Latest Survey Shows Travelers Prefer to Watch videos on Hotel Websites

In this survey, by Software Advice, shows that video is very effective and popular with travelers. In fact 51% of leisure travelers, 69% of business travelers and 55% of affluent travelers watch online travel videos and they all prefer to watch the video on the hotels own website. That is good news for hospitality managers who are looking for ways to keep visitors on their website at a time when travel shoppers visit 24 sites and easily forget where they went.

Travelers like to watch video on hotel websites

“Viewing videos on a hotels website is a win-win for the customer and the brand,” says Tyler Lessard, chief marketing officer at Vidyard (a leading provider of video marketing and analytics technologies for several industries, including hospitality). The advantage for the travelers is knowing that the content is reputable and recent, versus the slightly more ambiguous nature of YouTube. As for the hotels, when customers view videos directly on their website, those customers are kept within the same branded experience.”

Be Everywhere

Lessard goes on to say that one of the probelems of YouTube is the viewer is just a click away from viewing a competitor’s video or get sidetracked looking at someones elses playlist.
“But on your own site, you can preserve that experience, and walk them from the video to a booking more effectively.”

Hotels of course need to publish video content to all major video sites, social sites and YouTube as well as have it on their own branded website. The strategy is to optimise the market reach and allow travelers to view the content where they want and where they are.

Today YouTube videos can include a call-to-action using the YouTube Car which is now avaialable in the annotation option. Call to actions can be anywhere – We often add a Call to Action after the 1 minute mark and at the end of the video.

What to put in the Video

Hotels should provide specific visual information on rooms, amenities and how your hotel differ from other nearby hotels. “That’s important for brands to keep in mind—[you should give] people all [the] information they need on your site to bring them right through to that purchase decision”.

Lesser confirms: 57% of site visitors want to see the rooms, suites and common areas—such as the lobby—in hotel. The spa, pool or gym ranked second, with 20 percent. Other options such as natural scenery, on-site restaurants and bars and the hotel’s staff and management ranked further behind, at 9 percent, 8 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

Information needs vary for guests, so videos need to offer a variety of information: All hotels need to have at least one high resolution quality video on the accommodation options and the lobby. In adition videos should offer a look at all amenities and features that add value to the holiday experience..

“Allow them to go on their own content journey, if you will, to discover more and more of that information,” he says. “Because if you don’t have a video of your spa experience, the next hotel might—and that might be what converts that person.”

Hotel and Tourism Video Case Study

for more like this see Video SEO tactics and hotel Finder

See our summary of video marketing for a villa apartment resort in the Caribbean below.