10 Conclusions from the Congress of Spanish Hoteliers
As we know that you are very tight of time and sure very saturated of information, from BEONx we decided to save time to our followers and to visit the Congress of Spanish Hoteliers of Salamanca (CEHAT).
Our main objective has been to extract the latest novelties in the tourism sector from the hand of the leading companies and institutions of the national and international panorama. Here are 10 of the key ideas from the event so that you can take advantage of the conclusions of this experience without even having to attend in person. Let’s go!
1. The mobile phone as a sales channel and interaction with the customer. A piece of information provided by Sandra Manresa, Industry Head of Travel at Google Spain, where she defines the use of mobile technology by travellers very well: “Every day we check our mobile phone 150 times -on average-, which means that it has become a behaviour”. The future of the mobile phone is directed towards voice navigation and personal assistants.
2. Programmatic purchasing to adapt the offer to the customer. According to Toni Raurich, Marketing Director for Europe at Booking, the market is moving towards user-to-user sales. The aim is to offer the right product at the right time at the right price according to artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.
3. It bets on the Offline connecting with the Agencies at street level. The saturation of the online marketplace leads companies specializing in online distribution to seek new business opportunities. An example of this trend is the Google or Amazon stores.
In the travel sector we can see examples such as Booking and its program for working with travel agents.
4. The main activities in the destination for 2017. Movements such as those made by the Airbnb platform through its Trips project, the activities section within the Kayak meta-search engine or the acquisition of Viator by Tripadvisor show us how next year will be very interesting in relation to which of these players will obtain better results from the activities at destination.
5. Personalization through the identification of profiles. According to Fernando Cuesta, General Manager of Amadeus Spain: “It is important to work with different profiles depending on the type of trip when many actors, including hotels, interact in order to offer a personalized product”. Therefore, the identification of actors and the ability to adapt the offer is key to improving the satisfaction of the traveler.
6. The intelligence of companies through data analysis. The use and analysis of data is a challenge for the implementation of knowledge in production processes. Fernando Cuesta, General Manager of Amadeus Spain, highlights the importance of the intelligence behind the data and how it can allow us to connect with the customer permanently through the multiple devices he uses.
7. Public-private commitment to stability and innovation. In the words of Juan Molas, President of CEHAT: “It is necessary, on the part of the Government and the Autonomous Communities, that fiscal policies be proposed that guarantee the stability of present and future activity”. It also highlights the importance of the commitment in the public-private relationship led by the figure of Turespaña
8. Analysis of the concept of “collaborative economy” as a means of improvement. From a very critical point of view in terms of regulation, this phenomenon was approached from a point of view of improvement towards the hotel sector. According to José Ángel Preciados, Managing Director of Ilunion Hotels, the collaborative economy is “an incentive to regenerate our business models. The administration has to provide a solution but the sector has to come together and get more involved.
9. The sustainability of business models as a differentiating factor. In the words of Álvaro Carrillo de Albornoz, director general of ITH: “Sustainability is increasingly valued by both companies and guests, becoming an important element of differentiation in the establishments, to which it contributes an added value that contributes to the positioning of its brand”. Therefore, the structures and technologies used in the hotel should be readjusted, both in terms of social responsibility and the interest it arouses in potential clients.
10. Identify the possibilities offered by the technological traveller. In accordance with the approach proposed at the table “The profitability of the room minute by minute”, of which our CEO Rubén Sánchez was a member, the possibilities and alternatives offered by technology to travellers were analysed, as well as the companies that are committed to adapting the product to its needs. In the case of BEONx and quoting Rubén’s words: “Revenue must be in the DNA of every establishment, maximising profit according to the traveller’s perception is key to balancing the price in relation to the market”.
