The most confusing aspect of hotel technology these days is discerning real innovation from PR buzz. The need to market and sell products and services always skews the reality, but by taking technology (any technology) down into its basic form consumers can sift through the buzz to discover the real value. With this kind of consumer focus, we thought this great breakdown from Avvio might help sort some of the confusion.
Travel Technology
Smart Assistants Are Here To Make Your Travel Even Easier
Smart assistants are not that powerful and versatile today, but things will change fast. An infographic by Techiespad compares some of the best-known smart assistants currently available.
A Guide for Hotels: Simplifying Provider Selection
The job of the hotel director gets ever more complicated as traditional business is forced to adapt to the ever-changing marketing and technology innovations and services. However complicated these new tools and services may be though, age old business logic still applies.
EyeWide Digital Marketing Wins Big At the Greek Hospitality Awards 2018
EyeWide Digital Marketing participated in three categories at the 2018 Greek Hospitality Awards, and was distinguished in all at the Greek winning one Gold and two Silver awards.
The Reality of Hotel Website Conversion from FASTBOOKING
A new report out from FASTBOOKING reveals that the average hotel website conversion rate is only 2.2 %. The same report also tells us that the top 20 % of hotels convert at a rate of 5.6 %, while the bottom fifth only convert at a pitiful 0.3%. Clearly, the spread in between leaves a gulf of disparity. For hoteliers wanting to get a grip on how to bring their properties into optimization, this FASTBOOKING paper offers help.
FastBooking Report Reveals Recipe for Direct Distribution
A new report and a revealing graphic from FastBooking reminds us that hotelier uptake for using more and more advanced tools and strategies needs to be incremental. The report entitled “A guide for independent hotels: budget hotels, small luxury hotels, and hotel groups” shows how CRM and other energies need to work hand-in-hand with websites, social, SEO and SEM, email marketing, metasearch and other facets to spur direct bookings.
eRevMax integrates with Moroccan PMS Pluri-Hotel
eRevMax has become the first connectivity provider to complete 2-way integration with Moroccan PMS company Pluriel.
Uber Changes Lanes with Yandex.Taxi Merger
Since launching in Moscow three years ago, Uber has had a tough time displacing its local counterpart in Russia. Yesterday the world’s biggest ride-share startup gave up on the quest and inked a deal with Yandex.Taxi. The newly formed venture is valued at $3.7 billion and is owned 59.3% by Yandex and 36.6% by Uber, with the remaining 4.1% held by employees.
Pricing Trends Graph Comes to Google Hotel Search
French hotel groups seed invest in RoomChecking
Astotel Group, Maurice Hurand Hotels and BPI follow into AccorHotels’s footsteps, investing in hotel technology as the future of hotel management, and offer 750,000 EUR late seed-funding to RoomChecking, a hotel communications, housekeeping, and maintenance system startup.
New Startups Fill Great Hospitality Hiring Void
Getting a leg up on hiring qualified people in the hospitality space, a couple of new startups are hoping to solve the problem of connecting skilled hospitality workers with the businesses that need them on-demand. Here’s a brief take on how apps and services are intersecting the hiring space too.
Six Travel Startups to Watch in 2017
Among the startups to watch in 2017, six have caught my attention for their potential for accelerated growth, but also due to clear benefits they offer for travelers.