Expedia tips diversity and mobile trend

Expedia tips diversity and mobile trend

Thai hoteliers should diversify their reservation and payment channels to attract valuable travellers rather than just seeking to fill hotel rooms, says Expedia, the world's largest travel website.

Pimpawee Nopakitgumjorn, director of market management at Expedia Thailand, said foreign visitors prefer to stay longer and book their rooms further in advance. They are more price-sensitive than in the past and less likely to cancel their bookings.

Diversifying distribution channels will help hoteliers draw more foreign guests with better inventory management and a higher average room rate.

She suggested consumers be allowed to have more choices, either paying for hotel rooms at the time of booking or upon check-in, which could make hotels more relevant to their customers. Expedia expects hotel partners to offer this option to customers.

Second, hoteliers should invest in online exposure with high-quality photos, accurate hotel descriptions and location information, said Ms Pimpawee. If a hotel receives good reviews, they should be prominently featured.

Third, hoteliers should cash in on the growing trend of mobile booking by developing mobile apps to allow room booking via smartphones, she said.

Ms Pimpawee said a survey last year found over 45% of the group's traffic came from mobile booking and nearly one-third of transactions were booked on mobile devices.

Lastly, hoteliers should recognise market demand and adapt to competition, she said.

Expedia had 12,000 hotel partners in Thailand last year, up from 8,000 in 2015. Ms Pimpawee expects to add 3,000 hotel partners this year, broadening its guest segments.

"In the past, we had mainly luxury and upscale hotel partners. Now we partner with budget and three-star properties to expand our client base while staying competitive," she said.

Ms Pimpawee said Expedia will improve its business operation so its partner hotels can access the Expedia Partner Central platform to update their room rates, hotel information and number of available rooms on a real-time basis.

Last year the top five foreign tourist markets who booked reservations to Thailand on Expedia were the US, Hong Kong, Japan, the UK and Australia. Expedia operates 200 websites in 75 countries.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT