More hotels 'set to adopt online marketing strategies'

06/08/2008

A travel industry executive has predicted that take-up of online marketing tools will increase among hotels in the future.

Barbara Pezzi, director of web marketing and e-commerce for Swissotel Hotels & Resorts, told Eyefortravel.com in an interview that hotels will become more focused on generating revenue and brand recognition from search and social media in particular, m-travel.com reports.

She said that her own organisation had revamped its search engine optimisation strategy to keep in line with a recently redesigned website and claimed hotel marketers will become savvier when it comes to Web 2.0, although pay-per-click will still be an important part of online marketing programs.

"We hoteliers, apart from few exceptions, have been quite slow to embrace Web 2.0," Ms Pezzi stated.

"Marketing to bloggers, widgets for social networks, personalisation, to name a few, will all have to be taken into account."

Consumers are making more budget hotel bookings online as the effects of the credit crunch continue to bite into their finances, according to a recent comScore study, suggesting that hotels would do well to change their online marketing strategies in light of this.