Summary of LUXURY HOTELS US 2017 Report
Core Content Overview
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the digital performance of luxury hotel brands in the United States in 2017, focusing on discovery, path to purchase, content, retention, and digital IQ ranking. It highlights the competitive landscape between brands, OTAs, and metasearch platforms, emphasizing the importance of digital strategies in driving direct bookings and customer engagement.
Main Categories & Key Metrics
1. Discovery
- Top discovery channels: Brand search, Google Hotel Finder, and metasearch/OTAs.
- Google Hotel Finder:
- Has become a critical platform for SEM managers, with click volume relative to ad spend matching TripAdvisor.
- Brands should optimize for second-order visibility and consider sponsored listings on Google Hotel Finder.
- Geographic inconsistency: Index brands showed inconsistent performance across different regions, with better results for US destinations.
2. Path to Purchase
- Luxury hotels are focusing on simplifying the booking process and capturing customers at the upper funnel.
- Key features include:
- Global map of available destinations.
- Destination search bars and auto-complete functionality.
- Interactive maps and content-rich property pages with booking boxes.
- These features help build customer loyalty and demonstrate the brand's geographic reach.
3. Content
- Web advertising: Brands are increasing their use of desktop and mobile impressions, with a shift toward programmatic ads.
- Social media:
- Facebook: High interaction rates and active posting strategies.
- Instagram: Engagement per post and community growth.
- YouTube: Organic video views and improved search visibility.
- Content types: User-generated content, property pages, and destination guides are emphasized.
4. Retention
- Email marketing:
- Luxury hotel brands outperformed the travel industry average with an email open rate of 28%.
- Hilton, Marriott, and Jumeirah had the highest open rates (over 40%).
- Email campaigns are frequent (average 5 per week), with some brands sending less than one per week.
- Mobile optimization:
- Features like click-to-book and click-to-call are increasingly important for mobile users.
- Brands like Canyon Ranch have optimized their email for mobile engagement.
- Loyalty programs:
- Hilton Honors and World of Hyatt are highlighted as successful examples.
- Brands are investing in loyalty features and personalized offers.
Digital IQ Ranking
| Rank |
Brand |
Digital IQ |
| 1 |
MARRIOTT |
150 |
| 2 |
FOUR SEASONS |
143 |
| 3 |
Hilton |
138 |
| 4 |
Fairmont, Sheraton |
137 |
| 6 |
JW MARRIOTT, INTERCONTINENTAL |
133, 131 |
| 8 |
WESTIN |
130 |
| 9 |
S O F I T E L, OMNI HOTELS |
122, 122 |
AVERAGE (90-109)
| Rank |
Brand |
Digital IQ |
| 24 |
WALDORF ASTORIA, CONRAD |
107, 106 |
| 26 |
Radisson BLU |
105 |
| 27 |
AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION |
104 |
| 28 |
swissotel, TRUMP HOTELS |
100, 100 |
| 30 |
Jumeirah |
99 |
CHALLENGED (70-89)
| Rank |
Brand |
Digital IQ |
| 31 |
RENAISSANCE® HOTELS, WYNDHAM® |
96, 96 |
| 33 |
THE LEADING HOTELS OF THE WORLD |
90 |
| 34 |
Raffles |
88 |
| 35 |
ANDAZ, MERIDIAN |
86, 86 |
| 37 |
BELMOND, RELAIS & CHATEAUX |
85, 85 |
FEEBLE (<70)
| Rank |
Brand |
Digital IQ |
| 40 |
THE LUXURY COLLECTION, SMALL LUXURY HOTELS |
81, 81 |
| 42 |
PARK HYATT, & WARWICK HOTELS |
79, 79 |
| 44 |
Dorchester Collection |
76 |
Key Findings
- Digital IQ as a competitive differentiator: Brands with higher Digital IQ scores (Genius and Gifted) are more innovative and effective in digital strategies.
- Shift in advertising: Desktop advertising has shifted from 30% programmatic to 60%, aligning with mobile trends.
- Email marketing: A key retention tool with high open rates and strategic data collection.
- Mobile optimization: Essential for capturing bookings and improving customer service accessibility.
- Google Hotel Finder: Increasingly important for direct bookings and brand visibility.
Strategic Insights
- Loyalty programs: Effective in driving repeat business and customer engagement.
- Content strategy: Brands are leveraging video, user-generated content, and destination guides to enhance visibility and customer experience.
- Social media: Facebook and Instagram are critical for brand interaction and community growth.
- OTA vs. direct bookings: Luxury hotels aim to provide a better customer experience than OTAs by focusing on curated content and features.
Methodology & Tools
- Digital IQ Index: A benchmarking tool used to evaluate brand performance across various digital metrics.
- L2 Digital IQ Index: Analyzes performance in discovery, path to purchase, content, and retention.
- L2 Membership: Provides access to research reports, benchmarking indexes, and advisory support for digital strategies.
Takeaways
- Luxury hotel brands must continue to innovate and optimize digital presence across all platforms.
- Google Hotel Finder and TripAdvisor are key in the discovery phase, with Google catching up in click volume.
- Email marketing and mobile optimization are vital for customer retention and engagement.
- Programmatic advertising is becoming more prevalent, especially on desktop.
- Brands with higher Digital IQ scores (Genius and Gifted) are leading in digital transformation and customer-centric strategies.
