Mobile tipped to account for fifth of online travel bookings by 2015

One in five of all travel bookings made online in Europe within a year will be made via a mobile device, with the UK leading the way as the the most device-happy country.

This is the landmark statistic from a presentation made by PhoCusWright at the recent FITUR conference in Madrid, Spain, as the continent starts to fully embrace mobile devices.

The figure of 20% across leisure and corporate travel is almost double (up from 11%) the volume of bookings fulfilled on mobiles in online travel during 2013.

The UK is predicted to come in at 21% by 2015, with Italy at 20%, France and Germany with 18% and Spain and Scandinavia as a whole expecting some 17% of bookings via mobiles.

Europe as a whole, by the end of 2014, will have hit 15%. The UK stood at 13% in 2013. Read more

Published in: Tnooz

One in five of all travel bookings made online in Europe within a year will be made via a mobile device, with the UK leading the way as the the most device-happy country.

This is the landmark statistic from a presentation made by PhoCusWright at the recent FITUR conference in Madrid, Spain, as the continent starts to fully embrace mobile devices.

The figure of 20% across leisure and corporate travel is almost double (up from 11%) the volume of bookings fulfilled on mobiles in online travel during 2013.

The UK is predicted to come in at 21% by 2015, with Italy at 20%, France and Germany with 18% and Spain and Scandinavia as a whole expecting some 17% of bookings via mobiles.

Europe as a whole, by the end of 2014, will have hit 15%. The UK stood at 13% in 2013.

– See more at: http://www.tnooz.com/article/mobile-booking-fifth-2015/#sthash.suBf8uMs.dpuf

Mobile Travel Strategy Shakeup Ahead As Tablet Adoption Nears 50%

Move over smartphone, there’s a new mobile disruptor in town. Tablet adoption is skyrocketing among U.S. leisure travelers, triggering dramatic changes in online and travel shopping behavior. According to a new report from travel industry research authority PhoCusWright, 44% of travelers now own a tablet, and an additional four in 10 plan to purchase one by the end of 2014.

With smartphone penetration at 75%, the tablet’s rapid rise means a growing share of travelers is splitting online travel planning across multiple web-enabled devices. In 2013, one third of U.S. online travelers owned a smartphone, laptop and tablet, up from less than a quarter in 2012. Read more

Published in: Hotel News Resource

Why it’s time to take mobile seriously

Every January, some pundit proclaims the coming year as “the year of mobile.” But not me. 2014 is absolutely not the year of mobile.

Mobile has already happened. It actually broke through somewhere over the last 18 months, but many hoteliers failed to notice its real impact.

I know what you’re thinking: “That’s nuts. I get almost none of my bookings from mobile.” And that’s true, at least for most hotels.

But, in this case, reservations, roomnights and revenue are the wrong metrics to measure the situation. Here’s why. Read more

Published in: Hotel News Now

Every January, some pundit proclaims the coming year as “the year of mobile.” But not me. 2014 is absolutely not the year of mobile.

Mobile has already happened. It actually broke through somewhere over the last 18 months, but many hoteliers failed to notice its real impact.

I know what you’re thinking: “That’s nuts. I get almost none of my bookings from mobile.” And that’s true, at least for most hotels.

But, in this case, reservations, roomnights and revenue are the wrong metrics to measure the situation. Here’s why.

– See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/12897/Why-its-time-to-take-mobile-seriously#sthash.C6a1cQHV.dpuf

Tnooz Predictions 2014 – The biggest and best list in travel technology

 

Tnooz is rather blessed with being surrounded by some of the smartest folk around to share their tips and analysis on where this often chaotic industry is headed.

So, for the fourth year running, our wonderfully eclectic collection of Nodes and team have poured a glass of their favourite tipple and pondered what 2014 has in store for the digital travel economy.

You can also check out the previous words of wisdom for 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Cheers, as always, to our contributors, the editorial and sales teams at Tnooz, and all our commercial partners for another great year for Tnooz.

We hope you enjoy our Predictions 2014… Happy New Year! Read more

Published in: Tnooz

Mobile and tablet taking a chunk out of desktop hotel booking volume

 

Mobile and tablets are not only bringing down hotel bookings via desktop, but also page views, visits, room nights and revenue.

HeBS Digital, a digital marketing company for the hospitality industry, has studied data from hotel clients to understand the shift in trend towards mobile and tablet channels.

Here are the key points from the study.

Mobile and tablets lead, desktop loses

HeBS calls 2013 the year of three screens – desktop, mobile and tablet. In Q3 2013, there was a tremendous shift from desktop to mobile and tablet devices.

The table below shows the percentage split among the three screens for page views, visits, bookings, nights and revenue. Read more

Published in: Tnooz

What travel activities users perform on mobile

After seeing a travel ad or a video in mobile, 74% of people would request for more information about that travel company.

This is according to a study by Tapjoy, a performance-based mobile advertising platform.

This number shouldn’t surprise many as the industry is moving towards advanced techniques like desktop-to-mobile ad retargeting where more relevant content is served on mobile.

Expedia, for example, was able to retarget 54 million of its customers using this technique. Read more

Published in: Tnooz

After seeing a travel ad or a video in mobile, 74% of people would request for more information about that travel company.

This is according to a study by Tapjoy, a performance-based mobile advertising platform.

This number shouldn’t surprise many as the industry is moving towards advanced techniques like desktop-to-mobile ad retargeting where more relevant content is served on mobile.

Expedia, for example, was able to retarget 54 million of its customers using this technique.

– See more at: http://www.tnooz.com/article/mobile-travel-activities-infographic#sthash.s9BXjkn6.dpuf

Marketing follows India’s march toward mobile

 

REPORT FORM INDIA—In a span of approximately two years, the Internet has revolutionized hotel marketing in burgeoning India, which today boasts one of the largest mobile markets on the planet.

Mobile Internet users in India are expected to grow from 4.1 million in 2009 to 164.8 million in 2015, representing a compound annual growth rate of 85%, according to “The (social media, mobile, analytics and cloud computing) code: Embracing new technologies for future business,” which was conducted jointly by KPMB and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

There are a further 870 million mobile users in the country, second only to China, according to the report.

“The online business is huge and is increasing. We get nearly 30% of our business from online,” said Megh Vinayak, manager of corporate revenue and online marketing for India-based Lalit Suri Hospitality Group. Read more

Published in: HotelNewsNow

Call vs. click: Evolution of mobile bookings

GLOBAL REPORT—While the use of smartphones to book rooms is exploding, there seems to be some disparity in how many of those consumers are booking online and how many are calling to complete their reservations.

“For every booking that comes in via the mobile website, three are completed with a call,” said Keith Swiderski, director of mobile and emerging channels strategy and development for Wyndham Hotel Group.

Swiderski said Wyndham has tried to change the design to encourage people to book online and has had some success, but “we have also made it easier to find the tap to call option.”

Marriott International appears to be experiencing something different. In 2012, according to George Corbin, senior VP of digital strategy for Marriott, “Only a very small and diminishing number of users now call to complete the transaction on the phone.” Read more

Published in: HotelNewsNow

 

GLOBAL REPORT—While the use of smartphones to book rooms is exploding, there seems to be some disparity in how many of those consumers are booking online and how many are calling to complete their reservations.

“For every booking that comes in via the mobile website, three are completed with a call,” said Keith Swiderski, director of mobile and emerging channels strategy and development for Wyndham Hotel Group.

Swiderski said Wyndham has tried to change the design to encourage people to book online and has had some success, but “we have also made it easier to find the tap to call option.”

Marriott International appears to be experiencing something different. In 2012, according to George Corbin, senior VP of digital strategy for Marriott, “Only a very small and diminishing number of users now call to complete the transaction on the phone.”

– See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/12440/Call-vs-click-Evolution-of-mobile-bookings#sthash.uvZsQa4R.dpuf

Mobile travel apps to see more growth in bookings

While the web-based search is reaching a stage of maturity with a growing customer penetration, online travel agents (OTAs) feel the mobile platform is geared for a higher growth both in terms of ticketing and hotel bookings.

The web market for online travel in the country is said to be approximately $6 billion, of which, mobiles accounts for around 10 per cent. Over the next two years, the mobile market is likely to grow to 25-30 per cent of the total web market, according to industry experts. A report by Nielsen showed year 2012 witnessed an increase in app consumption on mobile phones and reached 60 per cent in December 2012 from 54 per cent in January 2012.

MakeMyTrip has over 20 per cent of their traffic on the mobile platform (excluding tablets and other such phones), with the translation into actual transactions being at about 10-15 per cent. The company launched its mobile travel applications for Windows Phone on Monday after its presence on Android, iPhone and Blackberry platforms. Read more

Published in: mydigitalfc.com

Mobile-driving-multi-screen-marketing

More guests are booking through the mobile channel than ever before—a pace of bookings that will only further intensify.

Tech-savvy individuals are far more likely to travel, and hoteliers who do a better job connecting with them via mobile platforms will see greater returns. But should marketers make their mark on mobile with equal tenacity? Not so, according to a 4 September panel titled “The multi-screen marketplace” at the 5th annual Hotel Data Conference, hosted by STR and Hotel News Now.

Before using different technologies or platforms, including mobile, hoteliers must ask themselves, “What’s the purpose of each page?” said Robert Cole, founder of RockCheetah, a hotel marketing strategy and travel technology consulting firm.

Most of the brands understand this, and they “purposely weigh up every bit of available technology and ask, ‘What is the convenience to guests?’” said Nolan Wrentmore, VP of revenue management and e-marketing at Aimbridge Hospitality. Read more

Published in: HotelNewsNow

By: Terence Baker

Tech-savvy individuals are far more likely to travel, and hoteliers who do a better job connecting with them via mobile platforms will see greater returns. But should marketers make their mark on mobile with equal tenacity? Not so, according to a 4 September panel titled “The multi-screen marketplace” at the 5th annual Hotel Data Conference, hosted by STR and Hotel News Now.

Before using different technologies or platforms, including mobile, hoteliers must ask themselves, “What’s the purpose of each page?” said Robert Cole, founder of RockCheetah, a hotel marketing strategy and travel technology consulting firm.

Most of the brands understand this, and they “purposely weigh up every bit of available technology and ask, ‘What is the convenience to guests?’” said Nolan Wrentmore, VP of revenue management and e-marketing at Aimbridge Hospitality.

– See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/11274/Mobile-driving-multi-screen-marketing#sthash.L17sjJ5N.dpuf

More guests are booking through the mobile channel than ever before—a pace of bookings that will only further intensify. – See more at: http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Article/11274/Mobile-driving-multi-screen-marketing#sthash.L17sjJ5N.dpuf