The early days of the pandemic saw a rapid shift to direct booking as travelers sought the most up-to-date information from travel providers.
The jury is still out on how far hotels will be able to capitalize on the trend and nurture those direct bookers or whether distribution will swing back in favor of the online travel giants.
Peter O’Connor, professor of strategy at the University of South Australia joined the
PhocusWire Pulse: Emerging Innovation
event in December to discuss travel marketing tactics.
O’Connor, who is also a senior analyst for Phocuswright, talked of the likelihood of OTAs regaining momentum and the tools they might employ.
He also discusses the power of Google and whether OTAs can lessen their reliance on paid marketing going forward and find efficient and cheaper ways of marketing.
While there is little originality in travel marketing in travel marketing, O’Connor believes hotels and intermediaries will employ social media and subscriptions more intelligently to attract and retain customers.
He also touches on metasearch and the need for existing players to find their place in the face of increased competition from Google.
Watch the full interview with PhocusWire senior reporter Linda Fox below...
PhocusWire Pulse: Emerging Innovation - Marketing tactics to look out for