engaging the connected traveler in the travel planning phase · 1. rlhc needed an aggressive...

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Engaging the Connected

Traveler in the Travel

Planning Phase On Conversion

Jason W. Thielbahr, CRME

Senior Vice President of Revenue Optimization & Distribution Services

Red Lion Hotels Corporation

Engaging The Connected Traveler 23 February 2015

CONFIDENTIAL – NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION | Engaging the connected traveler Feb.23, 2015

Outline


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1. Overcoming the travel planning cycle

2. Consumer engagement strategy

3. Multichannel Case Study

4. Takeaways

5. What can we learn from Amazon?

Overcoming the travel planning cycle


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Challenges:

o Average traveler has 22 touch points online before making a

purchase decision.

o Channel proliferation… OTAs, Hotel suppliers,

Tripadvisor.com, Search engines, airlines, credit card

companies, traditional travel agencies, retailers, AMAZON!

o Cross device shopping (e.g., Mobile phone, tablet, TV, game

system, etc…)

o Consumers operate in a constant state of distraction



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Solution:

o Be everywhere the traveler is at each point in the purchase

cycle

o Consistent branding/messaging throughout the purchase cycle

o Leverage all digital channels to maximize exposure to drive

awareness “Up Funnel”

o Use “Lower Funnel” campaigns i.e. Paid search to capitalize on

Up Funnel brand awareness to drive conversion

o Effective recapturing programs to re-engage shoppers (e.g.,

Retargeting ads, reservation recovery)



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Engaging Travelers throughout the purchase cycle


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RLHC’s Consumer Engagement Strategy:

o Use up funnel channels to drive awareness

- Online Media (e.g., Tripadvisor.com)

- PR/Travel Consumer Deal Alerts

- Blog post

- Social media

o Leverage down funnel channels to drive conversion

- Paid Search (SEM)

- Google Display Network (GDN) retargeting

- Retargeting on Top Travel Networks

- Email Marketing

o Reservation recovery programs used to reduce shopping cart abandonment

Multi-Channel Case Study – Resolve to Explore


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January 2015 Campaign

1. RLHC needed an aggressive marketing campaign to drive an

increase in bookings for first quarter. Recognized multichannel

marketing was the best way to reach consumers along their travel

planning and purchase journey “Purchase Funnel”.

2. RLHC and HeBS Digital partnered to launch the “Resolve to Explore”

campaign with primary focus for driving online revenues through an

aggressive offering.



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January 2015 Campaign - Overview

1. Playing into the theme of New Year’s Resolutions, the campaign engaged users to “Resolve to Explore,” enticing them to plan a 2015 trip and share information about their own resolutions

2. Offer – Stay with Red Lion Hotels during the winter season and save 20% on your stay.

3. Vacation giveaway was used to incentive travelers to provide their email and New Year’s Resolution goals.

4. Travelers that supplied their email and resolutions RLHC will provide exclusive and personalized offers throughout the year.



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Design – Mini site

• Countdown clock • Rich imagery • Clear call to action • Hotel booking widget w/one click

capability • Resolution Quiz • Mobile optimized



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Upper Funnel – Display Media

• Online Media through

Regional & Travel Networks



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• Sponsored Social media • Blogger Outreach • PRWeb / Travel Consumer

Deal Alerts • Trip Advisor Business

Listings

Upper Funnel- Social Engagement



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• Email Newsletter • Corporate & Hotel

Facebook & Twitter posts • RLHC Blog post

Mid-Funnel- Owned Engagement Channels



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Lower Funnel- SEM & Retargeting

• Branded & Brand

Agnostic SEM across major search engines

• Display Media Retargeting through Google Display Network

• RLSA Campaigns though Google Adwords


Media Performance:

• 2,500 additional emails captured

through Resolution Quiz

• Total Campaign ROI 13:1.

• Average COS- 7.8%

• Over 8 million display ad impressions

Performance Overview:

• 13K bookings

• 21K room nights

• 1.65 average LOS

• Revenue Channel Mix: RLHC – 60% vs. OTAs

40%


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Campaign Results



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Takeaways

1. Multichannel campaign approach maximizes brand

awareness to drive higher conversion in lower funnel

channels i.e. Paid Search

2. Vacation giveaway through direct channels was an

effective incentive to drive direct bookings helping

RLHC channels to out perform OTAs

3. Allocate more media dollars towards Tripadvisor.com

and retargeting display advertising since both

channels are very effective in driving direct bookings

4. Expand incentives for travelers to provide personal

data for future personalized campaigns to improve

customer retention and frequency

What can we learn from Amazon?


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• Seventh most popular website in the world

– The most popular that is self-curated

– Top eRetailer

• Consistently outperforming North American market in growth



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Truly Optimized

Market Place

Consumer Generated

Content

Wish Lists, Saved Carts

Superior Customer

Service

Suggested Items,

“Similar Users”

Fully Optimized

Site Experience

Affiliate Networks &

Dynamic Advertising


EXPERIENCE


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Amazon has realized their success through a truly optimized

user experience that has engaged audiences as a truly

ubiquitous service

• Hoteliers need to be constantly available online, with fast site

speeds and a cross-device experience to engage an

impatient consumer seeking instant and often last minute

gratification

• Be a Marketplace. Hotel brands need to offer reviews,

destination content, and a perception of options to the

consumer

• Customer Service is still King. When our guests have

problems online or offline, hoteliers must be available with

live chat, social media engagement and real-time

information.


CONVERSION


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Amazon has mastered the ability to profile visitor behavior,

purchase intent and combine past purchase history to better

target content and offers – The holy grail of retail marketing!

• Hoteliers need to move towards a retail marketing model

using analytics to drive dynamic content to improve

personalization and engagement on site along with tailoring

offers based on visitor behavior and past purchase history

• Offsite advertising should include dynamic rates and content

based on past site visit behaviors to improve engagement

with ads

• Shopping cart abandonment programs are a must to

incentive shoppers to complete purchase in session and

capture shopper data i.e. email address to retarget with email

offers

Jason W. Thielbahr

SVP, Distribution and Revenue

[email protected]

+1 509 723 7251


engaging the connected traveler in the travel planning phase · 1. rlhc needed an aggressive...

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