For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Contains data from Consumer Technographics®

September 8, 2009
Poor Content Could Cost Travel eBusiness Money
Hotels Are Particularly Vulnerable Due To Inadequate Online Content
by Henry H. Harteveldt and Elizabeth Stark
with Kate van Geldern

Executiv e S ummary
Online travel content is in true need of a makeover. What written and visual content there is on travel
sites — in particular, hotel supplier Web sites — is generic, poorly organized, and confusing. Travelers
have had enough: Just half of US online leisure hotel guests are satisfied with the written descriptions
and visual content they find online for hotel accommodations and public areas. This affects the bottom
line: 38% of US online hotel guests say they avoid staying at certain hotels because the Web site lacks
the photos, video, or written content that would make them feel comfortable. These content-sensitive
travelers are young, quality-focused travelers who take more trips and spend more on leisure travel
annually than other travelers. To improve online travel content, travel eBusiness professionals should
avoid the three content mistakes outlined in this report, invest in visual content, and provide context
around travel products and features.

online travel content needs a face-lift

Travelers are irritated, annoyed, and fed up with planning travel online.1 Instead of getting better,
planning and booking a trip online has become more complicated and confusing during the past decade.
Stale planning and booking process, and an overall failure to innovate, contribute to the problem. Also
being overlooked is a critically important component for travel Web sites: written and visual content.2
Nowhere is this most apparent than on hotel Web sites. Some $26 billion of leisure and unmanaged hotel
business is forecast to be booked online in the US in 2009, and $28 billion is currently expected to be
booked online next year — hardly trivial amounts.3

The unstable economy causes travelers to give extra consideration to what they choose. People are taking
fewer trips, making each trip that much more important. Travelers want to be confident that they’re
getting the best possible value. Yet only about half of US online leisure hotel guests are satisfied with the
written descriptions and photos of hotel guest rooms and properties they find online.4 Fewer — 44% —
are satisfied with written information about restrictions and conditions of the rates they book online.
Calling Joan Rivers: Online travel content is in desperate need of a face-lift.

Content-Sensitive Travelers Represent 45.7 Million US Hotel Guests

It turns out that not having descriptive and compelling online content can do more than just annoy
travelers. The failure to offer acceptable content can cost hotels money: 38% of US online hotel guests —
47.5 million people — avoid staying at hotels that they can afford because they don’t see photos, video, or
written content that would make them feel comfortable.5 These content-sensitive travelers:

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· Are the next generation of hotel guests. Fully 25% of content-sensitive travelers belong to
Gen Y (ages 18 to 29), and 33% belong to Gen X (ages 30 to 43), with a mean age of 41 — five
years younger than content-indifferent guests (see Figure 1-1). More than half (54%) of content-
sensitive travelers are female versus content-indifferent travelers, who are more likely to be male.
And content-sensitive travelers are more financially comfortable, earning an average household
income of $95,000 per year.

· Spend more on leisure travel. On average, content-sensitive travelers recall taking five leisure
trips, with three of those including a hotel stay, in the past 12 months (see Figure 1-2). Content-
sensitive travelers take their higher incomes and spend it on trips, plunking down an average
of $4,500 on leisure travel each year — 20% more than content-indifferent travelers. Content-
sensitive travelers are also more likely to take weekend getaways and adventure trips that
include activities such as skiing, hiking, and golf — all of which rely on well-written, beautifully
photographed content.

· Are more likely to be premium hotel guests. Content-sensitive travelers view travel as an
important part of their lives and are willing to pay more for better-quality hotel stays. Fifty-
four percent view travel as an area in which to indulge themselves, compared with just 41% of
content-indifferent travelers (see Figure 2). Roughly two in five will pay above-average prices for
noticeably better-quality travel products or services, and one in three will pay more for travel
products that save time and hassle.

· Research and book more travel online. Eighty-four percent of content-sensitive travelers
are Bookers, compared with 73% of content-indifferent travelers.6 Content-sensitive Bookers
research an average of 74% of their leisure travel online — 7% more than content-indifferent
Bookers (see Figure 3). They also book more of their leisure travel online (67% versus 64%).

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Figure 1 Content-Sensitive Travelers Are Younger, Female, And Spend More On Leisure Travel

1-1 Fifty-eight percent of content-sensitive travelers are between the ages of 18 and 43
Content-sensitive Content-indifferent
travelers travelers

Male 46% 52%

Female 54% 48%

Mean age 41 46

Mean household income $95,010 $91,105

(US$)

Gen Y (18-29) 25% 15%

Gen X (30-43) 33% 29%

Younger Boomers (44-53) 21% 22%

Older Boomers (54-64) 14% 21%

Seniors (65+) 7% 13%

Base: US online leisure hotel guests

1-2 Content-sensitive travelers spent more than $4,500 on leisure travel in the past year
Content-sensitive Content-indifferent
travelers travelers
Mean number leisure hotel 2.7 2.4
trips in past 12 months
Mean number leisure 5.2 4.8
trips in past 12 months

Mean leisure travel spend $4,541 $3,791

Base: US online leisure hotel guests

Source: North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US)
53230 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

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Figure 2 Travel Is An Important Part Of Content-Sensitive Travelers’ Lives

Percent who agree with the following statements:

(4 or 5 on a scale of 1 [disagree completely] to 5 [agree completely])

Content-sensitive travelers
Content-indifferent travelers

54%
Travel is an area in which I indulge myself
41%

I will pay above-average prices for a 44%

noticeably better-quality travel product
or service 30%

I will pay above-average prices for travel 35%

products that save me time and hassles 22%

Base: US online leisure hotel guests

Source: North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US)
53230 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

Figure 3 Content-Sensitive Bookers Plan 74% Of Their Leisure Travel Online

Content-sensitive travelers
Content-indifferent travelers

74%
Percent of leisure travel researched online
69%

67%
Percent of leisure travel booked online
64%

Base: US online leisure hotel guests

Source: North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US)
53230 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

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Three Content Mistakes To Avoid

Online content should be helpful, detailed, organized, and engaging. Unfortunately, too many hotel
Web sites and online travel agencies (OTAs) do not present the most basic of information properly.
Not to mention the shortage of photos or videos of hotel properties, guest rooms, and restaurants.
Mistakes that travel eBusiness professionals should try to avoid include:

· Inadequate photography. As we examine hotel Web sites, Forrester routinely comes across
three common Web site photography flaws. A common mistake on hotel Web sites is not
presenting photos of the core product — guest rooms. While hotels may have photos for some
room types, a common mistake is lacking pictures of each different room type, like standard,
superior, and deluxe, or bed types (two double beds versus one king-sized bed) (see Figure
4). A second flaw: failing to ensure the photography is relevant. For example, a picture of a
park-view hotel room with its drapes drawn, obscuring the view. A third flaw: lacking photos
that are needed to bring written descriptions of décor, bedding, views, or features to life. If
your hotel offers Italian marble bathrooms and views of the Hollywood Hills, there should be
accompanying photos of those.

· Inadequate specifics. Hotels are complicated beasts. Depending on the property, rooms may
be of different size, have different layouts and furnishings, and offer different views. They may
offer a valet parking and self-parking, one or the other, or neither. And that parking may be
free or fee-based. Web sites are the ideal channel to communicate these details and specifics.
Nonetheless, hotel sites don’t consistently offer the detail necessary for travelers to make what
they consider to be well-informed decisions. Failure to clarify the terms or benefits for different
room types, as well as amenities like lounges, restaurants, and fitness centers, is a common, and
avoidable, mistake. Each category of room should be treated as a separate product that needs
merchandising, highlighting of its size, distinctive features, and location in the property.

· Irrelevant content. Like many other travel companies, hotels are increasingly focused on upsell
and cross-sell offers to grow revenue. Unfortunately, like airlines and other travel companies,
hotels don’t always succeed, because the content management platforms they use are not always
integrated with the other relevant systems, such as the property management system and the
Web booking engine. The result: A hotel extends a room upgrade offer to a guest — and then
requires the guest call the hotel to book because the offer can’t be reserved online — yet the
guest may then find out that the offer is already sold out.

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Figure 4 Marriott Only Offers Sample Room Type Photos

Source: Marriott Web site

53230 Source: Forrester Research, Inc.

R ecomme n datio n s

creating good content isn’t hard — you just have to focus on details
Travel companies, especially hotels, struggle with content. This is regrettable because it plays such
an important role in selling online — making it worth the time and monetary investment. Eroding
brand loyalty, an overabundance of capacity, and the stale economy all make it essential for hotels
to invest the time and resources to create the content required to get the traveler to click the
“Book now” button. To improve online travel content, eBusiness professionals should:

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· Invest in visual content. It’s one thing when the corner bar has ‘80s night. It’s another when
a hotel’s photography dates back to the era of Falcon Crest. Even if they haven’t redecorated
their properties since Wham! topped the charts, hotels must have current photography —
and, increasingly, video. Web sites are the gateway to the brand and guest experience, and
stale visual content infers that a travel provider is out of date, uncaring, and lazy. Video is
important because the next generation of travelers is particularly attuned to this medium —
18- to 29-year-old hotel guests are twice as likely as 44- to 54-year-olds to watch travel video
online.7 And video helps engage the traveler. According to Sapient, adding video to a travel
client’s site more than doubled the number of people who went on to book the product.8
Firms like VFM Leonardo and TVtrip are useful partners for visual content creation.
· Provide written context around products and features. Context helps to shift decision-
making away from price and enables travelers to make better-informed decisions.
Context means offering useful information and details and supporting making relevant
comparisons between products and services. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts does a good
job of providing context by explaining the difference between room categories and then
describing the details of each room — the floors particular rooms are located on and each
room’s views, size, and décor. For each room type, Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts includes
clearly written synopses, using words and terms easily understood by travelers rather than
industry jargon and abbreviations. As the user clicks a different description, the picture
changes to show the new room type, marrying the use of written and visual content and
setting a standard for all hotels to aspire to.

Supplemental MATERIAL
Methodology
For the North American Technographics® Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US), Forrester conducted
an online survey fielded in February 2009 of 4,634 US individuals ages 18 to 88. For results based
on a randomly chosen sample of this size (N = 4,634), there is 95% confidence that the results
have a statistical precision of plus or minus 1.4% of what they would be if the entire population
of US online individuals ages 18 and older had been surveyed. Forrester weighted the data by
age, gender, income, broadband adoption, region, and technology attitude to demographically
represent the adult US online population. The survey sample size, when weighted, was 4,621. (Note:
Weighted sample sizes can be different from the actual number of respondents to account for
individuals generally underrepresented in online panels.) Please note that this was an online survey.
Respondents who participate in online surveys have in general more experience with the Internet
and feel more comfortable transacting online. The data is weighted to be representative for the total
online population on the weighting targets mentioned, but this sample bias may produce results

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that differ from Forrester’s offline benchmark survey. The sample was drawn from members of
MarketTools’ online panel, and respondents were motivated by a sweepstakes drawing. The sample
provided by MarketTools is not a random sample. While individuals have been randomly sampled
from MarketTools’ panel for this particular survey, they have previously chosen to take part in the
MarketTools online panel.

Endnotes
1
Fewer travelers enjoy using the Web to plan and buy their trips as more travelers struggle to make sense of
offers and options. See the August 4, 2009, “Using Digital Channels To Calm The Angry Traveler” report.
2
Written content includes descriptions of products and services such as hotel guest rooms, accommodations,
amenities, and restaurant information. Visual content includes photographs, videos, or virtual tours.
3
Online leisure and unmanaged business travel sales for airline tickets, hotel/motel accommodations, cruises,
and tours will grow just 5% from 2008 to 2009 — from $84 billion to $88 billion. See the January 20, 2009,
“US Online Travel Forecast, 2008 To 2013” report.
4
Source: North American Technographics Travel And Automotive Online Survey, Q4 2008.
5
Source: North American Technographics Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US).
6
Bookers are online travelers who research and buy some portion of their travel online.
7
Source: North American Technographics Travel Online Survey, Q1 2009 (US).
8
Source: Donald Chestnut, Sapient, ATME 2009 Conference, Las Vegas, May 27-28, 2009.

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