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well before the guest checks in. As a result,
they are winning control of the customer’s
‘off property’ experience – when travel is
still only an idea, the destination undecided
and “which hotel?” is a far-off decision.
Tourism Minister David Evennett
(above) said: “These impressive figures
show that our nations and regions are
increasingly benefitting from this thriving
sector. Drawing more visitors in from key
markets like China and the US is fantastic
news for the whole country and shows our
tourism strategy is working.”
VisitBritain Director Patricia Yates (below)
said: “Our innovative digital marketing
campaign using the hashtag #OMGB
continues to drive tourism across our
nations and regions, spreading its economic
benefits across the UK.”
“Hotel Groups Losing
Territory To OTAs”
Research released this month by Egon
Zehnder, a global leader in executive
search and leadership advisory services,
has highlighted the challenges faced by
traditional hotel groups in an increasingly
globalised world.
Egon Zehnder’s ‘Global CEO Hospitality’
study indicates that while the established
groups continue to focus largely on
customers’ ‘on property’ experience,
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and other
digital and technology disrupters such
as Airbnb are tapping into mobile and
social technologies to offer customer
experiences and build relationships
The investment markets also seem to be
acknowledging the impact of these new
players by putting a serious premium
on OTAs over large global hotel groups.
For example, Priceline, owner of Booking.
com, has a market capitalisation greater
than Marriott, Starwood, Hilton, IHG
and Hyatt combined.
But the study contends that “the game is
not lost” for the big hoteliers: it is more a
question, the authors say, of whether they
have sufficient will and, crucially, the
“tech-savvy talent” with which to reassert
their influence. The sector’s ongoing
evolution, characterised by increasing
consolidation, presents groups with a
“tremendous opportunity to leverage
technology, strengthen customer loyalty
programs and appeal to multiple customer
segments”.
In the interviews conducted for the
research, several executives argued that
companies with effective loyalty programs,
enhanced with stronger digital platforms,
would be able to sustain a core customer
base which would render OTAs much less
of a competitive threat.