Lodging Interactive Blog

Making customer satisfaction pay in the hotel industry

"In recent years, reports in the business press have questioned the value of measuring customer satisfaction, suggesting that such research does not explain or predict financial performance. A new Cornell University research paper demonstrates now the contrary.

In this report, Cornell University demonstrates that customer satisfaction research, when designed and executed with the prerequisite psychometric and statistical rigor, does in fact yield actionable insights and show clear linkages to actual financial outcomes"

Read more via www.hotelmarketing.com

Google-ITA Acquisition: What Lies Ahead?

On July 1, 2010, Google officially—and finally—announced the acquisition of ITA Software, a leading provider of airfare shopping technology, for US$700 million. Subject to regulatory approval, the acquisition has raised a multitude of questions—and opposition—across the travel industry.

What form will Google and ITA take, and what does this mean for online travel? Will this be another metasearch, competing head-to-head with Kayak and Bing Travel? Does Google plan to enter the OTA fray and get transactional? Is this the end of travel SEM and SEO as we know it? How will travel search change? And what scenarios should travel companies be planning for?

via www.phocuswright.com/

More than half of travelers share vacation info on social media sites

Travelocity’s most recent poll shows more than half of all travelers share vacation information through social media. Nearly 30 percent of travelers have either never thought about precautions or do not take any precautions when posting about vacation on social media websites.

With summer vacations in full swing, many travelers are looking forward to sharing the details of their trips with friends and family. In today’s world, the easiest way to share is through social media, but people should be conscious of when and what they share to avoid giving away too much information about when they’ll be away from home.

Nearly 30 percent of travelers have either never thought about precautions or do not take any precautions when posting about vacation on social media web sites. Twenty-seven percent post limited vacation information; the rest do not allow any vacation posts.

via www.hotelmarketing.com

Social Media Touted as an Almost Magical Answer for Arizona's Wounded Tourism Industry - But It's Not Necessarily a Cheap One

SOCIAL MEDIA -- Facebook, Twitter, blogs and the like -- are a free and almost magical answer for a wounded tourism industry, but not necessarily a cheap one.

That was the message at a seminar on social media held Tuesday during the Arizona Governor's Conference on Tourism at Loews Ventana Canyon.

Using social media, particularly those geared toward smart phones and other portable Internet devices, can tell a vast audience of potential customers about a hotel or restaurant -- and also tell the proprietors a lot about their customers. But success requires constant attention.

via www.hotel-online.com, By Dan Sorenson, The Arizona Daily Star

Google Launches July 4 Fireworks Early, Buys ITA Software | Forrester Blogs

In a move that had been speculated about since April, on July 1 Google announced  it had entered into an agreement to buy Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software for $700 million — thus launching its own round of business fireworks ahead of the US July 4 holiday.

via blogs.forrester.com

Travelport Acquires Hotel And Travel Search Engine Sprice.com

Travelport, one of the world’s largest global distribution system (GDS) providers, this morning announced that it has acquired Singapore-based Sprice, owner and operator of hotel and travel search engine Sprice.com, for an undisclosed sum.

via techcrunch.com

Stealth travel startup buys Kayak's TravelPost, adopts name

The secretive online travel startup created by Rich Barton and other former Expedia executives has a new moniker, logo and Web site. The heavily-funded company -- formed earlier this year under the placeholder name of NewTravelco -- recently purchased the online hotel review site TravelPost from travel search powerhouse Kayak. As part of the acquisition, the company is adopting the TravelPost name.

via www.techflash.com

Hotel Occupancy On The Rise, But Rates Still In Decline

Occupancy rebounded for large, multibrand hotel companies in the first quarter of 2010, but rate declines continued across the tiers.

Marriott International reported an uptick in group travel, particularly association business, during the quarter. President and COO Arne Sorenson said group room nights within Marriott were up 1 percent compared with the first quarter of 2009, but up 10 percent in the last month of the quarter. "While corporate business remains soft, association meeting attendance took off," Sorenson said. "Association room nights rose 15 percent in the quarter and 50 percent in our third period."

via www.btnonline.com

On the Road - At High-End Hotels, Business Is Looking Up - NYTimes.com

IN the depths of the recession, a cartoon made the rounds in the executive offices of the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain. “It showed a guy trying to change the name on the sign above his hotel from Ritz to Fritz,” said Simon Cooper, the president of Ritz-Carlton, which is the top luxury brand of Marriott International.

via www.nytimes.com

Priceline steals hotel customers from rival sites, report says - Hotel Check-in: A road warrior's guide to the lodging landscape - USATODAY.com

Priceline.com during the first three months of this year increased its hotel booking business and stole market share from rival websites, travel-tech tracker Tnooz.com reports.

via content.usatoday.com