EyeforTravel Blog
Competition the biggest challenge to revenue management strategy
The effect of competitors is the biggest headache revenue managers face when creating their pricing and distribution strategies according to the new Aggregating Data Streams for More Effective Revenue Management report from EyeforTravel, which is free to download now.
Exactly half of the revenue managers surveyed for the research find that their competitors create difficulties when trying to set their own pricing, noticeably ahead of any other category EyeforTravel asked about. Unforeseen events are the next most important challenge at 43.8% of respondents, followed by attribution of sales channel, which has come up as an issue across previous EyeforTravel research.
The difficulty in measuring and predicting competition has only become harder over the last half decade as hotel comparison sites have widened the competitive pool and made product comparison easier for the consumer. Not only this but the rise of alternative accommodation sites have introduced a new stream of supply into many markets.
So, what can revenue managers do to understand their competitors better and maximize their property’s performance in competitive markets?
The report finds that revenue managers should build a comprehensive competitor set (compset) that looks at more than just proximity of other accommodation options. Instead, revenue managers should understand their own property’s attributes and the type of guests it attracts and build out to encompass rivals wo are fighting for the same customer.
When it comes to setting the prices themselves the report urges caution in the part of revenue managers. The report notes that numerous studies have found that reducing prices in order to compete has long-term damaging effects for properties. Overall, properties that maintained higher average daily rates performed better, with the effects of cutting price not boosting occupancy enough to make up for the shortfall in income. Furthermore, consumers do not view prices rationally, with an accommodation purchase asking them to consider a complex matrix of factors. Indeed, a lower price may even indicate lower quality to some consumers that a property is if lower quality.
Therefore, hotels need to consider the individual advantages that their property enjoys and only look at the very nearest competitors who are most likely to be vying for the same customer segments. If hotels are to try and win against their peers on price, then the report advises that hotels should not attempt to undercut the direct competition by more than 5%.
“It is natural, almost reflexive, for revenue managers to try and bring prices down to below their competitors, especially if their booking window is not where they want it to be,” says Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “However, our findings suggest that this could make life even harder for revenue managers in the future as they look to raise prices again and hit bottom lines. This especially so as RM is shifting away from just setting rates to working across the business to measure profitability and sell ancillaries more effectively. We found 71% of revenue managers believe that the discipline should be recognised as revenue management. This is not to say that competitive pricing is not important but it seems that revenue managers need to be thinking about all of their property’s features and not just trying to be $10 cheaper per night than their rivals.”
Click here to download the research now and get the full report, including:
Exactly half of the revenue managers surveyed for the research find that their competitors create difficulties when trying to set their own pricing, noticeably ahead of any other category EyeforTravel asked about. Unforeseen events are the next most important challenge at 43.8% of respondents, followed by attribution of sales channel, which has come up as an issue across previous EyeforTravel research.
The difficulty in measuring and predicting competition has only become harder over the last half decade as hotel comparison sites have widened the competitive pool and made product comparison easier for the consumer. Not only this but the rise of alternative accommodation sites have introduced a new stream of supply into many markets.
So, what can revenue managers do to understand their competitors better and maximize their property’s performance in competitive markets?
The report finds that revenue managers should build a comprehensive competitor set (compset) that looks at more than just proximity of other accommodation options. Instead, revenue managers should understand their own property’s attributes and the type of guests it attracts and build out to encompass rivals wo are fighting for the same customer.
When it comes to setting the prices themselves the report urges caution in the part of revenue managers. The report notes that numerous studies have found that reducing prices in order to compete has long-term damaging effects for properties. Overall, properties that maintained higher average daily rates performed better, with the effects of cutting price not boosting occupancy enough to make up for the shortfall in income. Furthermore, consumers do not view prices rationally, with an accommodation purchase asking them to consider a complex matrix of factors. Indeed, a lower price may even indicate lower quality to some consumers that a property is if lower quality.
Therefore, hotels need to consider the individual advantages that their property enjoys and only look at the very nearest competitors who are most likely to be vying for the same customer segments. If hotels are to try and win against their peers on price, then the report advises that hotels should not attempt to undercut the direct competition by more than 5%.
“It is natural, almost reflexive, for revenue managers to try and bring prices down to below their competitors, especially if their booking window is not where they want it to be,” says Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “However, our findings suggest that this could make life even harder for revenue managers in the future as they look to raise prices again and hit bottom lines. This especially so as RM is shifting away from just setting rates to working across the business to measure profitability and sell ancillaries more effectively. We found 71% of revenue managers believe that the discipline should be recognised as revenue management. This is not to say that competitive pricing is not important but it seems that revenue managers need to be thinking about all of their property’s features and not just trying to be $10 cheaper per night than their rivals.”
Click here to download the research now and get the full report, including:
- The effect of competitors on pricing, how to account for them and what strategies to take to get a competitive edge.
- Understanding and constructing predictive analytics.
- Understanding the costs of a business’s channel mix and how to win direct bookings.
- The state of the industry’s approach to ancillary revenues.
- The key metrics every revenue manager should be working toward.
- The future of a revenue manager’s role and the skills they will require.
Why Travel Brands Need to Be Investing in Chatbots
If the customer is always right, then travel brands need to reach out to consumers where they are increasingly spending their time and attention – social media and messaging apps. Deploying chatbots on these channels can yield real rewards according to EyeforTravel and Travelaer’s new Are Bots Worth the Bother? report, which is free to download now.
The top travel apps currently reach into the millions of users, with apps from Booking.com and TripAdvisor leading the way, however, the top social media and messaging apps pass the billion mark. Facebook Messenger currently claims more than 1.2 billion users. Not only this but usage of social media and messaging apps is estimated to have shot up by nearly 400% in 2016. Therefore, it is becoming a matter of necessity for travel brands to have a first-class social media strategy, of which chatbots should form a core element.
The growth is opening up a whole new channel where customers can make direct bookings with travel brands, strengthening the link between brand and consumer and lowering distribution costs. Already brands such as Icelandair and French national rail operator’s digital arm Voyages-sncf.com, both of which feature as case studies in the report, have made thousand of bookings using bots on Facebook Messenger.
However, the primary use for chatbots is for customer service requirements. As consumers conduct more travel research on mobile and have to manage complex itineraries through mobile, chatbots are well placed to help to consumers and drive loyalty through improved and much quicker interactions but travel brands are struggling to come to this realization, the report notes.
“Our research shows travel companies don’t take Facebook Messaging with customers seriously,” says Mike Slone, chief experience officer at Travelaer. “Most don’t respond to customers via Facebook Messenger within a week, much less have a chat bot. The small percentage of travel bots that are live don’t impact the customer journey in a meaningful way, are gimmicky and don’t fit into an overall digital strategy. Customer service is the most demanded feature, not commerce.”Therefore, travel and tourism brands need to work harder to improve their chatbot services and their ability to respond to complex customer requirements. Doing so can help to alleviate the load on teams across a business and increase customer service levels.
Indeed, it is critical for brands to focus on making chatbots work with, rather than replacing, humans says the report. With such a new technology most are using the system to help with the most common questions, such as luggage queries for Icelandair and room service questions in the case of Edwardian Hotels, both of which feature in the report. Icelandair note that currently the chatbots deal with just 10% to 15% of queries typically but this is expected to grow.
For more on chatbots and to download the report click here and find out:
The top travel apps currently reach into the millions of users, with apps from Booking.com and TripAdvisor leading the way, however, the top social media and messaging apps pass the billion mark. Facebook Messenger currently claims more than 1.2 billion users. Not only this but usage of social media and messaging apps is estimated to have shot up by nearly 400% in 2016. Therefore, it is becoming a matter of necessity for travel brands to have a first-class social media strategy, of which chatbots should form a core element.
The growth is opening up a whole new channel where customers can make direct bookings with travel brands, strengthening the link between brand and consumer and lowering distribution costs. Already brands such as Icelandair and French national rail operator’s digital arm Voyages-sncf.com, both of which feature as case studies in the report, have made thousand of bookings using bots on Facebook Messenger.
However, the primary use for chatbots is for customer service requirements. As consumers conduct more travel research on mobile and have to manage complex itineraries through mobile, chatbots are well placed to help to consumers and drive loyalty through improved and much quicker interactions but travel brands are struggling to come to this realization, the report notes.
“Our research shows travel companies don’t take Facebook Messaging with customers seriously,” says Mike Slone, chief experience officer at Travelaer. “Most don’t respond to customers via Facebook Messenger within a week, much less have a chat bot. The small percentage of travel bots that are live don’t impact the customer journey in a meaningful way, are gimmicky and don’t fit into an overall digital strategy. Customer service is the most demanded feature, not commerce.”Therefore, travel and tourism brands need to work harder to improve their chatbot services and their ability to respond to complex customer requirements. Doing so can help to alleviate the load on teams across a business and increase customer service levels.
Indeed, it is critical for brands to focus on making chatbots work with, rather than replacing, humans says the report. With such a new technology most are using the system to help with the most common questions, such as luggage queries for Icelandair and room service questions in the case of Edwardian Hotels, both of which feature in the report. Icelandair note that currently the chatbots deal with just 10% to 15% of queries typically but this is expected to grow.
For more on chatbots and to download the report click here and find out:
- How market conditions are creating an environment ripe for chatbots.
- How many chatbots are deployed with travel brands currently and what level of functionality they have.
- How they work, what tasks they can perform, and where their limits are.
- What the costs associated with a chatbot are and how it can help your brand save money.
- How chatbots can improve customer service.
- What effect they are currently having and will have on the travel industry.
How to Make a Successful Travel Chatbot
Chatbots are getting increasingly sophisticated and capable of mimicking human conversation behaviors, but what should these bots aim to do and how can brands deploy a chatbot successfully? The new Are BotsWorth the Bother? Report from EyeforTravel and Travelaer reveals all and is free to download now.
The good news for brands is that the cost of implementing a relatively simple chatbot is not a huge investment and is coming down as more providers move into the space and natural language processing becomes more sophisticated. The cost of implementing a bot typically ranges from EUR15,000 to EUR50,000 according to the report. “These aren’t a significant investment for an airline when they’re spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions, a year on other digital experience products,” says Mike Slone, chief experience officer at Travelaer.
However, travel brands need a foundation of data and the resources to monitor, test and support the bot. Without this, there is potential for the bot to go astray. Data is key as brands first need to identify and understand what are the key pain points for customers first and seek to address these, rather than setting objectives beforehand.
For luxury hotel brand Edwardian Hotels they began by creating apps for staff to record notes on guests, service rooms, check breakfast tables and monitor their work schedules. Icelandair started with their social media team and looked through what came up most frequently in their interactions. In both cases, these brands looked at what their customer-facing staff were being asked most by their customers and then sought to address these queries, freeing up time for their staff to focus on more complex tasks.
“Instead of saying ‘we’re going to build an acquisition tool’, we look at the customer journey, how a customer interfaces with a firm and its existing digital products,” he says. “We look for a gap where there’s a huge customer need and maybe a chatbot could help. Then we come up with a strategy to apply the chatbot to solve it – that way, we know the chatbots will be much more successful in terms of customer satisfaction and metrics.”
Brands then need to monitor their bot and make sure that it is learning from each interaction in the right way. “The first version was built around understanding key words but had difficulties with the difference between: ‘what’s the luggage allowance for Europe?’ and ‘I lost my luggage in Europe.’ It’s a delicate situation to handle a bot telling the customer who has lost his luggage that the luggage allowance is two bags!” Said Guðmundur Guðnason, director of digital business development for Icelandair.
The results speak for themselves as the brands in the report, which include Skyscanner and KLM, were able to drive bookings, boost ancillary sales and increase customer service. Customers have even been fooled into thinking they are talking to an actual person and leaving TripAdvisor reviews or cash tips for their artificial helpers!
For more on chatbots and to download thereport here and find out:
The good news for brands is that the cost of implementing a relatively simple chatbot is not a huge investment and is coming down as more providers move into the space and natural language processing becomes more sophisticated. The cost of implementing a bot typically ranges from EUR15,000 to EUR50,000 according to the report. “These aren’t a significant investment for an airline when they’re spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions, a year on other digital experience products,” says Mike Slone, chief experience officer at Travelaer.
However, travel brands need a foundation of data and the resources to monitor, test and support the bot. Without this, there is potential for the bot to go astray. Data is key as brands first need to identify and understand what are the key pain points for customers first and seek to address these, rather than setting objectives beforehand.
For luxury hotel brand Edwardian Hotels they began by creating apps for staff to record notes on guests, service rooms, check breakfast tables and monitor their work schedules. Icelandair started with their social media team and looked through what came up most frequently in their interactions. In both cases, these brands looked at what their customer-facing staff were being asked most by their customers and then sought to address these queries, freeing up time for their staff to focus on more complex tasks.
“Instead of saying ‘we’re going to build an acquisition tool’, we look at the customer journey, how a customer interfaces with a firm and its existing digital products,” he says. “We look for a gap where there’s a huge customer need and maybe a chatbot could help. Then we come up with a strategy to apply the chatbot to solve it – that way, we know the chatbots will be much more successful in terms of customer satisfaction and metrics.”
Brands then need to monitor their bot and make sure that it is learning from each interaction in the right way. “The first version was built around understanding key words but had difficulties with the difference between: ‘what’s the luggage allowance for Europe?’ and ‘I lost my luggage in Europe.’ It’s a delicate situation to handle a bot telling the customer who has lost his luggage that the luggage allowance is two bags!” Said Guðmundur Guðnason, director of digital business development for Icelandair.
The results speak for themselves as the brands in the report, which include Skyscanner and KLM, were able to drive bookings, boost ancillary sales and increase customer service. Customers have even been fooled into thinking they are talking to an actual person and leaving TripAdvisor reviews or cash tips for their artificial helpers!
For more on chatbots and to download thereport here and find out:
- How market conditions are creating an environment ripe for chatbots.
- How many chatbots are deployed with travel brands currently and what level of functionality they have.
- How they work, what tasks they can perform, and where their limits are.
- What the costs associated with a chatbot are and how it can help your brand save money.
- How chatbots can improve customer service.
- What effect they are currently having and will have on the travel industry.
Travel Brands Falling Short in Chatbot Deployment
Chatbots are a potential route to billions of consumers but travel brands are failing to fully take advantage of their possibilities according to the new Are Bots Worth the Bother? Report for EyeforTravel and Travelaer. You can download the full report here.
The report looked into how far travel brands have made use of Facebook Messenger to deliver customer service and booking to customer. It finds that while 93% of these airlines have a Facebook page, and 81% a Messenger link, only 38% of the 206 contacted responded to researchers’ messages, with a third of those contacted taking at least a week to reply.
From the just over a third of airlines that responded through Facebook, most used generic messages pointing to their website or reservation team, but not necessarily including links or numbers.
The report notes that airlines are not alone, with no vertical in the travel space yet to fully take advantage of this emerging and powerful technology.
Companies are beginning to get a handle on replying to customers, with nearly two-thirds of airline brands (64.1%) getting back to customers within 24 hours, ahead of hotels, airlines and car rental companies in that order. Hotels also performed well, with 81% of brands monitored responding in under week. However, when it came to driving potential customers towards a booking, both fared far less well. Just under half of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) half provided assistance for booking through a Messenger chatbot, compared to 18.8% of car rentals, 15.2% of hotels, and 8.7% of airlines.
The report finds that brands need to move into this space as consumers are spending increasing time using social media and messenger services and are also gradually coming to expect to interact with brands over this medium as well. Moving onto these mediums can provider travel and tourism brands with a low cost booking channel and also ease the burden on customer service provisions according to the report.
For more and chatbots and to download the report click here and find out:
The report looked into how far travel brands have made use of Facebook Messenger to deliver customer service and booking to customer. It finds that while 93% of these airlines have a Facebook page, and 81% a Messenger link, only 38% of the 206 contacted responded to researchers’ messages, with a third of those contacted taking at least a week to reply.
From the just over a third of airlines that responded through Facebook, most used generic messages pointing to their website or reservation team, but not necessarily including links or numbers.
The report notes that airlines are not alone, with no vertical in the travel space yet to fully take advantage of this emerging and powerful technology.
Companies are beginning to get a handle on replying to customers, with nearly two-thirds of airline brands (64.1%) getting back to customers within 24 hours, ahead of hotels, airlines and car rental companies in that order. Hotels also performed well, with 81% of brands monitored responding in under week. However, when it came to driving potential customers towards a booking, both fared far less well. Just under half of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) half provided assistance for booking through a Messenger chatbot, compared to 18.8% of car rentals, 15.2% of hotels, and 8.7% of airlines.
The report finds that brands need to move into this space as consumers are spending increasing time using social media and messenger services and are also gradually coming to expect to interact with brands over this medium as well. Moving onto these mediums can provider travel and tourism brands with a low cost booking channel and also ease the burden on customer service provisions according to the report.
For more and chatbots and to download the report click here and find out:
- How market conditions are creating an environment ripe for chatbots.
- How many chatbots are deployed with travel brands currently and what level of functionality they have.
- How they work, what tasks they can perform, and where their limits are.
- What the costs associated with a chatbot are and how it can help your brand save money.
- How chatbots can improve customer service.
- What effect they are currently having and will have on the travel industry.
Get smarter with the Smart Travel Data Series Content Pack
Effectively utilizing data and analytics for travel brands in the 21st Century will not just be a case of improving performance, it will be a matter of survival. Therefore, EyeforTravel has been researching how data is changing the face of travel through a series of investigative reports that will help brands understand how to effectively gather, understand and utilize the vast and constantly expanding universe of information.
You candownload all seven of the reports and receive them straight to your inbox forfree by clicking here.
Here is a brief summary of each report in the content pack: · The State of Data and Analytics in the Travel Industry: What are the big trends, challenges and opportunities being created by data and analytics for the travel and tourism industry? EyeforTravel conducted a global, industry-wide survey of more than 450 travel data professionals to find out.
· Understanding the Travel Consumer´s Path to Purchase: EyeforTravel and Jumpshot tracked more than a quarter of a million travel purchasers across five countries through clickstream data and consumer surveys to build a picture of the path to purchase. This white paper details the how, where and why of the decisions people make before they book, and what travel brands should be doing to capture market share.
· Improving the Airline Experience: For passengers, booking and flying remains a process with many pain points. However, these represent opportunities for airlines, as by solving or easing these problems they can differentiate their services and avoid becoming just commodities in the eyes of consumers. With a major consumer survey and industry research, see how airlines can get a competitive edge in customer experience.
· Aggregating Data Streams for More Effective Revenue Management: Revenue managers are facing a data overload: competitor analysis, channel production, distribution costs, booking information, customer data and much more. How can they know where to look, what to get out of their data and how to apply it? Help is at hand as this report will guide revenue managers in data collection, interpreting their findings and building strategies to increase profitability.
· EyeforTravel Smart Travel Data Summit North America 2017 Round-up: EyeforTravel's Smart Travel Data Summit North America 2017, held in February 2017, saw the industry come together to engage in high-level discussions that would help attendees understand the trends and best practice surrounding data in travel. Across the two days speakers from top brands, such as Hilton, Delta, Accor, Wyndham and IHG, wrestled with the big issues and showed how their brands were creating value from data.
· EyeforTravel Smart Travel Data Summit 2016 Round-up: EyeforTravel's Smart Travel Data Summit, held in November 2016 in Amsterdam, brought together the continent's top data analysts and scientists to discuss how the industry could better improve its approach to gathering, deploying, and using the vast amounts of information being created in the Digital Age.
· Airport 3.0: The Technology and Data Transforming Airport Operations: The airport of the future will be customer-centric and data-driven with a ruthless focus on operational efficiency. This is being driven by passenger's smartphones, geolocation technology, cloud computing, and the insights being derived from all these technologies. Read this white paper to see what the innovators are doing to improve their airports and what opportunities are arising from increased customer access and cross-selling opportunities.
So don't delay, download the Smart Travel Data Series now and get smart to the changes transforming our industry.
You candownload all seven of the reports and receive them straight to your inbox forfree by clicking here.
Here is a brief summary of each report in the content pack: · The State of Data and Analytics in the Travel Industry: What are the big trends, challenges and opportunities being created by data and analytics for the travel and tourism industry? EyeforTravel conducted a global, industry-wide survey of more than 450 travel data professionals to find out.
· Understanding the Travel Consumer´s Path to Purchase: EyeforTravel and Jumpshot tracked more than a quarter of a million travel purchasers across five countries through clickstream data and consumer surveys to build a picture of the path to purchase. This white paper details the how, where and why of the decisions people make before they book, and what travel brands should be doing to capture market share.
· Improving the Airline Experience: For passengers, booking and flying remains a process with many pain points. However, these represent opportunities for airlines, as by solving or easing these problems they can differentiate their services and avoid becoming just commodities in the eyes of consumers. With a major consumer survey and industry research, see how airlines can get a competitive edge in customer experience.
· Aggregating Data Streams for More Effective Revenue Management: Revenue managers are facing a data overload: competitor analysis, channel production, distribution costs, booking information, customer data and much more. How can they know where to look, what to get out of their data and how to apply it? Help is at hand as this report will guide revenue managers in data collection, interpreting their findings and building strategies to increase profitability.
· EyeforTravel Smart Travel Data Summit North America 2017 Round-up: EyeforTravel's Smart Travel Data Summit North America 2017, held in February 2017, saw the industry come together to engage in high-level discussions that would help attendees understand the trends and best practice surrounding data in travel. Across the two days speakers from top brands, such as Hilton, Delta, Accor, Wyndham and IHG, wrestled with the big issues and showed how their brands were creating value from data.
· EyeforTravel Smart Travel Data Summit 2016 Round-up: EyeforTravel's Smart Travel Data Summit, held in November 2016 in Amsterdam, brought together the continent's top data analysts and scientists to discuss how the industry could better improve its approach to gathering, deploying, and using the vast amounts of information being created in the Digital Age.
· Airport 3.0: The Technology and Data Transforming Airport Operations: The airport of the future will be customer-centric and data-driven with a ruthless focus on operational efficiency. This is being driven by passenger's smartphones, geolocation technology, cloud computing, and the insights being derived from all these technologies. Read this white paper to see what the innovators are doing to improve their airports and what opportunities are arising from increased customer access and cross-selling opportunities.
So don't delay, download the Smart Travel Data Series now and get smart to the changes transforming our industry.
When will VR go mainstream for travel brands?
Virtual Reality (VR) is a new consumer technology and remains in early adopter mode currently, so when should travel brands expect the technology to really take off? EyeforTravel’s Does Virtual Reality Have a Place in Travel? White paper believes that we are a few years off but there is plenty of potential.
In 2016, Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear were the leading VR devices by shipments, both of which are designed for smartphones. Both shipped around 5 million units according to their parent companies. Although this is a relatively small number it puts them way ahead of more complex, dedicated sets, such as the much-publicized Oculus Rift, the parent company of which is now owned by Facebook.
Indeed overall, 2016 was not the break-out year that analysts had initially expected, with actual shipments disappointing initial forecasts. As yet it remains a relatively new technology and only a small number of leading-edge consumers have acquired headsets. However, the report notes that consumers are extremely open to the possibilities of using VR for travel content even at this early stage of the technology’s adoption. Interest ranges from just over a third of UK consumers who feel VR could be useful for travel planning up to nearly three quarters of US consumers who are interested in the applications of VR for travel and tourism. The report also expects 2017 to see strong growth that will continue out to 2021 with the US being the leading market in terms of shipments and market value.
Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel believes that, “In 2017 the market will still be quite small overall and only just beginning to mature from a consumer perspective. A dedicated set with a PC could easily see a consumer set back by more than USD1,000. Likewise, content is quite limited at this stage, although growing rapidly and investments by big companies in the area have also not yet been fully realized. Therefore, going all-in as a travel brand seems premature at this stage. However, big changes are afoot, with new offerings pushing prices down.”
“Travel-focused businesses must also keep an open mind to the broad range of uses that this technology might bring in the future,” said Andrew Newton, Head of Corporate Travel, Colpitts World Travel. “I think we are currently limited in our view of VR as we think of it as something that requires goggles to view an alternative, and often intense, experience. While it may be a long way from the minds of the average travel service provider today, this is something that might be common to us all in ten years’ time.”
Hadwick also advises that “travel brands should also keep an eye on AR in the future and how this interacts with VR. Already, the vast majority of VR device shipments in the medium term are expected to be smartphone systems, which is also where practically all AR applications will be hosted. Given that everyone already owns an AR device, albeit one with a few limits, the possibilities are enormous and there is room for conflict with VR in getting the consumer’s attention as well as co-existence. Perhaps we can expect VR to take a major role in the inspiration phase and AR to be a major aid to the traveler once they begin their physical journey in the future.”
The full whitepaper goes into detail about the business case for VR, case studies from leading travel brands currently using VR and much more. You can download the full whitepaper here.
In 2016, Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear were the leading VR devices by shipments, both of which are designed for smartphones. Both shipped around 5 million units according to their parent companies. Although this is a relatively small number it puts them way ahead of more complex, dedicated sets, such as the much-publicized Oculus Rift, the parent company of which is now owned by Facebook.
Indeed overall, 2016 was not the break-out year that analysts had initially expected, with actual shipments disappointing initial forecasts. As yet it remains a relatively new technology and only a small number of leading-edge consumers have acquired headsets. However, the report notes that consumers are extremely open to the possibilities of using VR for travel content even at this early stage of the technology’s adoption. Interest ranges from just over a third of UK consumers who feel VR could be useful for travel planning up to nearly three quarters of US consumers who are interested in the applications of VR for travel and tourism. The report also expects 2017 to see strong growth that will continue out to 2021 with the US being the leading market in terms of shipments and market value.
Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel believes that, “In 2017 the market will still be quite small overall and only just beginning to mature from a consumer perspective. A dedicated set with a PC could easily see a consumer set back by more than USD1,000. Likewise, content is quite limited at this stage, although growing rapidly and investments by big companies in the area have also not yet been fully realized. Therefore, going all-in as a travel brand seems premature at this stage. However, big changes are afoot, with new offerings pushing prices down.”
“Travel-focused businesses must also keep an open mind to the broad range of uses that this technology might bring in the future,” said Andrew Newton, Head of Corporate Travel, Colpitts World Travel. “I think we are currently limited in our view of VR as we think of it as something that requires goggles to view an alternative, and often intense, experience. While it may be a long way from the minds of the average travel service provider today, this is something that might be common to us all in ten years’ time.”
Hadwick also advises that “travel brands should also keep an eye on AR in the future and how this interacts with VR. Already, the vast majority of VR device shipments in the medium term are expected to be smartphone systems, which is also where practically all AR applications will be hosted. Given that everyone already owns an AR device, albeit one with a few limits, the possibilities are enormous and there is room for conflict with VR in getting the consumer’s attention as well as co-existence. Perhaps we can expect VR to take a major role in the inspiration phase and AR to be a major aid to the traveler once they begin their physical journey in the future.”
The full whitepaper goes into detail about the business case for VR, case studies from leading travel brands currently using VR and much more. You can download the full whitepaper here.
How travel brands can succeed with VR
VR may seem futuristic but travel brands are already experimenting, and succeeding, with this new medium to generate consumer interest according to EyeforTravel’s Does Virtual Reality Have a Place in Travel? White paper.
The biggest use-case for VR currently is in-store, where consumers can try it out for free, according to the report. Brands such as Thomas Cook, Flight Centre and Virgin Holidays are already experimenting with this. In-store VR makes the most out of VR’s main potential in travel, which is to inspire travellers. It also allowed the consumer to avoid the costs currently associated with the majority of VR headsets and supporting systems, which can be very expensive with the exception of Google Cardboard and its imitators.
Both Flight Centre and Virgin have found it so successful in their trials that they have widened the placement of VR in their stores. Both of these companies and Thomas Cook used VR devices to give potential customers tours of key destinations. For Thomas Cook in the first three months of in-store deployment it generated flights and hotel bookings totaling GBP12,000 in the UK and Germany and has seen a 40% return on investment. There was an 180% uplift in New York excursions revenue demonstrating that visualization of tours and activities could be the most powerful use of VR in travel.
It is not only tour companies that innovating, with hotels and airlines also noted in the report as using VR for innovative marketing purposes. In 2015 Marriott and Shangri-La Hotels announced VR services using Samsung Gear that allowed guests to borrow headsets and experience VR environments. Best Western Hotels and Resorts has gone a step further by creating a Best Western Virtual Reality Experience that allows users to view virtual reality tour of nearly 2,000 properties.
Lufthansa, has deployed VR for various marketing campaigns and has won awards for these and also used VR to offer customers upgrades to Premium Economy Class at the gates in New York and Frankfurt. In a case study within the white paper Lufthansa notes that for VR marketing campaigns “Timing and relevancy are important” for VR marketing campaigns notes Lufthansa in a case study within the white paper, citing the example of their “Soccer Summer Story in 360-Degrees during the European soccer championship in France.” However, users should be aware that “scheduling a storyline for a 360° video requires more time and energy than an average video.”
“I would advise travel brands that can see a way in which they can get VR face-to-face with the consumer and at no cost to those individual consumers to get engaged with this medium straight away,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of research at EyeforTravel. “This shows real returns on investment today if done well. Similarly, if travel brands can see a cost-effective way to make VR content they should also experiment. Getting in at the ground level now should help when this technology is more widely adopted in three to four years’ time. In particular, experimenting with VR content for activities at the destination and trying to upsell these to consumers could yield real rewards, as allowing consumers to get a taste of experiences they may not have even considered could spur many to action. Already, videos have been shown to increase conversion rates for travel consumers, so there is no reason not to project this over to VR and expect at least the same effect, if not a more pronounced one.”
The full whitepaper goes into detail about the business case for VR, case studies from leading travel brands currently using VR and much more. You can download the full whitepaper here.
The biggest use-case for VR currently is in-store, where consumers can try it out for free, according to the report. Brands such as Thomas Cook, Flight Centre and Virgin Holidays are already experimenting with this. In-store VR makes the most out of VR’s main potential in travel, which is to inspire travellers. It also allowed the consumer to avoid the costs currently associated with the majority of VR headsets and supporting systems, which can be very expensive with the exception of Google Cardboard and its imitators.
Both Flight Centre and Virgin have found it so successful in their trials that they have widened the placement of VR in their stores. Both of these companies and Thomas Cook used VR devices to give potential customers tours of key destinations. For Thomas Cook in the first three months of in-store deployment it generated flights and hotel bookings totaling GBP12,000 in the UK and Germany and has seen a 40% return on investment. There was an 180% uplift in New York excursions revenue demonstrating that visualization of tours and activities could be the most powerful use of VR in travel.
It is not only tour companies that innovating, with hotels and airlines also noted in the report as using VR for innovative marketing purposes. In 2015 Marriott and Shangri-La Hotels announced VR services using Samsung Gear that allowed guests to borrow headsets and experience VR environments. Best Western Hotels and Resorts has gone a step further by creating a Best Western Virtual Reality Experience that allows users to view virtual reality tour of nearly 2,000 properties.
Lufthansa, has deployed VR for various marketing campaigns and has won awards for these and also used VR to offer customers upgrades to Premium Economy Class at the gates in New York and Frankfurt. In a case study within the white paper Lufthansa notes that for VR marketing campaigns “Timing and relevancy are important” for VR marketing campaigns notes Lufthansa in a case study within the white paper, citing the example of their “Soccer Summer Story in 360-Degrees during the European soccer championship in France.” However, users should be aware that “scheduling a storyline for a 360° video requires more time and energy than an average video.”
“I would advise travel brands that can see a way in which they can get VR face-to-face with the consumer and at no cost to those individual consumers to get engaged with this medium straight away,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of research at EyeforTravel. “This shows real returns on investment today if done well. Similarly, if travel brands can see a cost-effective way to make VR content they should also experiment. Getting in at the ground level now should help when this technology is more widely adopted in three to four years’ time. In particular, experimenting with VR content for activities at the destination and trying to upsell these to consumers could yield real rewards, as allowing consumers to get a taste of experiences they may not have even considered could spur many to action. Already, videos have been shown to increase conversion rates for travel consumers, so there is no reason not to project this over to VR and expect at least the same effect, if not a more pronounced one.”
The full whitepaper goes into detail about the business case for VR, case studies from leading travel brands currently using VR and much more. You can download the full whitepaper here.
EyeforTravel North America (Las Vegas): Take the Opportunity to be a Travel Thought Leader
It wasn’t long ago people traveled with physical maps, no smart phones and a lot of help from travel agents and books. Today personalized travel is the internet, machine learning and mobile devices!Research predicts that by 2020, digital travel outlays will top $817 billion globally. With worldwide travel rising 13.8% in 2016 to reach 564.87 billion. Now that is staggering! “As mobile partnerships, social media and data integration revolutionises travel. It’s not just money driving these trends but it’s creating meaningful customer experiences, that makes consumers loyal and in our industry, that is gold!” Shreya Ganapathy, VP Sales, EyeforTravel. She went on to say. “We are at a tipping point where brands can focus on customer experience, consumer behaviour and the need to engage and build relationships with these connected travellers right through the travel cycle…. and at the centre of it all we have data!”
EyeforTravel are excited about these business prospects and have positioned their next EyeForTravel North America Summit (Las Vegas, October 19-20) to focus on ‘Driving Loyalty in a Digital and Data Driven World!’ The event will bring together 400+ of the best brands in travel to focus on how to develop digital plans, marketing and content strategies, apps and data and personalized experiences to make sure the customer has the best travel experience. With limited branding, exhibition and thought leadership opportunitiesavailable this could be your exclusive chance to get on stage and meet the industry elite. With a recently released speaker list of the who’s who in travel, this is one event you don’t want to miss!
· Todd Henrich, SVP Corporate Development, Priceline· Paul English, CEO, Lola· Michelle Woodley, Executive Vice President, Preferred Hotels & Resorts· Noah Brodsky, Senior VP - Worldwide Loyalty & Engagement, Wyndham Hotels· Michael Marino, Senior VP - Loyalty & Digital, Caesars Corporation· Jay Fluegel, Head of Product – Customer Care, Expedia· Sean Brevick, VP – Marketing & Digital Services, Americas, Marriott· Shane Corstaphine, GM – Americas, Skyscanner· Dan Christian, Chief Digital Officer, The Travel Corporation· Michael Childers, Chief Consultant - Content and Media Strategy, Lufthansa Systems· Kim Matlock, VP Digital, Wyndham Vacation Ownership · Mehmet Butun, Vice President - Digital Services, Turkish Airlines· Chris Amenechi, VP Revenue Management, Copa Airlines· Rita Kelly, VP - Marketing and Communications, Contiki· Kurien Jacob, Principal - Highgate Ventures, Highgate Hotels
To learn more about who is attending, sponsoring and what topics are being covered – click here: To talk sponsorship, attending, exhibition and branding options, contact VP of Business Development: Shreya Ganapathy – shreya@eyefortravel.com
###
EyeforTravel are excited about these business prospects and have positioned their next EyeForTravel North America Summit (Las Vegas, October 19-20) to focus on ‘Driving Loyalty in a Digital and Data Driven World!’ The event will bring together 400+ of the best brands in travel to focus on how to develop digital plans, marketing and content strategies, apps and data and personalized experiences to make sure the customer has the best travel experience. With limited branding, exhibition and thought leadership opportunitiesavailable this could be your exclusive chance to get on stage and meet the industry elite. With a recently released speaker list of the who’s who in travel, this is one event you don’t want to miss!
· Todd Henrich, SVP Corporate Development, Priceline· Paul English, CEO, Lola· Michelle Woodley, Executive Vice President, Preferred Hotels & Resorts· Noah Brodsky, Senior VP - Worldwide Loyalty & Engagement, Wyndham Hotels· Michael Marino, Senior VP - Loyalty & Digital, Caesars Corporation· Jay Fluegel, Head of Product – Customer Care, Expedia· Sean Brevick, VP – Marketing & Digital Services, Americas, Marriott· Shane Corstaphine, GM – Americas, Skyscanner· Dan Christian, Chief Digital Officer, The Travel Corporation· Michael Childers, Chief Consultant - Content and Media Strategy, Lufthansa Systems· Kim Matlock, VP Digital, Wyndham Vacation Ownership · Mehmet Butun, Vice President - Digital Services, Turkish Airlines· Chris Amenechi, VP Revenue Management, Copa Airlines· Rita Kelly, VP - Marketing and Communications, Contiki· Kurien Jacob, Principal - Highgate Ventures, Highgate Hotels
To learn more about who is attending, sponsoring and what topics are being covered – click here: To talk sponsorship, attending, exhibition and branding options, contact VP of Business Development: Shreya Ganapathy – shreya@eyefortravel.com
###
EyeforTravel Data & Digital Strategies Europe 2017 – Save the Dates
250 heads of data, analytics, technology, digital, marketing, social media and innovation from Europe’s biggest transport, hospitality and travel brands will meet with one goal: to identify the data strategies, digital partnerships, innovations and business models that will make their companies thrive in the future.Data and digital have turned travel distribution and marketing on its head. With two conferences covering these topics in the same venue, it’s about capitalising your time with your team to gain insights and strategies on both.“As mobile partnerships, social media and data integration revolutionises travel. It’s not just money driving these trends but it’s creating meaningful customer experiences, that makes consumers loyal and in our industry, that is gold!” Tim Gunstone Managing Director, Eyefortravel. He went onto say “We bring together two of our most niche events to give you the chance to learn and network with the people that focus on innovation and integration strategies you need to hear about”.Data driven customer insight, the evolving mobile consumer and API technology are the drivers behind this change and we are looking for innovators in this space to join the speakers such as Vueling, Marriott, Momondo, Lufthansa, Kempinski Hotels, Expedia, Heathrow Airport, Google, Accor, NH Hotels and moreto showcase how they are going to improve customer experience.What makes this conference a must attend for your 2017 calendar and budget?
With limited branding, exhibition and thought leadership opportunities available, this could be your exclusive chance to get on stage and meet the industry elite. Want to join us on the 29th and 30th of November in Amsterdam? Or to learn more about who is attending, sponsoring and what topics are being covered at both events: click here for Data Strategies and here for Digital Strategies or drop us a line:Shreya Ganapathy, VP Business Development –shreya@eyefortravel.com
- The best speakers on data and digital in travel – with more C-Level and directors level executives sharing their insights this is the place to learn from the leaders in travel
- The agenda has been created after months of in-depth research with the industry to make sure the most cutting-edge and business critical issues are discussed
- Two conferences, one common exhibition to get the best companies to showcase their expertise to experts in both the data and digital domains in travel
- A unique opportunity to benchmark against your peers because let’s face it, you won’t learn how to outperform your competitors by sitting at your desk
With limited branding, exhibition and thought leadership opportunities available, this could be your exclusive chance to get on stage and meet the industry elite. Want to join us on the 29th and 30th of November in Amsterdam? Or to learn more about who is attending, sponsoring and what topics are being covered at both events: click here for Data Strategies and here for Digital Strategies or drop us a line:Shreya Ganapathy, VP Business Development –shreya@eyefortravel.com
Distribution dilemmas, picking partnerships and chatbot champions – what’s on the mid of the European travel industry?
From the opening session with Priceline CEO Glenn Fogel to the end, the EyeforTravel Europe Summit 2017 was tackling the big issues. What effect will Google, Facebook and WeChat have on our industry? What are the new areas of opportunity? Tours and activities? Rail travel? How will natural language processing alter how customers interact with brands? We have the key opinions on these issues and more in our new summary report of the Summit, which you can download for free now.
To see what the top minds in European travel were saying just click here and download the report now.
The report features advice and learning from brands including Priceline Group, Momondo Group, AccorHotels, Eurail, Rome2Rio, Voyages-scnf.com, KLM, Gatwick Airport, and many more!
Get all the key discussions in one easy to digest report so you can keep on top of the ever-evolving world of travel and tourism.
You can also see any of the presentations from the Summit and any of our other events in full video format with accompanying slides by signing up to EyeforTravel On Demand Premium now.
To see what the top minds in European travel were saying just click here and download the report now.
The report features advice and learning from brands including Priceline Group, Momondo Group, AccorHotels, Eurail, Rome2Rio, Voyages-scnf.com, KLM, Gatwick Airport, and many more!
Get all the key discussions in one easy to digest report so you can keep on top of the ever-evolving world of travel and tourism.
You can also see any of the presentations from the Summit and any of our other events in full video format with accompanying slides by signing up to EyeforTravel On Demand Premium now.
Mastering Mobile and Advancing AI in Travel - the San Fran Summit Round-up
San Francisco is the tech capital of the world, so it was only natural that EyeforTravel’s San Francisco Summit 2017 was there to capture how technology is transforming travel. Artificial intelligence, apps, machine learning, virtual/augmented reality, and data-led marketing were all central to the Summit and you can find out what was hot in our new round-up report.
Click here to download the report now.
The report features advice and learning from brands including Google, Booking.com, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Lonely Planet, Microsoft, Trivago, and many more!
Get all the key discussions in one easy to digest report so you can keep on top of the ever-evolving world of travel and tourism.
You can also see any of the presentations from the Summit and any of our other events in full video format with accompanying slides by signing up to EyeforTravel On Demand Premium now.
Click here to download the report now.
The report features advice and learning from brands including Google, Booking.com, Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, Lonely Planet, Microsoft, Trivago, and many more!
Get all the key discussions in one easy to digest report so you can keep on top of the ever-evolving world of travel and tourism.
You can also see any of the presentations from the Summit and any of our other events in full video format with accompanying slides by signing up to EyeforTravel On Demand Premium now.
Data Quality and Cleanliness the Biggest Challenge Reported by Travel Tech Professionals
46% of respondents to EyeforTravel’s industry-wide survey find that data quality and cleanliness is a challenge
EyeforTravel’s new State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017 has identified data quality and cleanliness as the biggest challenge facing the more than 450 travel data professionals surveyed for the report.
According to Alex Hadwick, Head of research at EyeforTravel: “It is unlikely that this issue will diminish in the near future as the potential universe of data available to the travel and tourism industry is increasing exponentially. Travel brands will have to question whether they can adequately put in place systems to monitor data sources and prevent pollution as the potential universe of information expands way beyond what humans can respond to.”
The next biggest challenge, noted by four out of ten respondents, is creating a consistent data strategy. Travel brands need to make sure that they are co-ordinating properly and communicating data strategies across their organisations. This was reinforced when respondents were asked whether they have a clear understanding of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they should be measuring and working towards. Here, a surprisingly high percentage - 27.1% - said “no”.
Other major issues reported by the industry are data integration, deploying analytics in a timely manner and skills and training. For the former, 38.9% said that integrating from external sources is a challenge and 31.1% said that internal sources are an issue. For the latter, 31.7% of the panel felt that getting adequate training was a concern and 29.7% identified finding skilled people in the jobs market.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
EyeforTravel’s new State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017 has identified data quality and cleanliness as the biggest challenge facing the more than 450 travel data professionals surveyed for the report.
According to Alex Hadwick, Head of research at EyeforTravel: “It is unlikely that this issue will diminish in the near future as the potential universe of data available to the travel and tourism industry is increasing exponentially. Travel brands will have to question whether they can adequately put in place systems to monitor data sources and prevent pollution as the potential universe of information expands way beyond what humans can respond to.”
The next biggest challenge, noted by four out of ten respondents, is creating a consistent data strategy. Travel brands need to make sure that they are co-ordinating properly and communicating data strategies across their organisations. This was reinforced when respondents were asked whether they have a clear understanding of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) they should be measuring and working towards. Here, a surprisingly high percentage - 27.1% - said “no”.
Other major issues reported by the industry are data integration, deploying analytics in a timely manner and skills and training. For the former, 38.9% said that integrating from external sources is a challenge and 31.1% said that internal sources are an issue. For the latter, 31.7% of the panel felt that getting adequate training was a concern and 29.7% identified finding skilled people in the jobs market.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Travel Industry Struggling with Attribution
More than half of marketing professionals report that they have limited visibility of their customers as they move across devices and touchpoints
Attribution continues to be an issue for the travel and tourism industry as travellers hop across devices and sites during their journey according to EyeforTravel’s State of Data and Analytics in TravelReport 2017. Of the marketing professionals surveyed, 54.3% reporting that they could either track users to a limited degree (24.5%), just on their own domains (16%) or not at all (13.8%).
For those companies that report that they can track users in some detail, a quarter say they can track them across most devices and touchpoints. A further 20.7% report that they can track users across touchpoints but not across devices, illustrating that it is the cross-device behaviours prevalent in travel that are the main challenge.
“I think attribution will be one of the big focuses for travel brands over the medium-term,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “Our consumer-focused research shows that travellers are increasing their usage of mobile, especially in Asia-Pacific markets, but huge numbers of consumers switch devices during their journey with desktop still the main channel globally in terms of spending. With personalisation the primary stated goal of the industry, brands will need to be able to track users more effectively as they switch across sites but particularly across devices if they want to truly understand the journey.”
The survey also found that out of the more than 450 travel data professionals surveyed, just 30.9% are gathering geo-spatial and geographic data and 30.6% are looking at mobile app data to get insight into customers. This further supports the need for the industry to expand its efforts into multi-channel data gathering. Investment into systems and skills to do this should be forthcoming, as the report notes that three quarters believe that their department will receive budget increases in 2017 against 4% who expect a decrease.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Attribution continues to be an issue for the travel and tourism industry as travellers hop across devices and sites during their journey according to EyeforTravel’s State of Data and Analytics in TravelReport 2017. Of the marketing professionals surveyed, 54.3% reporting that they could either track users to a limited degree (24.5%), just on their own domains (16%) or not at all (13.8%).
For those companies that report that they can track users in some detail, a quarter say they can track them across most devices and touchpoints. A further 20.7% report that they can track users across touchpoints but not across devices, illustrating that it is the cross-device behaviours prevalent in travel that are the main challenge.
“I think attribution will be one of the big focuses for travel brands over the medium-term,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “Our consumer-focused research shows that travellers are increasing their usage of mobile, especially in Asia-Pacific markets, but huge numbers of consumers switch devices during their journey with desktop still the main channel globally in terms of spending. With personalisation the primary stated goal of the industry, brands will need to be able to track users more effectively as they switch across sites but particularly across devices if they want to truly understand the journey.”
The survey also found that out of the more than 450 travel data professionals surveyed, just 30.9% are gathering geo-spatial and geographic data and 30.6% are looking at mobile app data to get insight into customers. This further supports the need for the industry to expand its efforts into multi-channel data gathering. Investment into systems and skills to do this should be forthcoming, as the report notes that three quarters believe that their department will receive budget increases in 2017 against 4% who expect a decrease.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Facebook Has a Monopoly Amongst Travel Marketers
62% of travel marketers rate Facebook as the most effective social media network.
Facebook is peerless amongst travel marketers according to a new industry-wide survey from EyeforTravel. The State of Data and Analytics inTravel Report 2017 found that 61.6% think Facebook is the best performing social media network, leaving Instagram – also a Facebook company – a distant second at 15.8% of respondents.
Twitter rounds out the top three at 10.3% of respondents and is followed by YouTube at 6.2% of respondents. No other social media network had a significant response rate.
“Facebook has numerous advantages above its rivals, but the largest of these is the depth of information it has on its users,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “Potentially Facebook has the majority of a Millennial or Generation Z’s life recorded in detail, from their interests and preferences, to the places they have travelled to. This gives them enormous power that has been multiplied by the clever acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. In my opinion these acquisitions also help to future-proof Facebook from potential downturns in usage of its original platform.”
The survey also found that 78% of travel marketers are using social media data in their marketing campaigns. This level of integration illustrates the importance social now plays in marketing efforts, a position that is likely to increase rather than diminish in the medium-term.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Facebook is peerless amongst travel marketers according to a new industry-wide survey from EyeforTravel. The State of Data and Analytics inTravel Report 2017 found that 61.6% think Facebook is the best performing social media network, leaving Instagram – also a Facebook company – a distant second at 15.8% of respondents.
Twitter rounds out the top three at 10.3% of respondents and is followed by YouTube at 6.2% of respondents. No other social media network had a significant response rate.
“Facebook has numerous advantages above its rivals, but the largest of these is the depth of information it has on its users,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research at EyeforTravel. “Potentially Facebook has the majority of a Millennial or Generation Z’s life recorded in detail, from their interests and preferences, to the places they have travelled to. This gives them enormous power that has been multiplied by the clever acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. In my opinion these acquisitions also help to future-proof Facebook from potential downturns in usage of its original platform.”
The survey also found that 78% of travel marketers are using social media data in their marketing campaigns. This level of integration illustrates the importance social now plays in marketing efforts, a position that is likely to increase rather than diminish in the medium-term.
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Travel Industry Investment into Data and Analytics to Rise Substantially in 2017
Three quarters of travel professionals working with data believe that their department will receive budget increases in 2017 against 4% who expect a decrease
Travel is awash with data and companies are loosening their purse strings to get to the insight this provides, according to EyeforTravel’s new industry-wide State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017. Amongst respondents, who came from all verticals in the industry, 74.5% report that they expect budget increases in 2017. Amongst the remained
For those looking forward to more cash to play with this year, budgets are often increasing by a substantial amount. More than half of the entire sample reports that they expect budgets to increase by 6% or more and 30% expect it to increase by 11% or more.
However, part of this may be because travel companies data efforts are coming from, in general, a relatively small base. Although 65% of the panel reports that they have a dedicated data, analysis or insight team, they are largely staffed by small teams. Two thirds of respondents report that their team is less than 10 employees strong and 51.5% have a team of five individuals or less.
“The travel and tourism industry has realised the importance of strong data analysis and is manoeuvring itself into a good position,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research for EyeforTravel. “We found that in terms of analytics, data deployment and attribution, travel is relatively advanced compared to other industries. These planned budgetary increases will help increase the depth of talent and acquire the tools needed to get maximum value out of the huge amount of data that already exists and will be generated in the future.”
The survey also found variation between the expectations of data professionals for this year when it comes to where they are based. Respondents were most optimistic about budget increases in Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and then finally North America.
This geographic divide was reinforced in how respondents view the coming year for the travel and tourism industry as a whole. In both Asia-Pacific and Europe 16.3% of respondents are neutral or negative about growth prospects for this year, compared to 23.3% of respondents from North America.
Hadwick believes that this is reflective of wider industry sentiment in the region: “With the WTTC warning of changing sentiment towards the US and reports for Q1 indicating lower flight bookings to the US, there appears to be a bigger story here that is reflected in our data.”
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
Travel is awash with data and companies are loosening their purse strings to get to the insight this provides, according to EyeforTravel’s new industry-wide State of Data and Analytics in Travel Report 2017. Amongst respondents, who came from all verticals in the industry, 74.5% report that they expect budget increases in 2017. Amongst the remained
For those looking forward to more cash to play with this year, budgets are often increasing by a substantial amount. More than half of the entire sample reports that they expect budgets to increase by 6% or more and 30% expect it to increase by 11% or more.
However, part of this may be because travel companies data efforts are coming from, in general, a relatively small base. Although 65% of the panel reports that they have a dedicated data, analysis or insight team, they are largely staffed by small teams. Two thirds of respondents report that their team is less than 10 employees strong and 51.5% have a team of five individuals or less.
“The travel and tourism industry has realised the importance of strong data analysis and is manoeuvring itself into a good position,” said Alex Hadwick, Head of Research for EyeforTravel. “We found that in terms of analytics, data deployment and attribution, travel is relatively advanced compared to other industries. These planned budgetary increases will help increase the depth of talent and acquire the tools needed to get maximum value out of the huge amount of data that already exists and will be generated in the future.”
The survey also found variation between the expectations of data professionals for this year when it comes to where they are based. Respondents were most optimistic about budget increases in Asia-Pacific, followed by Europe and then finally North America.
This geographic divide was reinforced in how respondents view the coming year for the travel and tourism industry as a whole. In both Asia-Pacific and Europe 16.3% of respondents are neutral or negative about growth prospects for this year, compared to 23.3% of respondents from North America.
Hadwick believes that this is reflective of wider industry sentiment in the region: “With the WTTC warning of changing sentiment towards the US and reports for Q1 indicating lower flight bookings to the US, there appears to be a bigger story here that is reflected in our data.”
Click here to download the full report for free now. Or to learn the best data and revenue management strategies directly, why not attend EyeforTravel Europe on May 3-4?
China and India smartphone leaders
There is a divergence in the way consumers look for and book travel between the rising economies of the East and the developed countries of the West. This is all being driven by mobile, as consumers outside the West have never associated the desktop or laptop as being their primary device to connect to the internet or conduct digital travel purchases.
EyeforTravel, in conjunction with Jumpshot found that India was the leading country for mobile visits to travel sites among the five countries that were studied. There, two thirds of users visiting travel sites were doing so from mobile devices. EyeforTravel has also been studying Chinese consumers and found a very similar pattern amongst Chinese consumers, with 67% reporting that they principally use mobile devices to plan their trips and 50% use them to book accommodation.
You can download the white paper here and keep an eye out for our upcoming Chinese Travel Consumer Report on our report page.
For more insights like these, why not sign up to our newsletter? Or you can get the best opinions first hand by attending one of our events.
Alex Hadwick
Head of Research, EyeforTravel
alex@eyefortravel.com
Sources: EyeforTravel; Jumpshot
EyeforTravel, in conjunction with Jumpshot found that India was the leading country for mobile visits to travel sites among the five countries that were studied. There, two thirds of users visiting travel sites were doing so from mobile devices. EyeforTravel has also been studying Chinese consumers and found a very similar pattern amongst Chinese consumers, with 67% reporting that they principally use mobile devices to plan their trips and 50% use them to book accommodation.
You can download the white paper here and keep an eye out for our upcoming Chinese Travel Consumer Report on our report page.
For more insights like these, why not sign up to our newsletter? Or you can get the best opinions first hand by attending one of our events.
Alex Hadwick
Head of Research, EyeforTravel
alex@eyefortravel.com
Sources: EyeforTravel; Jumpshot
India’s domestic market powers ahead
India overtook China last year to become the fastest growing major economy in the world and is set to continue this in 2017 according to forecasts. However, the GDP percentage growth pales in comparison to the exploding growth in domestic travel. IATA reported that in 2016 India was the leading market for domestic air travel growth, with Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPKs) soaring by 23.3% according to IATA.
In more good news, 2017 is expected to continue the trend in Indian domestic travel. Journey numbers, occupancy and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) are all expected to grow in the country across the year, particularly for the latter, as hotel room construction has slowed recently according to Knight Frank.
It is also important to remember that the market is coming from a very low base. IATA’s figures note that India’s domestic air travel market had a market share of just 1.3%, compared to 8.7% for China. This means that even if the global economy performs badly, India’s travel growth should remain one of, if not the, world’s strongest in percentage terms.
For more insights like these, why not sign up to our newsletter? Or you can get the best opinions first hand by attending one of our events.
Alex Hadwick
Head of Research, EyeforTravel
alex@eyefortravel.com Sources: IATA; Economic Times
In more good news, 2017 is expected to continue the trend in Indian domestic travel. Journey numbers, occupancy and Revenue Per Available Room (RevPAR) are all expected to grow in the country across the year, particularly for the latter, as hotel room construction has slowed recently according to Knight Frank.
It is also important to remember that the market is coming from a very low base. IATA’s figures note that India’s domestic air travel market had a market share of just 1.3%, compared to 8.7% for China. This means that even if the global economy performs badly, India’s travel growth should remain one of, if not the, world’s strongest in percentage terms.
For more insights like these, why not sign up to our newsletter? Or you can get the best opinions first hand by attending one of our events.
Alex Hadwick
Head of Research, EyeforTravel
alex@eyefortravel.com Sources: IATA; Economic Times
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;
The Company Selling Tens of Thousands of Rail Tickets Through Chatbots
Voyages-sncf.com’s COO reveals to EyeforTravel how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving the company’s strategy and allowed them to create a Facebook messenger chatbot that has already issue more than 85,000 tickets
London, UK: Arnaud Masson, Chief Operating Officer of Voyages-sncf.com and keynote speaker at EyeforTravel Europe, is keen to point out that the company is at the forefront of innovations, with R&D teams spending more than 160,000 work-days on more than 80 different projects, including major AI efforts. A key result of this is V.Bot, a Facebook Messenger chatbot that provides real-time updates, customer service and even digital travel tickets to travellers.
In order to create smart customer experiences like V.Bot, Arnaud and his team have to deal with more than 90 TB of data per month and have invested more than €10m into new technologies. Alongside chatbots, this investment is also going into utilising voice recognition systems: “Our engineering teams have been working hard to develop the possible use of Amazon Echo and ‘Alexa’ to communicate with our own digital travel companion - Lea - to source the best train travel options, tickets and times for users - all through the use of their voice.”
However, Arnaud argues that deploying AI is about more than just offering a chatbot: “Customers are looking for more convenient options in organising their day-to-day lives, so when ‘smart’ technology is applied that can predict travel patterns and products, book it and deliver tickets instantly - like on our Facebook Messenger chatbot - it frees up our time to concentrate on other life enriching experiences.”
Arnaud stresses that a pretty website isn’t enough anymore to sell anymore and drive loyalty, as “travellers want a personal experience and information to hand at the press of a button or command of their voice. By constantly innovating what and how we offer, we are working to make that vision a reality.”
Another part of enacting this vision has been Voyages-sncf.com’s My Travel app, which allows customers to manage their journey from one place. Alongside “Access to e-tickets, it reacts in real-time to factors such as location and changes to travel further upstream,” says Arnaud. “It proactively offers tailored services based on this information, for example the ability to book a car to the station if you are running late, or offering activities on arrival at a destination, adapted to the traveller’s individual profile.”
The rail company chief adds that “The travel industry is no longer about manufacturing a simple transaction – it’s about nurturing a relationship with each customer to offer a lasting, enriching and valued connection and experience each time they travel.”
Having a customer-centric, chatbot-assisted platform has been a success story for Voyages-sncf.com, but it cannot engage in this complex work alone. Partnerships are key to improving their CRM efforts: “We work with Alcmeon to monitor our social media customer service, with Helpbox from Do You Dream Up to automatically respond to customer queries and with Usabilla to collect customer feedback on our website and areas that we specifically want to analyse.
“As an online ticket distributor selling passes and point-to-point tickets for rail travel around Europe, Voyages-sncf.com has to take a collaborative approach – indeed we work in partnership with 15 European rail operators and many more travel organisations across some 100 countries globally.” The company has even launched an accelerator programme designed to boost new start-ups, known as ACT574.
Arnaud also made a point to stress that the travel industry should be, and generally, is a naturally collaborative environment, regardless of sector or specialism: “Those businesses that realise that working in partnership with other businesses, and organisations, including even governments, achieve far more by working together than separate entities who attempt to go it alone.”
This interview comes in advance of the EyeforTravel Summit 2017 (May 3-4th, London) which Arnaud Masson will be speaking at on a keynote session. The event will host 350+ senior level executives and will be discussing the crucial commercial and digital and API-led partnerships that will make the industry thrive.
Speakers delivering sessions on partnerships and taking the stage throughout the summit include:
• Glenn Fogel – CEO – Expedia
• Roland Schütz – CIO – Lufthansa
• Rod Cuthbert – CEO - Rome2rio
• Brenda van Leeuwen – CEO - Eurail.com
• Tero Valkiala – Head of Digital – Finnair
• Genevieve Materne - Director of Distribution Strategy – Starwood
• Alex Saint – Co-founder and CEO – Secret Escapes
• Jose Murta – Global Head of Hospitality – Trivago
• Cameron Jones – CCO – SilverRail Technologies
• Jamie Andrews – CEO - Loco2
• Alessandra di Lorenzo - CCO - Partnerships and Advertising - Lastminute.com
• Dan Christian – CDO - The Travel Corporation
• Susan Black – CCO - CIE Tours
To get more information on the EyeforTravel Summit 2017 including the agenda, speaker line up and attendees, follow this link: http://events.eyefortravel.com/travel-distribution-summit-europe/
Voyages-sncf.com’s COO reveals to EyeforTravel how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is driving the company’s strategy and allowed them to create a Facebook messenger chatbot that has already issue more than 85,000 tickets
London, UK: Arnaud Masson, Chief Operating Officer of Voyages-sncf.com and keynote speaker at EyeforTravel Europe, is keen to point out that the company is at the forefront of innovations, with R&D teams spending more than 160,000 work-days on more than 80 different projects, including major AI efforts. A key result of this is V.Bot, a Facebook Messenger chatbot that provides real-time updates, customer service and even digital travel tickets to travellers.
In order to create smart customer experiences like V.Bot, Arnaud and his team have to deal with more than 90 TB of data per month and have invested more than €10m into new technologies. Alongside chatbots, this investment is also going into utilising voice recognition systems: “Our engineering teams have been working hard to develop the possible use of Amazon Echo and ‘Alexa’ to communicate with our own digital travel companion - Lea - to source the best train travel options, tickets and times for users - all through the use of their voice.”
However, Arnaud argues that deploying AI is about more than just offering a chatbot: “Customers are looking for more convenient options in organising their day-to-day lives, so when ‘smart’ technology is applied that can predict travel patterns and products, book it and deliver tickets instantly - like on our Facebook Messenger chatbot - it frees up our time to concentrate on other life enriching experiences.”
Arnaud stresses that a pretty website isn’t enough anymore to sell anymore and drive loyalty, as “travellers want a personal experience and information to hand at the press of a button or command of their voice. By constantly innovating what and how we offer, we are working to make that vision a reality.”
Another part of enacting this vision has been Voyages-sncf.com’s My Travel app, which allows customers to manage their journey from one place. Alongside “Access to e-tickets, it reacts in real-time to factors such as location and changes to travel further upstream,” says Arnaud. “It proactively offers tailored services based on this information, for example the ability to book a car to the station if you are running late, or offering activities on arrival at a destination, adapted to the traveller’s individual profile.”
The rail company chief adds that “The travel industry is no longer about manufacturing a simple transaction – it’s about nurturing a relationship with each customer to offer a lasting, enriching and valued connection and experience each time they travel.”
Having a customer-centric, chatbot-assisted platform has been a success story for Voyages-sncf.com, but it cannot engage in this complex work alone. Partnerships are key to improving their CRM efforts: “We work with Alcmeon to monitor our social media customer service, with Helpbox from Do You Dream Up to automatically respond to customer queries and with Usabilla to collect customer feedback on our website and areas that we specifically want to analyse.
“As an online ticket distributor selling passes and point-to-point tickets for rail travel around Europe, Voyages-sncf.com has to take a collaborative approach – indeed we work in partnership with 15 European rail operators and many more travel organisations across some 100 countries globally.” The company has even launched an accelerator programme designed to boost new start-ups, known as ACT574.
Arnaud also made a point to stress that the travel industry should be, and generally, is a naturally collaborative environment, regardless of sector or specialism: “Those businesses that realise that working in partnership with other businesses, and organisations, including even governments, achieve far more by working together than separate entities who attempt to go it alone.”
This interview comes in advance of the EyeforTravel Summit 2017 (May 3-4th, London) which Arnaud Masson will be speaking at on a keynote session. The event will host 350+ senior level executives and will be discussing the crucial commercial and digital and API-led partnerships that will make the industry thrive.
Speakers delivering sessions on partnerships and taking the stage throughout the summit include:
• Glenn Fogel – CEO – Expedia
• Roland Schütz – CIO – Lufthansa
• Rod Cuthbert – CEO - Rome2rio
• Brenda van Leeuwen – CEO - Eurail.com
• Tero Valkiala – Head of Digital – Finnair
• Genevieve Materne - Director of Distribution Strategy – Starwood
• Alex Saint – Co-founder and CEO – Secret Escapes
• Jose Murta – Global Head of Hospitality – Trivago
• Cameron Jones – CCO – SilverRail Technologies
• Jamie Andrews – CEO - Loco2
• Alessandra di Lorenzo - CCO - Partnerships and Advertising - Lastminute.com
• Dan Christian – CDO - The Travel Corporation
• Susan Black – CCO - CIE Tours
To get more information on the EyeforTravel Summit 2017 including the agenda, speaker line up and attendees, follow this link: http://events.eyefortravel.com/travel-distribution-summit-europe/