Nov 26, 2015 | Marketing, metasearch, New & Press
Source: Metasearch for vacation rentals gains momentum
There seems to be a growing interest in alternative accommodation and especially what is now being called the Vacation Rentals market. That terms was made popular by Flipkey and then became an established category on TripAdvisor when they took over FlipKey. All the while sites like HomeAway, Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) and dozens of villa rentals, and apartments for rent sites were competing for market share. Airbnb created a storm with its aggressive advertising and positioning. Now the German company HomeToGo, a metasearch engine for vacation rentals, is launching its USA service.
Part of the reason that vacation rentals are more attractive is the gradual shift away from cookie-cutter holiday to the do it yourself mentality of the Independent minded Traveller. This market has been around for ages but its more in vogue today as the travel market matures. It is also how the new millennials like to travel.
Many resorts are gearing up to cater exclusive to these travelers. An example is St. Lucia’s Ocean View Villa resort ; Poinsettia. Their website featuring private villa apartments for rent in St. Lucia has several pages dedicated to Independent travel and helpful tips for those who are looking for the authentic Caribbean holiday experience away from the crowds.
In the article HomeToGo points out that “Currently served by large home-share companies, the US online travel industry is fragmented in regards to vacation rentals with thousands of companies in the US alone. Searching and comparing vacation rentals can be time-consuming and confusing due to overlapping inventory and booking fees.
Tripping CEO Jen O’Neal says that the recent merger of HowmeAway with Expedia is good for business: “This is great news for HomeAway, Expedia, and the industry as a whole. It shows that vacation rentals are becoming increasingly mainstream and that OTAs need to have a solid stake in VR to remain competitive.”
The Meta-booking now established in hotel search, and especially on TripAdvisor, is now being adapted to vacation rentals. This, O’Neal adds that “Tripping will facilitate around one million meta-bookings by next year”. Tey are not alone: – There is lots of competion and many new entries such as the Vacatia with its resort rental marketplace which raised $8.8 million to launch.
See full report on tnooz: Metasearch for vacation rentals gains momentum
Nov 21, 2015 | Marketing, New & Press
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Lionsgate partners with ad-supported, free-streaming video service.
This is just another sign of the times. TV and mass media views are declining as digital web expands. This move just continues the trend for broadcast media, TV and movie companies looking at alternatives.
This investment is with Tubi TV, owned by adRise, a company that starts up branded VOD apps. It is streamed on Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, Xbox and the new Apple TV.
Source: Tubi TV Makes Equity/Content Deals With MGM, Lionsgate 11/20/2015
Founder and CEO Tubi TV, Farhad Massoudi says: “Tubi TV’s mission is to make premium content accessible to everyone, everywhere, without having to pay more. Tubi TV will always be free.” The company also notes that former Fox Television Entertainment Group Chairman Sandy Grushow, has joined the board of directors.
The fact that MGM Lionsgate Partner with Tubi TV ad-supported, free-streaming video service is in line with other moves in the industry. As Jason Klein on MediaPosts says: “The Internet encourages audience engagement in a way that television cannot, so we believe the system to measure this new world needs to be more than an adaptation; it needs to be an evolution.” The new media digital platforms enable audiences to engage with programs beyond what the viewership data shows (live or time-shifted). They are also more widely available and all this is why more fans engaged with the show “The Walking Dead” on the new media after its season than viewed the broadcast shows on the night of their season premieres.
see declining views on broadcast shows!
Nov 21, 2015 | Marketing
So What if Google Streams Apps
So what? You may ask, what does it matter if Aps are streamed to browsers. Well it just may be a game changer for apps in travel. Apparently Google is working with travel partners like HotelTonight to stream apps that are not installed on the users phone. This means apps can be browsed, which is the way online travel shoppers prefer to book anyway. See more about that at https://marketinghotelsandtourism.com/?p=3909.
“As part of the initiative Google calls “app-first content,” search query results will now return some details from within apps served on google.com. If someone searches for a hotel room in Los Angeles, for example, they will see details of hotel and room availability without having to go into the mobile application.
Source: Google Streams Apps Without Downloading, Serves Content In Search Results 11/20/2015
So lets look into the future and see where this might go:
Why native Apps may give way to Web Apps
1. Apps that can be streamed are less likely to be downloaded
2. In the future apps that don’t offer process and intelligent that cannot be streamed will have no advantage over web browsing
3. If the web browsing experience is equivalent to apps, travellers will prefer the web )- they already say they prefer to book on the web.
4. As web browsing gets more sophisticated, apps will be less novel.
5. Mass media may prefer web mobile over apps (see below)
BroadCast Media Moves to Web As Views Decline
Advertising and Apps
Streaming an app on the phone may stop or hinder any ad within the app. Tha will cut back ad funding for information and services that industry relies on. Also how then will the industry and Google, measure download and ad impressions. this could shake up the ad industry. Already TV shows are pushing ADs to mobile it seems logical that this will shift away from apps.
Why Mass media May Prefer Web Mobile
Although traditional TV ratings have continued to decline, viewership isn’t necessarily dropping, it’s just shifting. Nielsen rating now has a Total Audience Measurement solution, that will measure all viewing across TV, DVR, VOD, connected TV devices (Roku, Apple TV and Xbox), mobile, PC and tablets. Comscore is also taking its own shot at meassuring total audience. So it seems that TV and Mass media may be on apps and mobile web browsers and along with it Advertising. But an app can hide the fact that an ad is there. It makes it hard to measure and rank the ads effect. That is another reason why Aps may not be supported by mass media as they move to the mobile media.
Nov 19, 2015 | future, Marketing, personalization
PSFK Labs details 10 trends that can help shape the future of travel planning and booking supported by commentary from industry experts.
Source: Future of Travel 2016: Travel Planning and Booking Trends
PSFK’s Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Piers Fawkes tells us that: “Travelers today are looking for an intuitive, rapid and personalized experience.” They understand the trail of contextual data that surrounds them and they expect the smartest travel brands to leverage those data to serve them appropriately.”
Travel companies have to build intelligence systems that understand behavior and anticipate needs offering recommendations that will entice conversion. At AXSES all cast Marketing we are working hard on embedding behavior responsive systems, matchmaking and other personalization techniques into our visual marketing technology. Expect a major announcement on leading technology soon.
Disruptive Trends for 2016- TravelMarket Report
At the same times as this PSFK report comes out, the TravelMarket Report shares thoughts on the disruptive travel marketing trends at aplay right now and extending into the new year.”Even at a time when hotel occupancy rates are soaring in many domestic markets, disruptive forces like the sharing economy, the emerging millennial market, and changing tastes in food and beverage are forcing hospitality industry leaders to rethink the way they do business.”
See http://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Five-Hotel-Trends-for-2016?articleid=20853 for details on the five big trends that kept coming up on the trade-show floor.
1. Sharing economy strengthens2.
3. Legacy hotel brands need to re-create themselves
4. Disruption has come to food and beverage, too
5. Disruption’s next stop: meetings
Nov 18, 2015 | mobile apps, mobile bookings
A study of 2,000 US smartphone owners has found they are more likely to book a hotel room using the mobile than an app.
Source: Mobile web beats apps when it comes to hotel bookings – Tnooz
It really is not rocket science and it does not take much effort to understand that travelers are not going to download an app for every hotel they consider or check out during the planning stage. They look at 20 differed sites on average and will consider a dozen places to stay. The just are not going to download and app to check availability and rates when they can just look at the website.
Mobile Web Prefered over Apps for Booking
The study by Miller Brown, referred to in the Tnooz article above demonstrates that Mobile web beats apps for hotel bookings. In the study only 15% of all who booked a hotel in the study period used their smartphone to book and most booked via mobile browsing. 43% said they preferred to browse to book, 28% were split between apps and browsing and 28% preferred to use an app.
Its not clear how they booked and my guess is that most were using OTAs or hooked into a chain with loyalty points. If they book direct common sense will tell us that they will browse the hotel website and check out rates online via the browser. The Study also tells us that while over 30% of the travelers studied had over 30 apps, they only used about 4 a day.
Apps for Loyalty and Recurring Booking
“One of the things we found is that in travel, and in general, app install and usage is one measure of loyalty or brand engagement. You’ve (essentially) committed to the brand.” Says Lincoln Merrihew SVP of Miller Brown, and adds: “In general, older consumers tend to be more brand-committed than younger ones.”
Apps are used mostly for services like fast check out, billing, room key, loyalty programs, concierge and room services and to control the room TV, temperature order services and get offers. For online information, reservations and booking your provider should offer a mobile version; that’s all you need. If you have a custom built booking engine make sure it is mobile responsive. All this may change and likely will but for now mobile browsing is not overpowered by apps. I think apps have to offer much more for all to want to download them for every hotel we want to check. Cant see it happening any time soon.
eMarketers Forcast Mobile Booking Surpass Desktop in 2016
What there is no doubt about is the growing use of mobile in travel planning and booking. According to eMarketer 51.8% of travelers who book trips online will do so using a mobile device. That is up 43.8% from the 2015 estimates. They add that “In 2015, travel sales booked via PCs will be $115.91 billion—a decline of 1.8% from 2014. That decline will continue through at least 2019, the end of eMarketer’s forecast period.” – See more at: http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1013248#sthash.9VxWmZ8H.dpuf –
Travel sales booked via mobile are $52.08 billion this year (November 2015) representing 31.0% of digital travel sales. Booking via mobile is expected to reach to 46.0% by 2019.
Not at all surprising, at the Barbados Tourism Encyclopedia (Barbados.org) the bulk of site visits are now from travelers using a mobile device.
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