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New Study Shows Online Presence Gap Between Independent Hotels and Chain Hotels Drifts Further
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) AUSTIN, TX, June 18 / MARKET WIRE/ --
GuestCentric Systems (www.guestcentric.com), the
premier Software as a Service (SaaS) provider for the independent hotel
industry, released at a press conference at HITEC 2008 today results from
a survey that shows that the online presence gap is widening between
smaller, independent hotels and larger hotel chains in the U.S. The survey
was conducted by GuestCentric in February 2008 and 300 hotels located in
the US were polled showing dramatic differences in terms of leveraging
their online websites to book consumer and business travel online between
independent hotels with less than 80 rooms and branded chain hotels.
This gap is revealed in all of the main aspects analyzed in this survey:
website and ability to receive online reservations, presence on Internet
distribution systems and average occupancy rate.
Independent Hotels' Struggle with their Online Presence
The survey found that while overall more than 85% of independents and
chains are happy with their website, when asked about their biggest concern
about their websites, a significant difference emerged:
-- Independents struggle with their website: The number one concern for
independents about their website is that it does not generate business for
the hotel (33% of respondents). Next, independents are concerned about cost
(19%), updating pictures (19%) and content (14%). This suggests that
independents are struggling with the basics of their website and that they
feel they can't afford the right tools to create a professional online
presence.
-- Chain hotels worry about providing up-to-date information to the
visitor: The number one concern for chain hotels is updating content on
their website (41% of respondents). Next, chains are worried about ease of
use (15%) and updating pictures (13%). This indicates that chains have
realized that keeping the website fresh with promotions and providing a
rich online experience is required to capture the online traveler.
Independent Hotels Still Book Majority of Reservations Offline
The study shows that only 44% of the independent hotels are able to receive
online reservations as opposed to 93% of the chains. From the independents
that receive online reservations, 50% receive e-mail inquiries compared to
a meager 7% of chains. Also, the overwhelming majority of chains (81%) rely
on booking engines to automate their booking process, while only 18% of
independents have a booking engine.
Independent Hotels Require Online Customer Intimacy
The main concerns regarding the online booking process differ widely
between chains and independents. While chains are mostly concerned about
booking engine issues (23%) and managing their online offer (19%) a wide
set of concerns troubles independents from booking engine issues (16%),
booking validation (12%), credit card validation (12%), lack of human
contact in an online booking (12%) and security (12%).
These results, coupled with the fact that 28% of independent hotels see no
point in receiving online reservations indicate that independent hotels do
not trust the online booking process and explain the huge gap in adoption
of booking technologies. Independents feel the lack of customer intimacy of
online transactions as a major obstacle to embracing online.
Independent Hotels Not On the Online Traveler Radar
Regarding presence on Internet distribution systems -- sites which are the
main source of hotel visibility and research by online travelers -- 77% of
the chain hotels are present in at least one of these sites while only 26%
of the independents use them. 43% of the independents see no point on being
present and 19% aren't even familiar with these sites.
These results indicate that independent hotels have not recognized the
importance of being present in Internet distribution systems for visibility
of their property and are rather concerned with the high commissions that
these sites demand. However, this strategy is limiting access of their
property to the online traveler. Because almost 50% of the users prefer to
book directly on the hotel website being present in distribution sites will
not only create reservations, but also increase direct bookings on the
hotel's website.
Independent Hotels Still Struggling to Increase Occupancy Rates
As a result of the strategies by each hotel, occupancy rates vary widely.
35% of independent hotels have occupancy rates below 50%, while only 6% of
the chain hotels. On the opposite side, 55% of chains have occupancy rates
above 75%, while only 34% of independent manage to have healthy occupancy
rates.
"The differences between the chain hotels and small independents shows the
opportunities and challenges that face the independent hoteliers," said
Pedro Colaco, GuestCentric's CEO. "This gap indicates a real need for the
independent hoteliers to find available technologies to allow them to cost
effectively close this gap and gain advantages over the chains, supplying
the market with what they do best: customer intimacy."
About GuestCentric
GuestCentric Systems develops and markets web services that revolutionize
the way independent hotels work. GuestCentric has built a Software as a
Service platform that allows independent hotels to develop long-standing
relationships with guests, improve online revenues and lower expenses
associated with online distribution. Through the use of Web 2.0
technologies, GuestCentric provides easy-to-use tools at reasonable prices
that up until now were only available for hotels with big budgets. For more
information about GuestCentric, visit www.guestcentric.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Dana Harris
Red Javelin Communications, Inc.
+1 (978) 440-8392Email Contact
Copyright ? 2008 Marketwire
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