How Many of You Hoteliers Have Experienced This: Guests who call the hotel but then find it easier or prefer to book through a portal (e.g., Booking.com) Guests who cannot find the hotel’s official website and confuse it with the portal’s page Guests who are hesitant to provide their credit card details online And have you ever wondered why?! Well, the main reason is that you haven’t yet understood the importance and weight of the official...

Do You Know How Many Potential Customers You Can Capture Online? According to recent studies conducted by the Italian Ministry of Tourism: Online purchases of tourism products in Italy increase by over 40% each year Hotel bookings via the Internet grow by over 55% each year More than one-third of European travelers book their vacations online 45% of global users use the Internet to book a flight or a hotel This is the world of Travel 2.0: a new...

The Growing Role of Mobile in Travel Booking Recent studies have focused on smartphone usage and purchasing behavior in the travel sector. The results show a significant increase not only in using mobile phones to find local information but also to book and purchase travel services. Data indicate that customers increasingly perceive hotel bookings via mobile as safe and reliable, which in turn increases the need for hotels to have a mobile-friendly website equipped with a booking...

The World of Web Domains Is About to Be Revolutionized Soon, there will be more than just the 22 classic domain suffixes (.com, .it, .org, .net, etc.). More creative and personalized suffixes will also become available, such as .shop for stores or .nyc for a large city like New York City. Just yesterday, ICANN, the organization that sets the rules for website names, decided to liberalize the domain market, allowing anyone to choose their preferred suffix, including ideograms or Arabic...

Google Is Bringing Street View Indoors Google is reportedly extending its Street View functionality to indoor public spaces. The company had already announced last May its intention to start collecting photographic material of stores and public services, and now some interiors have been reconstructed in 360 degrees. After allowing anyone to virtually explore the world’s most famous streets without leaving their desk, Google is now expanding Street View to let shops and other...

The Big Moment Is Coming: The .XXX Domain Extension The most talked-about domain extension in the history of the web is about to make its debut. Starting December 6, 2011, it will be possible to purchase .XXX domain names, reserved exclusively for adult content websites. The .XXX extension does more than just certify the nature of the content. It also allows users to browse safely, thanks to continuous monitoring for viruses and malware by McAfee, a leader in online security. Although...

If you are planning to launch an AdWords campaign for your hotel targeting mobile users, particularly smartphone and iPhone owners, remember to include “click-to-call” in your ad. This feature allows users to call the hotel directly by clicking on the phone number, accompanied by the address. According to Jonathan Rosenberg, Vice President of Product at Google, smartphone ads including a phone number and address have increased CTR by 6% and 8%, respectively. Click-to-Call Ads...

QR codes are simple to use, inexpensive to create, fun, and attention-grabbing. Hospitality professionals have long recognized the marketing value and engagement potential of these “mysterious little squares,” which are increasingly appearing on brochures, magazines, and other promotional materials—not just abroad. QR codes (Quick Response codes) are becoming a true trend, as shown by numerous examples from international hospitality. For instance, the Intercontinental...