Hotel meta-search is the future for bookings

Tourists are becoming more and more demanding regarding their travel bookings. Indeed, they need to easily have access to a sufficient database and they need to compare prices. However, the only way for internet users to do it was to find themselves their own resources through the search engine they used.

Recently a “new” tool has been used to make easier the booking process for tourists. This tool is known as meta-search engine.

What is a meta-search engine?

A meta-search engine is a tool that enables the Internet users to ask for one criteria and access several search engines’ databases simultaneously.   

Is it a new tool?

Absolutely not. Mamma.com was the first meta-search engine created by Herman Tumurcuoglu in Quebec and was commercialized in 1996.

But as many tools for tourism it took time for marketers and companies to understand the potential benefits. As a result, it is only since a few years that meta-search engines are used for tourism destinations.

What are the benefits?

This engine enables consumers to access a more accurate database for their research. They do not have to look for different websites in order to find the best price. The meta-search engine will have already gather the prices for different booking websites.

For hotel companies the meta-search engines can be considered as a new distribution partner. Indeed, once the customer is given the best possible information, the decision making process is fasten. The next step for the customer is the payment, which means the monetization of the booking process.

What are the trends and well-known actors?

Google launched in the end 2013 a new meta-search capability within Google Maps that enables consumers to get flight prices while looking for different routes. This is only the first step of a broader meta-search process. They will try to gather hotel information for the next step.

TripAdvisor gave its business an edge in hotel meta-search. While looking for a hotel on TripAdvisor, the customer is now given a price comparison sometimes between more than 10 booking websites! What does it mean? As we have said previously, it means that the customer does not have to lose time looking through 10 different websites – 5 of which he or she has never heard about – and feels like he or she has the most accurate information. Thus all the distribution channel is simplified and the monetization is accelerated. 

Sources: 

http://skift.com/2013/02/13/tripadvisor-shakes-up-business-with-aggressive-hotel-metasearch-integration/

http://www.tourism-review.com/hotel-marketers-top-three-metasearch-trends--news3758

http://www.eyefortravel.com/distribution-strategies/new-frontiers-how-meta-search-upping-its-game

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?rep=rep1&type=pdf&doi=10.1.1.205.17

Eleven meetings technology trends to watch for 2011

The article was written by Corbin Ball, a consultant, writer and speaker focusing on event and meetings technology. The purpose of this article is to inform actors of this industry about the latest technology to help people improve productivity and save time.

After years and years of backwardness, the MICE industry is now trying to catch the train regarding new technology. To succeed in this, let’s try to analyze what could be the 2011 trends that would help meeting planners as well as all the protagonist of the Events world.

Web-based software + Freeconomics trend

A great change has been taking place over the last few years. In the past, meeting software programs were “custom-installed”. Nowadays, PCO and meeting planners can find cheaper and easier web solutions they need to run an event. Low cost or even free meetings and trade show software with more storage capacity than it was before, allow them to be more efficient while working on specific event planning tasks such as the whole online registration process for example. ( i.e : http://www.corbinball.com/bookmarks/).

Mobile apps for meetings

Due to the Smartphone expansion, mobile phone applications have been skyrocketing over the year 2010. Smartphones are used as “micro computer” and meeting planners as well as attendees and exhibitor can use several applications to get in touch with one particular aspect of the event. (i.e: networking, electronic ticketing, audience polling, surveys, pocket programs, pocket exhibit guides…

This kind of mobile apps can also be used as location-based to help the protagonists of an event to find the location of venues and accommodations – especially for business travelers for whom it could be very helpful and beneficial…

I.e: Goggles uses augmented reality to find accommodation thanks to photo recognition added to a GPS.

IPad and tablet PCs

Touch sensitive technology such as the I-pad is following the I-phone success story. The comparative advantages of this new kind of technology are: its weight, it’s easy to input while walking and can be easily used as a survey pool for example. (i.e : Quickmobile.com offers - especially designed for I-pad- conference pooling and online registration.)

HD video for hybrid meetings will bloom.

Skype’s latest version provides a HD solution for better video conference quality and also it allows up to four participants to communicate simultaneously. This technology will enable speakers not being able to attend the meeting to interfere with other speaker. Another important factor is that prices for new technologies decrease steadily and that internet connections increase reliability. Please follow this video in order to see one example for a high definition face-to-face virtual meeting space presented by the Starwood and Marriott hotels: http://bit.ly/QV7n7.

Social media is working into the mainstream for events.

Social media are playing an important role in our lives and especially in the meetings industry o

f today. Despite some meeting planner who have not yet understood how to use these media efficiently, the coming year will see an increased usage of the three most famous – Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Hootsuite (www.hootsuite.com) and other social media aggregators will be used increasingly as meeting professional try to manage multiple accounts more effectively.

Online collaboration tools will begin to replace email as a primary project management tool for events.

E-mail is an old tool which does not correspond to our needs of today. Wikis (collaborative websites will emerge as much more efficient ways of tacking conference logistics and other details among geographically meeting planners and suppliers. Furthermore, several other tools as Google Docs will see increased importance in the meeting planners’ life.

Speaker and content management systems are being adopted.

Historically, there are many separate tasks, in setting up programming for large events, each with lots of data management required, such as speaker selection, arranging program, checking audiovisuals etc. Fortunately, there are a number of companies (including Content Management Inc. www.cmcgc.com, OmniPress www.omnipress, One World Presentation Management www.owpm.com and others) that combine most or all of these tasks under a unified system greatly increasing the efficiency.

Strategic meetings management and ROI measurement is expanded and refined to improve meetings.

New is that there are several companies which are developing web-based SMMP tools with a range of pricing models (including Certain Software www.certain.com, Cvent www.cvent.com, and SignUp4 www.signup4.com). The increased competition in this field will provide better meeting procurement tools at lower costs. In addition, these new tools will improve the business process, make it more efficient by reducing wasted time. Since ROI become increasingly important for companies, ROI measurement tools are being offered. For example, MeetingMetrics (www.meetingmetrix.com) has just introduced MyROI designed to provide attendees measurement tools to track their ROI from meetings attended.

Face-to-face meetings and tradeshows will remain viable

Virtual meeting and web conferencing usage is up and conference attendance is down in these economically challenging times. However, meetings and tradeshows can still provide the best value for your education, networking, and sales budgets. Events offer unparalleled opportunities to build relationships, to brainstorm, to network. The events, tradeshow and hospitality industries are relationship-based and bring the different actors together. Although webinars are good for short information exchange, meetings offer a much richer learning experience. Meetings provide a vastly richer, more targeted, and more focused learning experience than any virtual meeting.

To conclude, we can learn from this article that there are many new technologies improving the efficiency of the meetings industry. However, these trends for new tools cannot be seen as a threat to real face to face meetings which bring special value to the meetings industry.

We chose this article because we believe that it is very important to be aware of these trends in order to adapt and not be overwhelmed by these new technologies and by the competition already using it.

New technologies: separating us or bringing us closer together?

The technology revolution we are living started only 30 years ago. To compare, the industrial revolution needed 150years to succeed! Things are changing in a very deep way: the attendees to events and the people in general take control of everything: what to do, with whom, what to buy, at which price, on which channel… Corbin Ball, independent 3^rd-party analyst focusing on meetings and tradeshow technology, shares his knowledge on his website (www.corbinball.com).

Through an article based on the I-pad, we want to ask ourselves the question “How to use technology and adapt it to our professional and private lives?” It is a challenge for all of us, not only the Y Generation. We have decided to confront our ideas about this usage in general and in the events industry in particular.

Is the speedy evolution an opportunity or a threat? What advantages and constraints do you see in the usage of all these new technologies?

This development of new technology is going too fast. We are aware that we can’t stop it, it is there, but scary. With all these technologies, we forget the most important: face-to-face communication and interaction. Technology is everywhere in our today lives, we are hidden behind our laptops, tablets, smartphones... When we are travelling and we want to discover something, we do not ask our way to real people any more, we ask internet or our applications. Moreover, “meeting people” almost disappears with this technology explosion.

Additionally, there are no longer any barriers between private and professional life: our boss can contact us anytime, anywhere regardless of traditional work hours.

The absence of brochures, although it is very good for the environment, makes the product less tangible and authentic for people who like to see and touch. Furthermore, the virtualization of meetings and negotiations make networking and deals less real and concrete.

On the other hand, I.T offers great opportunities for businesses. We have to be greener and new technologies encourage people to forget paper. Moreover, in the tourism and event industry, we are selling intangible goods and experiences. Experiences are not lived through brochures, but through people and actual discovery. In addition, thanks to these technologies, people can share personal information very quickly: time is money, no time to lose it! It is now easier to share content; distributing notes after a conference for instance.

Thanks to tablets (and social networking media), it is now possible to involve people from all over the world in professional worldwide events. I-Pad will become “a natural tool for audience members to post questions to speakers (either via a tweet stream, SMS, or other channel)”, having answers live, without even being in the same room or the same continent! The world is becoming smaller thanks to technologies and it leads to new businesses opportunities. The access to technology is easier for everyone, even those who can’t afford to travel regularly all over the world to meet relevant people and businesses. It is still a green approach: people now need to fly less in order to meet partners in “real life” to finalize deals!

With tablets, travelling is easier: no heavy documentations to carry and less content restrictions than a traditional brochure . You can have all types of information with you all the time. For instance, when a hotelier meets a prospect, he can show him in a very precise way all the facilities of his hotel and the fees agreement possible. Moreover, in very large exhibitions like ITB for instance, thanks to GPS applications adapted to the booths maps, it is no longer necessary to carry maps: your technology tells you where you are and how to reach your point of interest in the most convenient way!

Images from:

http://www.hotel-seminaire-alsace.com/videoconference-web-ou-reunion-face-a-face/videoconference

http://blog.tigglobal.com/index.php/uncategorized/eye-on-the-industry-the-next-wave-in-the-mobile-boom-are-you-ready/

MingleStick, friend or foe?

Information technology has improved the way conferences and meetings are held, conducted and presented; the Internet being probably the biggest contributor to it by far. Yet, when looking at the networking process of current conferences, it is recognizable that technology has not been adopted. In November of the previous year, during the TEDxMiami, a conference and fair hosted by the non-profit organization called TED, networking has gone through a developing stage.

In the article entitled “ TEDx Miami (TEDxMIA) Provided MingleStick Networking Solution to all Conference Attendees” it is stated how a new business card similar object has been introduced to the participants of the conference. This device, produced by Mingle360 enables attendees to “connect” with one click of a button and pull photos, e-mail address, phone number and even the website of the desired contact. This piece of technology should help the participants in the networking process.

Although this piece of equipment can come in handy, there are a few different aspects that need to be taken into consideration. It is these aspects that need further discussion before calling the MingleStick a useful tool for networking.

On the one side the business card like device can help the flow of information, making it easier for people to get acquainted and keep in touch. Among so many participants at such a gathering it becomes tedious to ask the same questions over and over. Not to mention the amount of business cards gathered, cards that can easily get lost, and in so loosing the much needed business connection with that person. For these cases, the MingleStick is possibly the invention of the century. It’s effective, saves time and you can be sure that you won’t even have to worry about a misplaced card anymore.

Yet on the other hand, this device interferes with basically the last human related aspect of the event industry. Video-conferencing, blow up screens, even holograms are standard items during such an event, yet over the years the human aspect has not been stripped away. With such a handy object, safely tucked away in your pocket, you won’t feel the need to through the conventional portals; you won’t be persuaded to have a simple conversation. The “Hello, my name is x” factor is taken out of the equation and the attendee might as well not even bother to spend that amount of money for a flight, accommodation and participation fee to actually be there.

So in the end the question we have to ask ourselves is, how much does this device help and how much does it cripple us in our networking attempts?