HotelsMag October 2014 | Page 56

Technology : MetaMediaries

What hotel companies think

HOTELS asked these channel-management experts about the anticipated rise of metamediaries like Google , Apple , Facebook and Microsoft in the online booking sphere :
“ the initiatives by the metamediaries , especially google hotel finder , are half-hearted . google could shake everything up big time , but given that they are earning billions in revenue from the [ hotel ] industry , they don ’ t Want to .”
– david Wright , global director of distribution , Meliá hotels international , palMa de Mallorca , spain
“ technology companies often prefer to create unique standards for accessing data . it Would be ideal if there Was some consistency in connectivity models to eliminate the heavy lifting on the part of travel suppliers .”
– Michael innocentin , executive director , digital Marketing , frhi hotels & resorts , toronto
“ once the metamediaries enter the distribution game they could take over the entire market . this Will definitely create neW challenges for hotels , as We Will require neW technologies to be able to adapt to them .”
– Marcos cadena , group director of electronic distribution , Minor hotel group , bangkok
“ We Welcome these metamediaries as long as their business model complements our direct booking strategies . We are happy to Work With partners that help drive qualified traffic to our Website for direct bookings .”
– Michael leong , vice president , digital Marketing , shangri-la hotels and resorts , hong kong
a sense of this with the release of iOS 8 with Apple and all the devices that could be replaced by Apple ’ s rumored iHealth . So where ’ s the potential tipping of the scale ? For Google it ’ s probably connected to when the potential revenue of handling the purchase transactions is forecasted to be larger than all the current revenues from pay-for-placement advertising , especially from the OTAs . For Apple , Microsoft and Amazon , the bar is more connected to a disruptive model and based on scalability and appdevelopment-revenue reductions . The hotel industry should bear in mind that historically Apple has cannibalized one revenue stream for another by circumventing the iPod with the iPhone .
The result of these developments could be the increased commoditization of hotel guestrooms . After all , hotel companies will never have the technology resources of the metamediaries . However , the fix may be right in front of the industry ’ s eyes given that it still controls location and service and can capture guest loyalty with these attributes . Ironically , the OTAs will likely have to be more concerned than the brick-and-mortar operators , as trying to justify their commission model may become more difficult with a decreasing market share .
Loren Gray is vice president of digital strategy at online marketing agency Standing Dog Interactive , Dallas .
54 HOTELS October2014 www . hotelsmag . com