A LOOK UNDER THE SHEETS AT THE EVER-EVOLVING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOTELS AND OTAs.
Of the two great innovations that technology has enabled in the hotel business in the past 15 years, only one has been truly disruptive: the rise of Online Travel Agents.
What makes the disruptive innovation of OTAs so fascinating is that they are simultaneously the hotels’ biggest competitor, and potentially their largest online sales channel (for all but the largest chains). The OTAs and the hotels clearly need each other.
Accepting this fact, how can hospitality brands make the most of their online friends-cum-enemies? Read the rest of this entry »
The QUOcast, a podcast about hospitality
Something we’ve started experimenting with recently, a podcast about hospitality. Discussion includes “the death of the brand”, and an interview with Minor International’s Dilip Rajakarier.
Fullscreen images have really come into focus in the past year or so. This is because the public in general now have faster internet connections. This, combined with more easily accessible Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) makes serving large images easier. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been working on mobile sites for some clients just recently, and this has been informative, if slightly depressing! In a previous post i talked about how little distinction there is between hotel sub-brands. If you look at the mobile space, there’s very little distinction between the main brands themselves. Follow me while i take a look. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently I stayed in a hotel that was part of the Marriott empire – not a Marriott itself, but one of its sub-brands. The experience was a constant surprise – some of the things I expected were missing, but other things I didn’t expect were there. I clearly didn’t understand what the brand was offering. So what was happening?
The more I thought about it, the more it came down to two things. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the first things that I try to persuade clients about is the need to be able to update their website themselves — there’s no point having to send changes to a webmaster or agency, something that could take days.
Most clients see the value in this, but keeping the content fresh, that’s a different matter.
Why is fresh content important? Read the rest of this entry »
Last week i had the privilege of being on a panel at Serviced Apartments Asia in Singapore, discussing Social Media, and the opportunities it presented for the industry. A review of this is available in a post i wrote on the Keen site.
Anthony Green – September 2010
Web designers and marketers have a right to feel cheated — no sooner had they started building websites to match the shiny new big monitors that people were getting with their desktops, than the whole landscape changed. Instead of large, square monitors, the market shifted, and in came widescreen monitors. The shape matched the HD TVs that everyone has been buying like crazy, and the fact is that TVs and movies look great!
This created a problem: nearly all laptops, and now most desktops, come with screens that are much wider, but offer only 600, 768, or 800 pixels in height. If that doesn’t mean much to you, previously the most common size was much bigger, 1024 high — so much more space — whereas now the fold is really high up the page.
Web designers were among the last to notice, with their large monitors. Business users noticed, with their ultra-small laptops, and many design teams were caught out. Read the rest of this entry »
As someone who has been building hotel websites for the last 10 years, i’ve seen my fair share of mistakes — i may even have made some of them in the past! Avoid these issues, and you’ll be on your way to an effective website that persuades visitors to become bookers.
Mistake 1: No Balance
Some sites are all images; other sites are all text with lousy images. Try to strike a balance — visitors have different drivers, needs, and motivations: some will be won over by great images; others may not care, they want the facts. A well balanced site should cater to both of these needs, and appeal to both user groups. Read the rest of this entry »
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