How Sales And Revenue Managers Handle Internet Marketing And Distribution

An insightful online survey of sales and revenue managers explores how Internet marketing and distribution is being handled by the U.S. Presented by the HSMAI Foundation, NYU and TIG Global, the 'Survey of Attitudes and Approaches: Hotel Internet Marketing and Distribution' is a free, comprehensive overview of the current attitudes about costs and benefits of online distribution from a unit level perspective in the hotel industry.

Some of the report's highlights are:

• Respondents rated their own website as more effective than any other online channel of distribution; their off-line reservation department is the most effective at delivering business volume they want at the price they want; meeting planner websites were considered least effective of all channels to deliver the desired business volume.

• While most hotels have their own website, 10% of them don't offer booking capability. Furthermore, 10% of hotels still do not have a dedicated site at all.

• The average spending for online marketing was just over $50,000 a year; the most often cited range of spending was $25,000-$35,000 annually. While many hotels have begun to embrace the use of online marketing fully, one-fourth of the hotels claimed their online budget was 'too small to note.'

• Revenue managers, often the decision-maker on online travel agency usage, were on-site in most hotels and spend almost two and a half hours per day on channel management.

• While many hotels are starting to use their online channels to collect customer profile information, more than one-third are not. In addition, just over one-half of the respondent hotels report actually using customer profile information to drive marketing campaigns.

• The greatest area of concern for these hotels over the next five years is maintaining awareness of their property in the online space on their own website, through search engines and online travel agencies.

• Most hotels anticipate significant growth in online business volume with the average expected increase to be at least 50% by 2008 over 2005 levels. These projected increases referred to business conducted through the hotels' website and third-party websites, excluding changes in GDS volume.

• The online channel expected by most respondents to have the greatest impact is search engines followed by third-party travel agencies.

• Industry organizations and the conferences they host are high on the list for go-to places to gain information and knowledge about online distribution, with HSMAI and HEDNA most often cited.

The full survey is available from the HSMAI Foundation and TIG Global at www.hsmai.org or www.tigglobal.com, respectively.

Researched at the end of 2005 and written by Cindy Estis Green, managing partner of The Estis Group and Mark Warner, director of graduate programs and professor at the NYU Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, the report is based on findings from 60 participating properties, ranging from city to suburban, branded to independents and upscale to mid-scale hotels and resorts.

'Up until now, there has been very little information available to describe the state of the industry, people's attitudes, intentions and perspectives on Internet marketing and distribution,' states Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHA, president and CEO of HSMAI. 'This report is an excellent overview that reflects a diverse cross-section of the U.S. hotel marketplace.'

'A general consensus is that maintaining awareness in the crowded cyber marketplace is one of the most difficult tasks respondents face today, and the first choice for spending any incremental marketing funds against distribution channels would be on improved marketing of their website,' explains Estis Green.

Warner adds: 'Hotels are continuing to see increases in online traffic and are gaining expertise with new technology and marketing techniques to capture demand while constantly managing multiple channels of distribution. Watching increased consumer use of search engines to quickly gain touch points to hotel web sites is an example of how hotels must continually manage and optimize their visibility in the distribution maze.'

'Our goal as a leading Internet marketing provider to the hospitality industry is to constantly assess attitudes and opinions about the Internet and the role it plays in a hotel's distribution mix,' said Sue Heilbronner, executive vice president sales & marketing for TIG Global. 'This study provides a fresh look at hotels' priorities, knowledge base, and areas of improvement in this all-important channel of distribution.'

About the HSMAI Foundation
The HSMAI Foundation was established in 1983 to serve as the research and educational arm of the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International. Its mission is to expand and enhance the educational opportunities available to hospitality sales and marketing executives and to increase the amount of in-depth research conducted on behalf of the profession.

For more information on the HSMAI, contact the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, phone (703) 610-9024; fax (703) 610-9005, www.hsmai.org.

About TIG Global
TIG Global, headquartered in Washington, DC, is the leading provider of interactive marketing services for hotels and resorts. TIG Global's consultative, strategic marketing programs raise Internet visibility, generate consumer demand, drive value online, and deliver unrivaled ROI to hotels. Created by hoteliers, TIG Global combines its hospitality industry knowledge and e-business expertise to help hotel clients maximize the potential of the Internet channel and gain more than their fair share of this rapidly expanding market. TIG Global serves more than 450 hotel and resort clients, including independents and branded hotels, located throughout North America, Europe, and the Caribbean.

About the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University
The Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University is a dynamic and growing educational and research center located in the heart of Manhattan. The Tisch Center offers an extensive complement of hospitality, tourism and sports business academic programs of study, including two bachelor's degree programs and three master's degree programs. In concert with its location in the financial and hotel capital of the world, coursework is focused on the areas of hospitality investments, hotel operations, revenue management, strategic marketing, tourism development, tourism planning and analysis and customer relationship management relative to the international hospitality and tourism industry. As entrepreneurial educators, administrators and faculty are experienced in the profession and bring the reality of the industry into the classroom.

The Tisch Center's motto encapsulates its uniqueness - The City is our laboratory, the industry is our faculty, and our students are the future of the profession. For more information, please visit www.scps.nyu.edu/tischcenter or call 212-998-9107.

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