE SYSTEMS CANNOT CONNECT . HOW MUCH OF AN ISSUE IS THIS ?
Kong : I have no doubt that it has to go to the cloud at some point in the future ; a central repository in a CRM system that ’ s going to manage every touch point from the start of research through the stays .
22 hotelsmag . com May 2017