One more option for booking online...

http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/061220_hilton_launches_online_room_selection_by_floorplan/

This article is about the new kind of online reservation by the Hilton group. Customers can now choose the right room on internet after a virtual visit of the real room, they can see the view, the situation on the floor, they exactly know in which room they will sleep (the color, the bed, the amenities...)

I think it can be a good thing for the hotelier, because they will not have to explain each room to the guest or why the price can be different between 2 rooms, they will understand by themself (only for the people using the website).

This concept can also avoid complain; very often people want to change room because it's next to the elevator, or they are disappointed by the view...

In an other way, it's becoming so complex to book on internet, and I deeply believe that booking with this system take a long time... so. If i book on internet, it's in order to win some time and to avoid wasting time on the phone.

Then, i think that if you go in vacation, you don't have anymore the happiness of the holidays, to discover your room, the surprise...

But anyway, i think there is many kind of customers and so, a lot of people will love this new kind of booking, and some will hate it...

Medical tourism: a new "niche" market


http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/060410_medical_tourism_asias_

The medical tourism is increasing in many place around the world, especially in asia, east europe and south america.
In fact, medical treatments or surgerey is becoming more and more expensive in all develop countries that's why so many people are going there. We can see that so many people are choosing different packages in function of their problems.

We can find already some plastic surgerey in some countries of middle east which are very luxurious hotel combined with a clinic with some very famous doctor.

I think that it can be a really good job to create some kind of partnership between some nice hotels and clinics in those countries which are actually really attractive in term of tourism.

But still, i really think that people are not ready yet to hear about thing like that because even if some people are using it, it can still appear like unmoral.

But why not to try, we use already the competition for suppliers everywhere around the world so let's try with the surgerey and create a very nice, attractive and new way to travel and visit around the world and come back with pictures, presents, new teeth or new noise...

New kind of customer loyalty: mobile advertising

http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/061106_ten_tips_for_going_mobile_today/

This text is about the new kind of advertising for companies, especially advertising on handphone. Every companies can send news or promotion directly by sms on the guest handphone.

In fact, it's important to be sure that every single of your customer is aware about your last news, last promotion or to confirm a reservation.

For this, hotels need to complete an important data base in order to send news and to reach as many guests as possible.

Some companies do it already in France, like Darty or la Fnac to inform you about your command or thing like that.

One more good advertising system but to be the first will be better because if every companies use it later, guests will be fed up to receive too many sms of different societies.

Never enough amenities...


http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/061128_hotel_amenities_that_stick/

This text is about the importance of the amenities inside the hotel room or about the services offer in an hotel.

This is in fact the result of the competition. Hotels have to be always the first and need to be innovative in the services offer.
Where this thing will stop? What do we have to offer to make the customer happy and to satisfied this one in order for him to forget the price.
So, the question is until which room price we can offer all this kind of amenities ? It's important to fix a marge because all those kind of amenities are very expensive and we also need to be sure to not fall in this game of the best service (amenities) for the cheaper price.

Tecknology on the March, by Larry Mundy.

Link:

http://www.wiredhotelier.com/news/154000469/4029502.html

This text from Mr Mundy is about the excess of tecknology all around the world and so, inside the hotel also.

We can find today in the hotel, handphone, internet, wireless, TV with 300 channels, digital recognition and hotel employees can know a lot about you thanks to the networking...

This writer said that he is fed up with all this. He just wants to take some rest in an hotel and that's it.

Can we think today to a new kind of hotel, like a come back 60 years before to a simple hotel where you'll not be disturd by anything or anyone, find some different TV channels, or no TV at all... This is a funny aspect because if we come back a couple of years before, the old way of life can become a new and innovative concept. I think now there is a niche on this idea. So many people need to take a real vacation and not to stay in the middle of a computer.

For my part, if I can find an hotel like that to go and spend a week-end there, I'll do it for sure.

Importance of the package in the hotel.

http://www.wiredhotelier.com/news/154000469/4029355.html

This is an important point because we arrive now on a completly different way to travel. People doesn't want to lost time in taking time to plan the vacation.

It's some time a good way for the customer in a sense of the price. In fact, very often, the holidays are cheaper if you take a package with everything included.

But the question is why people prefer to plan everything, get the plane, the hotel, the meal package and the visit in a same package.

I think the guest don't have anymore freedom in the way to visit a city or a country.

That's mean that for the most case, if you don't want to take one of these package, you'll pay more than without this one. So?

In the hotel industry point of view, it's can be the really good thing in order to increase the revenue. People has to stay in the hotel and to consume a maximum inside the hotel. but I still think that we need to improve in the quality of the package. We actually find always the same kind of visit or sometime a massage... It's time to think "innovation" in order to be better than competitors.

Europe: E-Commerce drives advertising growth
November 09, 2006

According to the “European Online Advertising Forecast, 2006 to 2011,” released by JupiterResearch, search engine marketing expenditures in Europe are rising, and for the best of all possible reasons - Europeans are buying more online.
Internet Retailer estimates that as the Internet becomes mainstream in Europe over the next several years, by 2011 European marketers will spend Eur83 billion on online advertising, representing 8.3% of all European advertising spending.
Search engine marketing (SEM) will account for the largest part of that growth, increasing from 41% of total online ad spending in 2005 to a projected 49% in 2011.
In fact, already last year, in order to reach the increasing number of European online shoppers, 65% of the search marketers Jupiter surveyed said they had upped their paid search spending.
In addition, new advertisers are coming online — following the consumers. As Jupiter analysts wrote, “Internet penetration grew from 46% in 2004 to 49% in 2005, and will reach 58% in 2011.”

My opinion:

I think this article is really relevant with the hospitality industry. In fact the e-commerce will change the entire organization of the marketing and sales department in the hotel. This fact is known since few years but apparently hotel companies had difficulties to stay connect with this evolution. Today, the using of advertising for hotel on internet is still very slow in Europe and especially in France.
Company has to change all the method of sales. It’s not anymore a face to face relation with the customer. Now they have to sell differently.
If the using of internet is increasing, companies need to attract the customer online. They need to promote the hotel, to improve the company website front page.
It’s mean also that employees need to get new training on the IT system.

The other relevant point is the Tour Operator, today more and more of hotel rooms are bought on internet and directly on TO website like Opodo or Voyages SNCF. Customers are using this link to book the hotel in same time with the train or airplane. If this way allows hotels to sell more room, it’s also a sell at a cheaper price.

• 
  What will happen if every customer buy the room night by those TO and not anymore with the hotel directly?
• 
  How hotel will fix new sell price for the room?