Hoteliers are seeing the benefits of online advertising as they increasingly drive bookings through property websites. As a result, they are ramping up the marketing spend in that area, according to survey results by market intelligence provider TravelClick.
Two-thirds of the global hoteliers polled (66%) are now spending on Facebook advertising, and almost one-quarter (23%) have increased their Facebook ad budget for 2014. At the same time, TravelClick research suggests 40% of hoteliers have not increased their spend on Facebook year over year. John Hach, senior vice president of Global Product Management for TravelClick, added that some hoteliers are slow to spend on Facebook advertising because it is currently seen more as a brand awareness tactic than a direct-booking tactic.
Online marketing spend is a growing trend with three-quarters of the surveyed hoteliers (76%) focusing on metasearch, and within that a third are increasing that spend for this year (32%). Similarly, more than four in every five hoteliers polled (84%) invests in ad words with one in three (32%) increasing that spend for 2014.
When asked which social media channels drive the most bookings to their property websites, the overwhelming leader was TripAdvisor with more than three-quarters (78%) of respondents singling out the travel review site. Both Facebook and Google+ were also named as sites that drive bookings with 11% of hoteliers selecting each of those social networks.
Hach said that hoteliers should consider TripAdvisor as a key social media platform to strengthen their brand. “This channel is now becoming fully integrated into the social media marketing mix,” he said.