Mid-Year Review: The Rising Tide of Mobile Bookings – How Hoteliers Can Stay Afloat : HeBS Blog.

Stats Tell the Story

Percent Increase/Decrease in Results in First Half 2014 vs. First Half 2013:

Source Pageviews Visits   Bookings   Nights  Revenue
Mobile    58.0%      50.9%   86.6%      61.1%    123%
Tablet     11.7%       14.8%    18.0%       16.7%   10.5%
Desktop -13.8%     –15.7%  -4.4%       -8.4%    -3.0%

Hotel website desktop visitors declined by 16% approx., while mobile increased by nearly 51%. Mobile bookings increased 86% and revenue increased by 123%.

In the face of overwhelming evidence that mobile is the future, HeBs suggests that “hoteliers should treat all three screens as separate marketing, distribution and customer engagement channels and should optimize their presence in all three channels to provide the best user experience on each device (desktop, mobile, tablet).” One of the wasy to do this is with Responsive Web Design (RWD).

RWD Case Study Barbados Tourism

The team at AXSES who authored the MobileChecklist Report and many mobile case studies advocate a Responsive Web  Design (RWB) for may application but not all. The Team share their tools, advise, resources and strategies freely on videos webinar replays and tutorials on YouTube – see Mobile Webinar Replays >>

HeBs agrees saying: “Adaptive web design aka Responsive Design on Server Side (RESS)—does the work for the hotelier, meaning they don’t have to manage three different websites.” It added that we cant leave out threats and opportunities arising from wearable devices, connected car devices, etc.

It really is a Multi-channel world and “Multi-channel marketing should become the centerpiece of every hotel marketer’s overall strategy.”

Also its important to note that the majority of mobile bookings come via the voice channel. With over 41% of website visitors utilizing the non-desktop channel, call analytics is now a necessity for hoteliers.

The HeBS Digital and Navis Case study showed 44% of a property’s online marketing revenue was made through voice reservations, thus leading to a shift in marketing spend and increased ROIs for the client.

Its a great report and a must read for all in hospitality.

 http://www.hebsdigital.com/blog/mid-year-review-the-rising-tide-of-mobile-bookings-how-hoteliers-can-stay-afloat/

Also see RWD Case Study