“Digital can play a role in unleashing your potential – Making your eCommerce channels more profitable and developing customer value propositions that are centered on delivering better outcomes for your guests.” Carlo Gagliardi, Strategy Consulting Partner, PwC
We have seen that online travel agencies (OTA)in recent years have changed the face of industry and have grown immensely tapping the new tech savvy consumers with online technologies, mobile markets and social media. They have gained an advantage of retaining the consumerist, responsive mindset of the tech company, combined with low overhead expenses. But they are also ploughing in money to invest heavily in developing new models of business and establish increasing focus on mobile and last-minute bookings. Hotels who fall short to respond to these changes will see their margins battered, and their businesses coming under risk; but those who grab this prospect are more likely to be able to tap this new segment and make revenue to improve profitability.
Digital technology has the prospective to bring about the change in all facets of the traveller’s journey – valuing and enhancing experiences from before they go, while they’re away and when they return. This paves way to new areas for the hotel to build a deeper emotional bond and loyalty with the traveller/guest.
At the same time the overabundance of OTA’s and mediums to make a booking has made it difficult for hotels to optimise channel mix and costs. The participation of the other industry players, such as airlines, and the lack of much thorough data filtering through from booking systems makes the challenge of providing a reliable customer-focused approach at every step even more difficult.
The customer experience becomes an opening to cultivate revenue. Those who really understand their target market, what they want and what drives their buying decision, have a huge advantage.
PWC has conducted customer research that shows 65% of all guests are likely to re-book hotels where they’ve had a great experience in which they have rated attentiveness of the staff as the most important driver of great hotel experiences. Delivering memorable experiences reliably all the time, however, requires lots of cross-functional collaboration.
Rather than focusing only in terms of ‘just channels’, hotels now need a digital business strategy for the more advanced technological age that focuses on helping the customer achieve the goals they care about, rather than ‘just’ providing a set of inputs.
They need the courage to be the trusted brand of the consumer before, during and after their stay.
By: Minakshi Dave.
About mycloud
mycloud is developed and promoted by Prologic First– a hospitality technology innovator and a leading international hospitality IT solutions provider.Prologic First is a group of companies that develops and internationally markets integrated hotel software solutions for the hospitality sector. Prologic First software solutions are in use at more than 1300 sites in 35 countries. Professionals formed Prologic First more than a decade ago with extensive experience in developing and deploying hotel IT solutions. For more information visit www.prologicfirst.com.
Media Enquiries:
Deepak Chauhan, Phone +44-074-1844-8130, Email: deepak@mycloudhospitality.com