A RE-IGNITE MEDIA PUBLICATION

Travel Lodge

Premier Inn

Holiday Inn

Ibis

HOTEL WEBComparison magazine for major UK hotels

ContentsIntroduction 3A message from the editors 4Primary research – Questionnaire 5Primary research – Results 6About Travelodge 8About Holiday Inn 11About Ibis 14About Premier Inn 17Introduction to site design 20Accessibility 21Usability and Findability 22Integrated Design 27The Web and buying modes 31Online Value Proposition 32Customer Orientation 35Dynamic Design and Personalisation 36Aesthetics 40Page Design 41Content Strategy and Copywriting 43Navigation and Structure 44Interaction 46Conclusion 47References 48

Introduction

www.travelodge.co.uk

www.holidayinn.co.uk

www.ibis.co.uk

www.premierinn.co.uk

The purpose of this report is to analyse, critique and compare websites for four companies. The four companies chosen were the hotel chains Travelodge, Premier Inn, Holiday Inn and Ibis.

The methodology undertaken was by secondary and primary methods. Books, websites and lectures were used as secondary research, Focus groups and survey quest ionnaires was the pr imary method, with results analysed and interpreted to produce th is magazine,

An in-depth analysis was undertaken on al l Hotel websites and the contents wi l l be la id out and detai led as fo l lows: Integrat ion, Onl ine Value Proposit ion, Customer Orientat ion – audience segmentat ion and geographical customers highl ighted, Aesthet ics, Page design Copyright ing, Navigat ion & Structure and Interact ion.

The resul ts publ ished wi l l be concluded wi th secondary and pr imary methods weighed against each other wi th conclusions drawn.

3

The Editors

Hi, I ’m James Watts f rom Norwich, Norfolk. I am studying Business Enterprise at Bucks New Universi ty.

Hel lo, I ’m Bernard Johannesen, a mature student f rom Glasgow studying Business Enterprise at Bucks New Universi ty.

Hi my name is David Farrar and I am currently studying Business Enterprise at Bucks New University.

Welcome to the magazine and I hope you find our magazine resourceful.

4

Q1

What is your gender? Q2

What is your age range? Q3

What is your current employment status? Q4

Which hotel chain do you believe to be the best? Q5

Which Hotel website would you prefer to use? (Please view all 4 websites first) Q6

What is your main preference when booking a hotel? Q7

How do you prefer to book a hotel room? Q8

How much does a hotel website quality persuade you to book a room with them?

On a scale of 1-5, 1 being not persuasive and 5 being very persuasive. Q9

When booking a hotel room how long would you expect it to take to pay and complete your booking? Q10

How much do you expect to pay for a hotel room for one night?

Primary Research - Survey

This survey was posted on social media sites to professionals, family and friends. The sites that were used were LinkedIn and Facebook.

5

Primary Research – Results

Q1 results show that 61% of people that took our survey were female.

Q2 results show that people within the age range of 36-45 took the survey

Q3 results show that 60% of people that took the survey were employed

Q4 results show that 58% preferred the Premier Inn as appose to the Travelodge which got 8%

Q5 results show that 64% prefer the Premier Inn web page

6

Primary Research – Results

Q6 results show that 65% of peoples main focus when booking is value for money.

Q7 results show that 84% prefer to use the hotel website.

Q8 results show that 33% chose 3 as there option how much website quality persuades them to book.

Q9 results show that 51% expect to be able to pay and book between 3 – 5 minutes.

Q10 results show that 53% expect to pay £31 - £45.

7

Travelodge The reason Travelodge was chosen as one of the hotels is because, “Travelodge was the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985” (Travelodge, 2013) the group agreed that it was a good idea to analyse the website belonging to the oldest UK hotel brand. The Travelodge has mixed reviews from being positive and value for money to “Avoid Travelodge by all means” (Dennis, 2013) The group wanted to explore the website to conclude whether the website quality matches that of the hotel.

“ .

As part of its £223 million brand investment programme this year, Travelodge has today unveiled a

revamped website which has been designed by its

customers.” (Travelodge, 2013) Since the revamp the site has

become easier to navigate, read and use the site and has

improved the whole look to be more up to date. They have also styled the site to compliment the

rooms on offer at the hotels.

This is the Travelodge homepage

About Travelodge

8

How popular is Travelodge

Audience Geography:Travelodge has gained a large sl ice of the UK market, as shown below.

Travelodge was the first budget hotel brand to launch in the UK in 1985, when it opened on the A38, in Barton under Needlewood, source: Travelodge

• How popular is travelodge.co.uk?

• How is th is s i te ranked re la t i ve to o ther s i tes?

• Global Rank  • 19,719 3 ,910 Down versus

the las t 3 months• Rank in   Uni ted Kingdom  • 704   

• How engaged are v is i tors to travelodge.co.uk?

• Bounce Rate• 23.40%  26 .00% Up versus

the las t 3 months. • Dai ly Page v iews per

Vis i tor• 4.98  7 .26% Down ve rsus

the las t 3 months.• Dai ly Time on Si te• 5:34  14 .00% Down ve rsus

the las t 3 months.

• Statistics gathered from www.alexa.com

Country Percent of Visitors

Rank in Country

United Kingdom

82.0% 704

Spain 2.5% 20,811

France 1.9% 41,211

United States

1.7% 240,161

Germany 1.3% 92,140

Audience Geography

9

A focus group was held on 12 November 2013, this was set up with 4 people who were given a laptop each to use. The laptops were all using google chrome as a browser, cache’s were cleared in all browsers before the test began and all participants signed usability agreement consent forms.

The tasks set - see chart below. We asked the participants to mark each site on the criteria questions.

L og o p o s i tio nWeb s i te co l ou r sc h emeFo nt s i zeL og o p o s i tio nWeb s i te co l ou r sc h emeFo nt s i zeFo nt co l ou rEasy to rea dTab s a re ea s i l y i d e ntifi a b leSh o rt cu t s ava i l a b l e

S i te se arc h ava i l a b l e a n d u sef u l

Easy to fi n d w h at yo u r lo o k in g fo rEas e o f u se to ret u r n t o h ome p a geCl ea r a n d rea d a b l eI nfo r mati veRe l i a b le ( u p t o d at e)Re le va ntSt r u c t u redL oa d time40 4 p a ge ? E r ro rs ?Ap p ea rs o n gen era l h o te l go o g le sea rc hUs e o f Ad -b lo c k

The results from the focus group, show a high rate of 404 pages on this particular site,. All other stats show similarity with numbers chosen in the median range.

The group were timed booking a room, this was terminated at the point of payment.

Travelodge faired high on this task with booking timed at 56 seconds. The load time of the site was 1.2 seconds and showed all other tasks marked were of a similar number.

The font size scored relatively low with a point score of 3, this was deemed by this particular participant to be difficult to read in comparison to other the other sites rated.

Logo positi

on

Font si

ze

Easy t

o read

Short c

uts ava

ilable

Easy t

o find what yo

ur lookin

g for

Clear a

nd read

able

Reliab

le (up to

date)

Structu

red

404 page? E

rrors?

Use of A

d-block0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Travelodge

Travelodge

Primary research - Focus group questionnaire

10

Holiday Inn is part of a hotel family group, meaning other hotel brands are owned by the same organisation. The choice was made to pick Holiday Inn to discover if the hotel quality will be as great as its competitors as the organisation has other hotels to concentrate on also.

This is the Holiday Inn homepage

About Holiday Inn

11

How popular is holidayinn.com?

Global ranking 46,516 Down 12,192 in the last 3 months

Bounce Rate46.70% Down 4.00% in the last 3 months.Daily Page views per Visitor2.26 up 7.00% in the last 3 months.Daily Time on Site2:40 Down 1.00% in the last 3 months.

Audience GeographyWhere are this site's visitors located?

CountryPercent of

VisitorsRank in

Country

United States

35.1% 24,708

United Kingdom

13.1% 11,872

Canada 5.8% 16,990

Mexico 4.7% 17,472

India 3.5% 103,440

Audience Geography

(Alexa.com, 2013)12

Primary research - Focus group questionnaire

A focus group was held on 12 November 2013, this was set up with 4 people who were given a laptop each to use. The laptops were all using google chrome as a browser, cache’s were cleared in all browsers before the test began and all participants signed usability agreement consent forms.

The tasks set - see chart below. We asked the participants to mark each site on the criteria questions.

Logo pos i t ionWebs i te co lour schemeFont s izeLogo pos i t ionWebs i te co lour schemeFont s izeFont co lourEasy to readTabs are eas i ly iden t i f iab leShor t cuts ava i lab leSi te search ava i lab le and usefu lEasy to f ind what your look ing forEase of use to re turn to home pageClear and readableIn format iveRel iab le (up to da te)RelevantSt ruc turedLoad t ime404 page? Er rors?Appears on genera l ho te l google searchUse of Ad-b lock

The results from the focus group, showed a relatively high rate of 404 pages on this site,. All other stats show similarity with numbers chosen in the median range.

The group were timed booking a room, this was terminated at the point of payment.

Holiday Inn was the third slowest on this task with booking timed at 1 minute 2 seconds. The load time of the site had a high value 0.50 seconds and showed all other tasks marked were of a similar number.

Logo

position

Tabs a

re easily

identifiable

Clear an

d read

able

Load

time0

1.53

4.5

Holiday inn

13

Ib is When deciding on the hotels to choose, the group all agreed that the chain Ibis website didn’t have a very good reputation. The group chose to analyse the Ibis website to put this theory to test and to see if the hotel website is poor and confirm reasons for the low quality reputation.

This is the Ibis homepage

About Ibis

14

Search Traffic:What percentage of visits to this site come from a search engine?

Which search keywords send traffic to this site?

Keyword Percent of Search Traffic

1. ibis hotel 9.45%

2. hotels in manchester 9.33%

3. manchester hotels 5.71%

4. hotels manchester 4.24%

5. hotel ibis 3.92%

Site Page

1. yahoo.com answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=2...

2. wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotels_in_Istanb...

3. hao123.com th.hao123.com/travel.html

4. bing.com bing.com/local/Details.aspx?lid=YN2000...

5. microsoft.com research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambri...

What sites link to ibishotel.com?

Total Sites Linking In4,0784,078

What sites are related to ibishotel.com?

Related Links

1. novotel.com

2. mercure.com

3. hotelformule1.com

4. etaphotel.com

5. accorhotels.com

How popular is Ibis

Audience Geography

15

(Alexa.com, 2013)

Primary research - Focus group questionnaire

A focus group was held on 12 November 2013, this was set up with 4 people who were given a laptop each to use. The laptops were all using google chrome as a browser, cache’s were cleared in all browsers before the test began and all participants signed usability agreement consent forms.

The tasks set - see chart below. We asked the participants to mark each site on the criteria questions.

L og o p o s i tio nWebs i t e co l ou r sc h emeFo nt s i zeL og o p o s i tio nWebs i t e co l ou r sc h emeFo nt s i zeFo nt co l ou rEa sy to rea dTa b s a re ea s i l y i d e ntifi a b leSh o rt cu t s ava i l a b l e

S i te se arc h ava i l a b l e a n d u sef u l

Ea sy to fi n d w h at y o u r lo o k i n g fo rEa s e o f u se to ret u r n t o h ome p a geCl ea r an d rea d a b l eI nfo r mativ eRe l i a b le ( u p to d at e)Re leva ntSt ru c t u redL oa d time404 p a ge ? E r ro rs ?Ap p ea rs o n gen era l h o te l go o g l e sea rchUs e o f Ad -b lo c k

The results from the focus group, show a high rate of 404 pages on this particular site,. All other stats show similarity with numbers chosen in the median range.

The group were timed booking a room, this was terminated at the point of payment.

Ibis faired high on this task with and came first with booking timed at 56 seconds. The load time of the site was 1 second and showed all other tasks marked were of a similar number.

Logo positi

on

Font si

ze

Easy t

o read

Short c

uts ava

ilable

Easy t

o find what yo

ur lookin

g for

Clear a

nd read

able

Reliab

le (up to

date)

Structu

red

404 page? E

rrors?

Use of A

d-block0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Ibis

Ibis

16

1

Premier Inn has been labelled as “The UK’s largest hotel brand” (Emirates, 2013)And was viewed as one of the more higher quality hotels out of the 4. The group chose this hotel as it would be interesting to see if the higher quality hotel has the same level of quality for its website.

This is the Premier Inn homepage

About Premier Inn

17

How popular is premierinn.com?

18,328  Down 3,780 in the last 3 months

in the last 3 months

Global Rank

Rank in the  United Kingdom 

727  

How engaged are visitors to premierinn.com:

Bounce Rate21.00%  up 29.00% in the last 3 months.Daily Page views per Visitor3.92  Down 5.31% in the last 3 months.Daily Time on Site4:45  Down 13.00% in the last 3 months

Audience Geography:

CountryPercent of

Visitors Rank in Country

United Kingdom

76.0% 727

India 3.5% 55,885

United States

3.3% 118,915

Germany 2.2% 49,747

Spain 2.0% 27,071

1

Audience Geography

18

(Alexa.com, 2013)

A focus group was held on 12 November 2013, this was set up with 4 people who were given a laptop each to use. The laptops were all using google chrome as a browser, cache’s were cleared in all browsers before the test began and all participants signed usability agreement consent forms.

The tasks set - see chart below. We asked the participants to mark each site on the criteria questions.

Lo g o p o s i tio nWebs i te co lo u r s ch em eFo nt s i zeLo g o p o s i tio nWebs i te co lo u r s ch em eFo nt s i zeFo nt co l ou rEa sy t o rea dTa b s a re ea s i l y i d en tifi ab l eSh or t c u t s ava i la b l e

S i te sea rc h ava i l a b l e a n d u sef u l

Ea sy t o fi n d w h at y ou r lo o k i n g forEa se o f u s e t o ret u r n to h ome p a geCl ea r a n d rea d ab l eI nfo rmativeRe l i a b l e ( u p to d ate )Re l eva n tSt r u c t u redLo a d ti me404 p a ge? E r ro rs?Ap p ea rs o n gen era l h ot e l g o o g l e sea rc hUse o f A d -b l o c k

The results from the focus group, show a high rate of 404 pages on this particular site,. All other stats show similarity with numbers chosen in the median range.

The group were timed booking a room, this was terminated at the point of payment.

Premier Inn was the highest for errors with a 6 rating.

Load times for this site were mediocre with a 4 rating. The logo positioning scored relatively low as did the colour scheme of the site.

This website scored low on the tabs they use , the participant spoke of the need to press before any instructions were given, with no hover facility at the mouse event.

Logo positi

on

Font co

lour

Short c

uts ava

ilable

Ease o

f use

to return to

home page

Reliab

le (up to

date)

Load time

Use of A

d-block0123456

Premier inn

Premier inn

1Primary research - Focus group questionnaire

19

Intro to Site DesignThe design of a website is vital for any business or company. The website design sets the customers first impression.

Having a good website design will help increase the overall reputation of the website and help persuade customers to purchase on that particular sight rather then using another company.

Site designs used to be simple however now companies run their own mobile apps, mobile web site design, tablet design and social media sites along with having to create a professional desktop website to compete with those of the competitors.

“Web designing is an art that appeals the users with texts and graphics. A website represents a business among its customers. Using the website for promotions and sales is a necessity in today’s world” (Dexter, 2012)  Accessibility is mandatory under the

disability and discrimination law (Uk Law for Websites, 2013). Each website must have the option for people with disabilities to access and view the pages. This can be through larger text or different coloured titles. A website may have a speaker option where a speaker will read out the words for people hard of hearing. Examples will be stated on the pages that follow.

Site design = Function + Content + Form + Organization + Interaction. (Chaffey, 2013) Combining all of these elements into a website can be a hard task, some companies choose to pay professionals to create their website for them to ensure it looks and runs professionally. Whilst the group analysed the four hotels it was noticeable and clear that some website designs were inferior to others when it came to aesthetics...

This could have a negative knock on effect of the number of booking the website collects compared to those with a higher quality website.

20

AccessibilityTravelodge advertise accessibility on their page broadening the potential customer base. Travelodge enable a feature so the text size can be changed by the viewer allowing them to see clearer.

The Holiday Inn website does not have any accessibility option on the home page or throughout the website. The title and image colours vary and someone who is colour blind would struggle to read the information on this page. This could be seen as discriminating against people with disability. People who struggle to view certain fonts or need to have an audio guide; they could not use this website. This gives Holiday inn a bad reputation and could limit their potential customer base.

Ibis is another hotel brand that does not offer any changes to the design for people with disability. The law states websites must have this option but Ibis does not.

Premier Inn does not have an accessibility option on their page. The page has a disabled access button however this is just for disabled access with the hotel equipment, Bathrooms etc.

No accessibility advertised.

(No accessibility option)

21

Usability and Findability Each hotel website is in competi t ion wi th another, the sl ightest problem or di ff icul ty a potent ia l customer may discover on a website may result in them navigat ing to a competi tors s i te. The website design must be easy to navigate and easy f ind the certain areas you are looking for. User-centred design “User- centred design (UCD) is a project approach that puts the intended users of a s i te at the centre of i ts design and development.” (Teoh, 2013) “Web usabi l i ty is about making your website in such a way that your s i te users can f ind what they’re looking for quickly and eff ic ient ly. ” (Moss, 2013)  “Findabi l i ty is how easi ly a s i te is found through an organic search; i t a lso indicates how easi ly content is found f rom with in the si te .” (Curt is, 2012) 

User Centred design (UCD), Usability and findability are all methods and guides to creating a website designed for the customers needs and demands. These different methods all help to design a website that is easy to find, easy to use and pleasing for the customer to use. Different websites have different target markets all requesting different needs. It is the job of the website creators to ensure the website meets their demands.

22

Premier Inn is seen to be a relaxing, high quality hotel. The main target market for the Premier Inn branch is the Business users, families and the OAP range. Different hotels sometimes target business people and events. The Premier Inn website has been created with UCD as it has an easy layout that is basic but also aesthetically pleasing. The layout of the home page makes it easy to search for prices and hotels all within one page. This is helpful for the elderly as drop down menus are used to select dates making it easier for them to search and book. This design was made so all people can use the website increasing their customer range. The website also concentrated on Usability as the different deals he hotel offers are advertised on their pages through pictures and icons, family breaks and seaside breaks all have their own picture. These links again make it easier for the target market to select their perfect stay away, one click and the customer finds the page and deals they need. Premier Inn also increase their usability status by advertising on the home page about their mobile application. This app will allow people to search and book rooms whilst on the go and may also increase their target market with younger people downloading the app and booking through it.

Drop down menus make it easy for the user to navigate through the pages.

The target market will be drawn to these pictures which apply to them.

The Premier Inn website also has very good findability, after searching into Google, High Quality Cheap hotel UK, London. Premier Inn was the third to show on the results. This is very high and a great findability result. This results in people who may not know UK Brands, tourists for example, if they are staying In London are very likely to view the Premier Inn website and likely to book and stay with them.

Usability and Findability

23

Usability and Findability

Travelodge hotel chain primarily targets business events and customers who are looking for a quick one night budget room. The home page is similar to Premier Inn and has drop down menus making the usability easy for customers. The drop down menus allows customers to select dates and view prices quickly. The business deals and information is clearly stated on the Travelodge home page with a link to a page with greater details stating the different business equipment, locations and deals confirming that the company had created their website around UCD.

When searching for Travelodge and the Premier Inn the f indabi l i ty is not as good as Travelodge, th is being being on the 3 r d page. However most people who stay here may be aware of the brand and di fferent searches such as business budget hotels has Travelodge si tuated 3 r d on the f ront page.

24

Usability and Findability

The Holiday Inn chain targets business meetings and business people. The home page also uses drop down menus to make it easy for customers to find specific dates and prices in any location. Holiday Inn uses drop down menus to search the different sections of the website making the usability of the pages are adequate, however, the aesthetics of this website do not compare to those of the Premier Inn or Travelodge.

The UCD of Holiday Inn, does not compare to those of the hotels already stated. The homepage does have a link to business meetings however the information on this page is very vague and lacking quality and depth. This may make is difficult for any business customer to really understand and be aware of the business services they provide and could lead to them choosing a different hotel.

The Findability of this website is poor, it can not be found on any of the Google searches that have been conducted. This will make it difficult for any potential customers to find the hotel and can decrease the hotels chances of securing bookings.

25

Usability and Findability

Ibis Ibis does not have any recognisable specific target group. The websites offers pages for families, business and budget however on all pages the information is servilely lacking. The usability is difficult, there are so many words on the home page it is difficult to navigate on it and there are not many options to take you direct to the desired pages making the user’s time on the website difficult. The UCD was not considered when making this page as if so, different links would’ve been added, there would not be irrelevant text and also on each page it would provide more information to help the customer. The Findability Is also poor for Ibis, it could not be found using any of the searches as conducted before.

26

Integrated designIntegrated design is about how the companies website must be compatible and run parallel to the companies marketing programmes. For example, if a hotel website is offering £30 rooms on a television advertisement the hotel website must be up to date and also market this offer. Other aspects of integrated design is that even if the company are growing rapidly they must always leave room on their website to inform customers or promotional messages or to advertise the latest offers. Integrated market communications is where all forms of the business should link the different ways of communication on it. If someone buys a product from Amazon the website details should be displayed on each receipt and could describe the online value proposition.

If a customer is requires assistance whilst inserting contact information, or pauses to move away from the page, a pop up window can offer assistance via telephone contact or on line aid,. (Chaffley, 2013).

Ibis does not provide good Integrated market communications; their page does not provide a contact number, email or any other information on how to contact someone for help.

27

http://intergreater.com/

Integrated designThe Holiday Inn website does display integrated market communications the website displays a contact number however this service charges the caller which may put potential customers off ringing the service and from booking.

Premier inn display good integrated market communications,. The website shows many different ways of communicating from contacting a direct hotel, asking a question, emailing and FAQ’s. This helps customers feel at ease when they have a problem on a page, this will result in the person staying on the website and may be followed by them booking a room.

Travelodge also display integrated market communications There are many different communication methods for the customers to use if they have any problems, Again this will help keep the potential customer on the website rather than deciding to change to another.

Ibis does not provide good Integrated market communications; their page does not provide a contact number, email or any other information on how

to contact someone for help.

28

Integrated design

Travelodge offer payment through PayPal a secure online payment system however, payment with this method cost a fee of £2.00

Premier Inn only offers the normal online payment systems. PayPal is not an option but all payment methods use verified by Visa to secure the payment

The Holiday Inn website offers only one payment method through their website.

Ibis checkout again does not offer a range of payment method but they do state that the checkout will be secure. Customers may not be put off booking a room with Ibis with the secure payment advertised.

With some different product sectors, customers can choose to either buy online or buy in store. With the hotel sector the large majority of customers pay through either the internet of phone line. A customer could go into any hotel and book via the front desk however this can be an effort if the person doesn’t live near a hotel.

29

Integrated database

Integrated Database. Integrated database is where the company will keep records and information from each booking to try and build up a system where they know the customer and their preferences. If a customer books a business room during the week on a regular basis, the computer system will recognise this and when they hotel has offers on business rooms the computer will send an email to this customer. This system tailors the website for the customer and can mean that when someone logs in and is greeted they may be told of the present offers suited to them straight away. This is also a good case of UCD.

30

The Web and Buying Modes

There are many ways to purchase items now with the current technologies available. People can purchase items on their computer, mobile, in shop or via telephone sales. This is called mixed-mode buying and it is very important for companies to offer different ways of purchasing their items and services. People are wary of fraud and insecure payments, so with companies offering different payment methods this can put the customer as ease and allow them to pay using the method that they feel most comfortable.

31

Online Value Proposition

Ibis have covered Online Value Propositions clearly and decisively, in particular they have, in their header, Fig 1 bellow, alluded to different audience’s through their dropdown boxes’ for family, business, advantage’s, offers and promotions. Although not vastly different from the other website’s compared here, this does highlight, clearly, the services on offer. (Ibis, 2013)

In Dave Chaffey book (Chaffey, 2013) multiple OVP’s are mentioned in detail, firstly to leverage the proposition in traffic building, URL’s can be combined with web addresses and can be included in all advertising, as an email signature and included in all marketing collateral. Secondly- this can be important as this is most likely to be the first place a customer will find out about the website. The proposition of each website has to be clear and prominent; this can be on the homepage and may be referred to on every page or at the top, or left hand side Shout out as part of their identity. Other websites can make the visitor work too hard to understand the proposition.

32

Online Value Proposition

Holiday Inn has, in their main web page covered all areas of OVP through their link to the masthead on their site. This masthead invites and panders to a variety of online users, be that from, a stumble upon of the website to more serious users and researchers. The mast head invites you to explore Inter Continentals Hotels Group (IMG) this has 12 hotel options (Inn, 2013), bellow this you may also begin searching for availability of rooms immediately:.

One of Premier Inns OVP is on their home page, an immediate search for your hotel room and a great giveaway in the form of – if you book three nights you will receive one free. They also have an OVP of Get a great night’s sleep or get your money back.

33

Travelodge has a book in template on their home page, this is similar to the other websites, and they also have rooms for £25 or less in their early bird offer for 2014. This hotels OVP is predominantly centred on value, as when navigating through the site the visitor is reminded continually about the Hotels value.

Online Value Proposition

Ibis has covered Online Value Propositions clearly and decisively, in particular they have, in their header,  alluded to different audience’s through their dropdown boxes’ for family, business advantage’s, offers and promotions. Although not vastly different from the other website’s compared here, this does highlight, clearly, the services on offer. (Ibis, 2013)

In Dave Chaffey book (Chaffey, 2013) multiple OVP’s are mentioned in detail, firstly to Leverage the proposition in traffic building, URL’s can be combined with web addresses and can be included in all advertising, as an email signature and included in all  marketing collateral. Secondly- this can be important as this is most likely to be the first place a customer will find out about you. The proposition of each website has to be clear and prominent; this can be on the homepage and may be referred to on every page or at the top, or left hand side Shout out as part of their identity. Other websites make the visitor work too hard to understand the proposition. 

34

Customer orientation Customer oriented websites provide ease of access, content and services should be tailored to a range of audience’s (Smith, 2013)

Travelodge - this website has targeted all sectors, starting with weekend travellers to business users, the business sector and corporate, groups. There is a range of tailored offers from corporate rates with dinner, bed and breakfast, and centralised business account management.

There is also a Business Account card with 6 weeks interest free credit, and an ability to pay through your own corporate website. There is also an ability to link multiple users to one centralised business account.

Premier Inn - this company website also offers Business deals, but asks for email details before allowing the user to access this service. This requirement may put off the more casual visitor to the site. The log in has an added safety reminder highlight panel, this alerts the visitor that should they wish to use, the remember me, tick box, that this is recommended for personal computers only.Holiday Inn - This Company offers packages aimed at groups, meetings, group events and weddings. The companies OVP, from a group viewpoint, is that they will confirm acknowledgement of your group meeting request within 2 hours (during standard business hours).The group will be greeted upon arrival, have a mid-day touch point and end of day review.

Ibis offers, 3 personalities as – Your comfort, All inclusive and At the right price, these 3 brand named themes, are as follows, your comfort states your room and your bed are of the cosiest comfort. All inclusive states that this is for families’ or friends, solo or duet, business woman or business man, welcome. This has all angles covered and is the most in-depth explanation of customer orientation Shout out.

These sites show a desire to help their target customer, by matching specific benefits to the specific group, Ibis for instance by offering “three personalities" this is relatively new and rare (Smith, 2013)

35

Dynamic Design and Personalisation

The hotel site personalisation is crucial to maintaining and building a relationship with the customer.

Using web and data technology it is possible to increase the marketer’s memory which will recognise as many customers as you would like and also remembers there preferences to make it easier to find the necessary section.

Based on the visitors IP address when the visitor goes onto the hotel website s it will automatically direct you to your own country site.

When you have booked a room using the hotel sites if you accept the cookies next time you need to book it will remember your details such as address, name and contact details which can save a lot of the customers time.

Cookies are essential to any website and are key to website personalization.

Here is an example of how accepting cookies makes booking simple. As soon as you type Travelodge In it comes up with sub tabs that go straight to where you stayed last.

36

Dynamic Design and Personalisation

The hotel site personalization is crucial to maintaining and building a relationship with the customer.

Using web and data technology it is possible to increase the marketer’s memory which will recognise as many customers as you would like and also remembers there preferences to make it easier to find the necessary section.

Based on the visitors IP address when the visitor goes onto the hotel website s it will automatically direct you to your own country site.

When you have booked a room using the hotel sites if you accept the cookies next time you need to book it will remember your details such as address, name and contact details which can save a lot of the customers time.

Cookies are essential to any website and are key to website personalization.

Here is an example of how accepting cookies makes booking simple. As soon as you type Travelodge In it comes up with sub tabs that go straight to where you stayed last.

37

Dynamic Design and Personalisation

When registering with company on the site it has more of a personal feel to it as it refers to your name every time you go on their site with a welcome message

Travelodge uses an approach called “Collaborative Filtering” (Smith, 2012) which uses a prediction tool that remembers what customers have previously done. For example if you have booked a room in a town in London then when you type L in the search bar London will automatically come up first with the town you previously booked at or in alphabetical order if you have not booked there before.

38

Dynamic Design and Personalisation

Sizzle – “All of the above can help add value, strengthen the brand and develop the relationship” (Smith, 2012) For example the hotel website records all details to save time and has your own account where you can rebook previous bookings with ease and have a record of where you have stayed previously.

When registering with company on the site it has more of a personal feel to it as it refers to your name every time you go on their site with a welcome message

Travelodge uses an approach called “Collaborative Filtering” (Smith, 2012) which uses a prediction tool that remembers what customers have previously done. For example if you have booked a room in a town in London then when you type L in the search bar London will automatically come up first with the town you previously booked at or in alphabetical order if you have not booked there before.

39

Aesthetics

The use of Aesthetics is crucial for any company as it tells the customer what personality the company has. For example just from looking at the design and presentation of a site you can tell what sort of company you are dealing with and the impression they are trying to portray.

Aesthetics = Graphics + Colour + Style + Layout + Typography

Travelodge has a high download speed as the graphics are neat and tidy but there is not too much enabling quick load times. It is crucial that the website designer does focus of site load time just as much as the designs of the site as both are equally as important.

This is the Travelodge's use of aesthetics on their homepage

This is the Premier Inns use of aesthetics on their homepage

Depending on the graphics used by the website designer it is important for the site load time to be around 4 seconds. Customers tend to not return to a site if the download time is not quick enough so is crucial that it maintains its high speed.

This is Holiday Inn’s use of aesthetics on their homepage

This is Ibis’s use of aesthetics on their homepage

40

Page Design

Page design is an important factor when it comes to hotel sites as if it lacks professionalism customers will be drawn away from booking a room as they may find it lacks quality. A good clear homepage is crucial as this is the company's first impression towards there customers and is the difference between making a sale or losing a customer. Customers want a page that has everything clearly produced in front of the them and ideally would like to get to their destination within 3 clicks. It is also important when designing your website that you do not have to many graphics and videos as this will impact on the load time for users and if it fails the 4 second rule then customers are unlikely to use the site again. so making sure there is a good balance between the look of the site and content without overloading the page with to many graphics. As competiveness is increased year by year in the internet sector many companies are using eye tracking software to improve page design and to also see where most customers look first and focus on as appose to other areas they may just scan past. This will let you know the best place to put vital parts of your site such as brand image and the sales part of the site.

Travelodge design on the homepage has a clear crisp look to it, the brand logo is clear to see and the colours of the site match the brands colours. It does not have many sub category links to choose and they have gone for a more simple look to not confuse the customer. The company makes use of social media sites (Facebook, Twitter) to increase its marketing potential and as an incentive offer promotional offers if for example you “like” their page. All of the separate tabs are easy on the eye and stand out so if you want to know about the company you can do it with ease. The site uses a hyperlink in its main brand logo which will take you straight to the homepage which is useful for customers instead of having to go back every page. Overall the Travelodge has great navigation, is clear and easy to use.

41

Page DesignWhen you go on Premier Inn’s homepage straight away there brand colour stands out and that is the first thing customers notice most. There are many sub categories on the page that display many different options for a customer but at times it can be to much information on the eye and is not organised or structured well. This can cause more time spent trying to find a part of the site which can irritate the customer and may make them choose a competitor. Premier Inn also uses social media tools to keep up to date with the current trends with customers. The use of a utility page is being used as there are sections you can click on if you want to know about the company or contact them by various methods.

Holiday Inn has gone for a more simplistic style to its page design but everything you would most commonly need when visiting this particular site is straight in front of you and is clear and easy on the eye. Social media tools are also used that offers promotions if you sign up with their site or like their page on Facebook for example. The sites theme colour stays the same as the brand logo which brings a general feel to the site. Also there are all the sub categories (about us, Contact us) displayed clearly.

Ibis has gone for a white background with its brand colour red on all the rest of the site. Its brand logo is clearly visible and stands out with the white backing. Navigation can be done with great ease as every product category is clearly visible and right in front of you as soon as you load up their site. Ibis also uses social media networks for marketing purposes.

42

Content Strategy and Copywriting

This is where ‘content is king ‘becomes ‘context is king’, whereby relevant information is made available at the right time to the right audience. This leads onto Gerry McGovern’s website www.gerrymcgovern.com and his succinct summing up on whether or not to judge what particular words matter, “How do you judge if a particular word matters or not? You don't. It's not for you to judge. It's for your customers to judge. Customers are highly impatient. They search and scan a page quickly, looking for their right words”.Chunky Brevity and Scannability link together and visitors scan pages to look for headlines then drill down to the other paragraphs for further information. The copy must also be relevant to the target audience.

 Travelodge shows great use of the all five of the above descriptors in that they are punchy (Brevity), collective (Chunky) elements in particular, to the “Premier for Business” page, benefits (Relevance) in that the content is relative to business users and the benefit to them. This site shows an invaluable use of the mnemonic CRABS: Chunking, Relevance, Accuracy, Brevity and Scannability (Smith, 2013).

This page shows content engagement value, through targeting market sectors and it’s use of products offered in their business solutions. This is an important marketing strategy to engage business users on all levels, to enable a tailored website to your business needs.

43

Navigation and Structure

It is vitally important that a hotel website has a good structure and design. If the website is confusing and customers struggle to find the page or information they are looking for, this can will frustrate and increase the bounce rate. The site structure must be clear, with heading and sub heading making it easy to find the page you’re looking for. An effect structure is also known as information architecture. Information architecture is where a good combination of labelling, organization and navigation schemes are produced. (Chaffey, 2013) Customers on the website like to feel in control. They like to feel like they can get to certain pages with ease, this is called flow. If customers can find pages easily through clicking on different titles and images this is good flow.

There are 3 main rules to achieve good navigation, keep it simple, be consistent and signpost. By keeping the web pages simple and not having multiple buttons will keep the customer feeling like they are in control and be easier to navigate round the pages , this in turn will increase the likelihood of an end purchase. Signposts tell the customers where they are and what page they are on. This can decrease the chances of confusion for the customer and helps them navigate through the website.

44

Navigation and Structure

Premier inn has great navigation and layout, it is simple but helpful. This website is very easy to find the pages you are looking for and would keep the customer feeling in control and all times

 Ibis does not practise such good Navigation and layout as Premier inn. There are too many buttons and colours, your mind gets confused and can leave the customers feeling lost and stressed.

 Holiday Inn’s layout and structure is good, it is simple and only the most important headings are stated. Customers can navigate around this page with ease.

Travelodge has a good home page layout with title pages and picture links leading to the desired pages. Customers will feel in control whilst browsing this website.

45

InteractionWebsite interaction is a method used by the website creators to increase the users control and ease of navigation through pages. There are many different ways of increasing website interaction: ·      Mouse Event, this is where if an image or hyperlink is clicked it will provide more information on that current product or to view the next item or page.·      Mouse rollover is where if the curser is placed over an area of text, it may give feedback through changing the text colour.·      Drop down boxes allow users to have more options from titles.·      Drag and drop facilities.·      Search engines allow users to search for something specific through the whole website.

Amazons use of customer interaction is widely known and lends to the notion as Amazon being the number one online delivery service, this use of online delivery trace ability is a prime example of website interaction.

  

“An emotionally intelligent interaction is any state (or change in state) of a website/app where the messaging or functionality includes attention to details that create a user experience that feels organic and human” (Longanecker, 2012) This analogy can be related to Holiday Inns use of a travel advisor, whenever permissible the customer will be alerted to any change of arrangements due to adverse weather or natural disasters, this can be an aid to averting stress and inconvenience

Mobile site adaptation is another example of Interaction,:

Advertisers are waking up to the potential of mobile - as seen by the fact that mobile ad spend grew by 127% in H1 2013 to £429.2 million. www.iabuk.net/

The use of a mobile site has been used by Travelodge , Premier Inn and Ibis to harness this growing customer base.

Holiday Inn is the only site not to have this app -as of 19/12/2013 .

46

Conclusion

Combined &

analysed

SecondaryPrimary

Re-Ignite results

47

The four Hotels website’s analysed -compared and contrasted were found to utilise website design to various levels of success. All sites integrated online value proposition, audience segmentation, Navigation & structure etc.

The results of Primary & Secondary research garnered through focus groups and desk research showed similar results. Secondary research from desk analysis and Alexa.com highlighted the popularity and success of sites and illustrate the bounce rates, audience Geographic’s, global rankings, daily page views etc.

The figures obtained from focus group research and surveys carried out by Re-Ignite, were as follows; The questionnaire was predominately taken by the 36-65 age groups and was taken by 83 people, of these it showed that 64% of participants prefer the Premier Inn webpage to the others, with value for money being the prime motivator for purchased bookings. 84% of participants prefer to book through the hotel website rather than by telephone or any other method.

In focus groups the participants all showed in the tests that the four sites were generally the same when it came to bounce rates or 404 timed-out error messages, and all results highlighted the ease of use of the sites. The holiday Inn was by far the quickest site according to the participants with a high load time ratio score.Therefore, the comparison between the four Hotels using results from the questionnaire and all research was that price, time and ease of booking are major factors when booking decisions are taken.

References

Works Cited

http://www.alexa.com/search?q=ibis+hotel&r=site_screener&p=bigtop

Chaffey, D. (2013). Essential elements of creating effective online experiences (Vol. 4). Oxon: Routledge. Chaffey, D. (2013). The web and integrated marketing communication. Oxon: Routledge. Curtis, J. (2012, September 20th). Findability vs searchability, whats the difference. Retrieved December 11th , 2013, from Quotient: http://quotient.net/blog/2012/9/20/findability-vs-searchability-%E2%80%93-what%E2%80%99s-the-difference-and-why-you-should-care/

 Dennis, D. (2013, June 22). Travelodge Bath Waterside. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g186370-d209378-Reviews-Travelodge_Bath_Waterside-Bath_Somerset_England.html

 Dexter. (2013, November 7). The growing importance of website design. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from Multi media: http://www.tggmultimedia.com/blog/growing-importance-of-web-designing/#.UpYK9WRdW4c

Group, E. (2013). The Premier Inn. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from Emirates Group: http://www.theemiratesgroup.com/english/our-brands/hotel-resorts/premier-inn.aspx

 Longanacker., C. (2012, March 28). Give your website soul with emotionally intelligent interactions. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from Smashing Magazine: http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/03/28/give-your-website-soul-with-emotionally-intelligent-interactions/

 Moss, T. (2013). Web Usability, The basics. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from Webcredible: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/basics.shtml

 Teoh, C. (2013). User-Centered design, 6 methods. Retrieved December 11, 2013, from WebCredible: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/web-usability/user-centered-design.shtml

48

References

 Travelodge. (2013). Company Information. Retrieved 12 11, 2013, from Travelodge: http://www.travelodge.co.uk/company_information/

Uk Law for Websites. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from RNIB: http://www.rnib.org.uk/professionals/webaccessibility/lawsandstandards/Pages/uk_law.aspx

Smith, D.C.a.P. (2012) Dynamic Design and Personalization. In: Smith, D.C.a.P. Emarketing Excellence., p.307.

Smith, D.C.a.P. (2012) Dynamic Design and Personalization. In: Smith, D.C.a.P. Emarketing Excellence., p.309.

Smith, D.C.a.P. (2012) Dynamic Design and Personalization. In: Emarketing Excellence. Fourth edition ed., p.307.

Smith, D.C.a.P. (2012) Online Retail Merchandising. In: Smith, D.C.a.P. Emarketing Excellence., p.310.

Travelodge (2013) About us [online]. Travelodge. Available from: http://www.travelodge.co.uk/company_information/ [Accessed: 11 December 2013].

Travelodge (2013) Press Release [online]. Available from: http://www.travelodge.co.uk/press_releases/press_release.php?id=529 [Accessed: 11 December 2013].

49