Meta-Searching in Hospitality
Stephanie Clark Kaitlyn Hafeman Sumit Kapali
Overview
•History•Scope and Reach•Reported Impacts•Industry Examples•Other Industries Using Meta-Search•Professional’s Perspective•Business Landscape Impacts•Competitive Advantage
Meta-Searching
•A search engine that pulls results from multiple search engines
•Allows consumer to access the results from multiple search engines at once, rather than searching them all.
•Meta-searching is similar to TripAdvisor, Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline
Historical Review
•Traditional Internet Searches•First Meta-Searches•Hospitality Enters the Scene with
Airlines!•Newest Meta-Searches
Reach and Scope
•No more searching through multiple sites•Narrowed Search – More to the point
options•Higher Number of “Impulse Buys”•Internet is all over the world Vast
majority of consumers on the planet will have access to destinations across the globe
Potential Problems?
•Systems aren’t advanced enough to handle large influx in traffic flow
Reported Impacts
•Growth of Meta-Searches in Hospitality•Lack of Meta-Searches in Most Industries•Information Retrieval and Internet
Services – Only ones with Meta-Searches•Google is working on a new meta-search
option for other products▫Very Secretive!
TripAdvisor
•It is a leading online travel agencies that is using the meta-search engine.
Industry Example – Room 77
•Dramatic Rise in Room 77 reservations and revenue.•Helping travelers to expose the best hotel deals.•Total capital raised to $143.8 million.
Perceptions
Outside Industry Example - Dogpile
•Images, Information, News, Videos, Yellow and White Pages
•Compiles results from Yahoo!, Google, Ask, etc.
Outside Industry Example - Yometa
•Information Gathering•Searches Bing, Yahoo! and Google Only•Venn Diagram to Show Results
•Not Very Successful
Professional Insight – Interview with Amy Anderson
Assistant Manager at Quality Inn & Suites, Menomonie, WI
Quality Inn & Suites• Vast majority of reservations are booked online
or through ChoiceHotels.com
• http://www.choicehotels.com/?source=goch&cid=go000010971
• Do not track results from websites such as Expedia or Orbitz, but when contacted by these websites they update their pictures and information.
Quality Inn & SuitesOnline Reviews
• Because of the importance that they place on these sites as well as TripAdvisor, guests are encouraged to write online reviews.
• Positive Reviews are very important especially with social media and all the outlets for potential customers to gain insight into a place they have never stayed before.
Quality Inn & SuitesMarketing Strategies
• Through their ChoiceHotels.com site, various marketing techniques are used to attract guests to the hotel.▫ Points towards free ChoiceHotel nights▫ Gift cards at retailers and restaurants▫ Airline miles▫ “Best Internet Rate Guarantee”
Quality Inn & SuitesMarketing Strategies
• Menomonie Wedding Fair▫ Enchanted Barn
• Involvement in the community (Winter Parade)
• Highway signs and offering discount coupons offered at area events
• As important as these are, the Internet still offers the best exposure for their business.
Business Landscape Impacts
•Rapid Transformation into Meta-Searches•Growth in Online Bookings – Predictions•Impact on Hotel Properties
▫Customer Reviews▫Pricing Strategies▫Fees Associated with Search Results
Course Content Relations
•Market Segmentation•Stages of Customer Interaction•Characteristics of a Service•Analytics •Quality Search Experience
Competitive Advantage