Understanding a Guest’s Expectation of Brand.com Web Functionality in the Mobile Environment

Omni Hotels & Resorts is currently upgrading its mobile website.

In an exclusive interview with EyeforTravel’s Ritesh Gupta, Kerry Kennedy, VP e-Commerce, Omni Hotels, mentioned that the company is integrating all essentialbrand.com data and navigational elements into its existing mobile site, upgrading the GUI and expanding the reach to more mobile devices.

“Within the next few months, we will add a new web app to the mobile site that will allow the mobile site itself to serve as a mobile app for iPhones and Blackberries and we will add the additional app for Android devices, as well. We will be enhancing our online and mobile check-in functionality with SMS check-in, and we will bring our online room service feature into our mobile site and mobile apps,” said Kennedy, who is scheduled to speak at the forthcoming Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2011 conference to be held in San Francisco this year (March 2-3, 2011).

Kennedy spoke in detail about the usage of mobile phones in the hospitality sector. Excerpts:

How do you expect the usage of mobile phones in the hospitality sector especially for mobile marketing to shape up in 2011?

I expect mobile usage to continue to increase with a focus on speed, increased and ease of usability, and guest’s expectation of full brand.com web functionality in the mobile environment.

Hotel companies plan to test and build out more capability related to mobile marketing inclusive of ad serving across networks and within their owned media with a focus on location aware targeting, utilising of QR codes and sms for acquisition and potentially some carrier based solutions. What do you make of such moves?

I believe these are interesting projects to add to the mix of an overall comprehensive mobile marketing strategy. I think that it is important for hotels to consider the key reasons guests book from a particular brand and enhance their mobile sites with functionality that leverage those reasons to keep the guest coming back to the site as well as present the brand voice the customer has come to expect.

QR codes are interesting and noteworthy, but only if used in a way that brings value to the customer. And mobile device scanners still have some idiosyncrasies about them which can sometimes cause user frustration. It’s important that if you use a QR code to ensure that it brings added value to the guest by being easier and faster to use than directing them to some other source, or provides them with extras that they could not get through another channel. Emergent marketing channels like QR codes and SMS need to fit the larger overarching strategy of the four marketing P’s (product, place, price, promotion) for a brand while doing so in the new digital channels.

A lot is expected from Location+Social . There's lot of excitement in the air when it comes to location+social, and geolocation check-in services have gained much momentum in this space. How do you think the travel industry will leverage such trend?

I believe there is a good opportunity here to tie in the excitement of a new function such as geolocation with the needs of a guest/user – at the time they are in the need of the service. In the past, we could pre-market ancillary products at the time of hotel room booking; but now we can actually continue to enhance a guest’s stay during their actual stay. This allows hoteliers to increase their ancillary revenue from products and services such as spa, restaurants, golf, etc. while at the same time creating a more pleasurable and satisfying stay for the guest. This, in turn, builds the guest’s loyalty and propensity for future interactions and stays.

Recently, a hotelier pointed out that travel is the most social form of commerce because consumers are in a constant state of asking “where am I” and “is this the right place to be”. How do you think social integration can be a huge “delighter” with the guest experience at or near the property?

I believe the real opportunity here that social media will play is by establishing a rapport with the guest (directly or indirectly) and augmenting their stay.

There are two sides to this:

1) The importance of “word of mouse” marketing where social media plays a role as guests ask their social network about the past travel experiences, where they stayed, what they would recommend, etc. What our social network says is one of the most influential factors in making a purchase decision today and that trend will continue to increase.

2) The second part of the equation is how brands can use social media to connect directly with their guests pre-, during-, and post-stay. Whether it be a simple follow up to thank them for a stay, or an customer service matter that can be addressed, or even providing a post-stay folio to the guest through a social channel delivery, these interactions between guest and brand will begin to be the post-stay survey for the guest and will be a factor in deciding if that guest then becomes a brand-advocate in the social communities to guide other travel researchers to your booking channels.

As far as location-based marketing is concerned, there are several applications that present brand building opportunities, access to personalised data for targeted advertising, and real-time feedback from visitors. How do you think the travel industry is today making use of proximity or location-based marketing for deeper meta data gathering?

I think the full potential of location-based marketing is still largely untapped. With smarter phones arriving in the market place, better and faster GPS/data networks and more comprehensive database collections of local information, the convergence of these three items will prove to be a powerful tool when a guest is “on location”. We will be able to market and reach those guest with offers and products that we were never able to before. We are starting to gather this intelligence today, but I think in the near future we will be reviewing this search and purchase activity in a more granular level that will guide our offers and communications to those guests and future guests.

It is highlighted that marketers need to quickly learn the appropriate way to converse with consumers using location based applications, if they are to succeed. What’s your viewpoint regarding the same?

I concur. Like with traditional website behaviour where we know we only have a few clicks to convert the guest, I believe that conversion opportunity is even shorter with consumers using location based applications. They are at the location looking for a specific product or service. They don’t have a lot of time and they don’t want a lot of extraneous data. They want very targeted, concise information returned to them. As marketers, our success will depend on how well we serve them the information they are looking in a very targeted way.

Augmented reality is a technology that melds real-life views with overlaid digital information as tags delivering a sensory experience that feels real. The handset’s GPS capability determines the exact location a person is standing, while an internal compass determines the direction the user is looking. Location is a key dimension of AR. An online travel company like Expedia says Virtual Reality is likely to have a big impact on travellers in the near future. How do you assess the utility of this feature going forward?

I think this could be another great opportunity to reach travelers in ways we’ve never been able to before while marketing our products and services. I could envision AR as a viable tool for meeting planners and site inspections – providing a real time tour while layering onto the display key features, benefits or value-added services a brand offers. Or it could be a great service tool for the leisure traveler who is on location at a resort and is able to see the layered data for restaurant options, amenity locations such as the pool, spa or golf, or even as a hand-held waypoint finder through the resort. There are many applications of AR that could be used to help a guest not only make a purchase decision, but enhance their stay.

Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2011
Kerry Kennedy is scheduled to speak at the forthcoming Social Media Strategies for Travel USA 2011 conference, to be held in San Francisco (March 2-3, 2011).

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Gina Baillie
VP Global Marketing & Events
EyeforTravel
London, UK: +44 (0)207 375 7197
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