This document outlines 5 rock solid reasons for hotel content marketing according to Google. It summarizes that content is important throughout a traveler's customer journey from dreaming and planning a trip to booking, experiencing, and sharing about their travel. The document provides examples of how hotels can create content for each stage of the customer journey, such as destination guides for planning, virtual tours for booking, event listings for experiencing, and social media accounts for sharing. The overall message is that content marketing can engage travelers at all stages and convert them into loyal, profitable customers for hotels.

1. CONTENT
SELLS
NIGHTS
Google’s 5 Rock Solid Reasons
for Hotel Content Marketing
Showcases Series, Frank Delmelle, Content Strategist sQills.be

2. ’s 5 rock solid reasons for
HOTEL CONTENT MARKETING

3. From New Zealand to South Africa, throughout Europe
and across the Atlantic, the global travel industry needs help.
With airfares and accommodation prices increasing,
people are becoming more savvy about how they’re spending
their travel money.
Gone are the days where you simply saw
a few images of a place in a travel magazine,
only to quickly make your booking and jump on the next plane
with packed luggage and high expectations.
http://deegeedeeconsulting.com/why-the-travel-industry-needs-content-marketing/

4. Content is the trigger
throughout the traveler's
customer journey
The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012

5. Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012
1. Dreaming

6. 62% of travelers watch videos from hotels,
airlines, cruises, tours etc.
http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-2012-traveler.html
More than 1⁄2 of travelers brainstormed
or started thinking about a trip online
Source: The Traveler’s Road to Decision, Google and Ipsos MediaCT July 2012, http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-
traveler_research-studies.pdf
“ALMOST HALF OF TRAVELLERS ARE
INFLUENCED BY TRAVEL PROVIDERS’ CONTENT.”
http://infographicsmania.com/content-marketing-in-travel-industry/

7. Travel query volume
on tablet will have
increased 180%
by the end of 2013
Source: Google Data, https://docs.google.com/
viewer?url=http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/
the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdfchrome=true

8. MARRIOTT HOTEL,
AUTOGRAPH
COLLECTION
HOTEL MAGAZINE
“It’s as if Murphy and AmEx
crew had been handed a
riddle: A brand that’s not a
brand; hotel customers who
don’t need to be reminded
that they’re customers in a
hotel; and a hotel magazine
without a whiff of hotel
magazine elements.”
http://autographhotelmagazine.com; http://blog.customcontentcouncil.com/?p=3107
Dreaming content benchmark case

9. Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012
2. Planning

10. 83% of leisure travelers
and 76% of business travelers plan online
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdf
96% OF LEISURE TRAVELERS HAVE STARTED
THEIR HOTEL PLANNING WITH SEARCH
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdf
55 percent are influenced by content
they find through internet search…
http://info.text100.com/Portals/162056/docs/Text100DigitalIndexTravelTourismStudTOP10Final.pdf
When planning trips, 68% of travelers
use social media for inspiration on hotels.
http://infographicsmania.com/content-marketing-in-travel-industry/
Half of travellers download travel apps
before jetting off.
http://infographicsmania.com/content-marketing-in-travel-industry/

11. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/concierge-insider-guides/id403370724?mt=8affId=1736887
Features:
- view personal local concierge recommendations for over 120 destinations
- see video tours hosted by the concierge for each destination
- see an interactive map of recommended shops, restaurants and local attractions
- see a concierge’s perfect day (morning, afternoon and evening) for each location
- see insider tips (local culture, what to pack and interesting facts)
- select your destination from an interactive globe
- view details and book rooms at the nearest InterContinental hotel or resort
INTERCONTINENTAL®
CONCIERGE
INSIDER GUIDES
IPAD APP
“From the finest
restaurants, chicest
shops and trendiest
nightspots to insider
tips on local culture,
attractions and events,
plan your trip with
Recommendations
from the
InterContinental
Concierges.”
Planning content benchmark case:

12. Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012
3. Booking

13. 56% of travelers say “always start my travel booking
and shopping process with search”
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdf
49 PERCENT OF PEOPLE BOOKING HOTELS ARE
INFLUENCED BY THE CONTENT THEY READ ON
A HOTEL’S OR TRAVEL AGENCY’S WEBSITE…
http://deegeedeeconsulting.com/why-the-travel-industry-needs-content-marketing/
By 2016, 72m Americans will research travel
and 36m will book travel on smartphones
Sources: Google Internal data, IpsosMediaCT 2012, MediaPost August 2012, TravelWeekly 2012, eMarketer Aug 2012,
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/think-travel-mobile-one-sheet_research-studies.pdf

14. 66% of leisure travelers plan to spend more time shopping
around/researching before booking travel because “finding
value for my money is important to me” (vs. 59% in 2011)
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdf
42% OF LEISURE TRAVELERS
ENROLLED IN HOTEL LOYALTY PROGRAMS
(BUSINESS TRAVELERS: 68%)
http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-2012-traveler.html
Online shoppers viewing virtual tours
and videos are 115% more likely to book.
http://vfmleonardo.com/hotel-giraffe-success-story

15. HOTEL GIRAFFE’S
MULTIPLATFORM VISUAL
VIRTUAL TOUR
“From TripAdvisor to Yahoo!
Travel, Hotel Giraffe consistently
displays a combination of rich
visual and written content (…)
The content that used to only be
available on hotelgiraffe.com,
is now communicated across
thousands of online channels –
travel research sites, media sites,
OTAs etc. to countless travel
shoppers every day.
At a time when travelers are
particularly value-conscious,
the (AV) content can be what
wins you the bookings!”
http://vfmleonardo.com/hotel-giraffe-success-story; http://www.hotelgiraffe.com/virtual-tour.html
Booking content benchmark case:

16. Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012
4. Experiencing

17. 33% of traveller’s surf the (mobile) web for research purposes
even when on holiday.
http://infographicsmania.com/content-marketing-in-travel-industry/
38% of leisure travelers and 57% of business travelers use a
mobile device to access internet for travel information.
http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-2012-traveler.html
38% OF TRAVELERS USE CITY GUIDE APPS
DURING VACATION (#2 BEHIND GOOGLE MAPS / GPS 40%)
http://info.text100.com/Portals/162056/docs/Text100DigitalIndexTravelTourismStudTOP10Final.pdf
Over 40% of travelers globally chose a vacation activity based
on how fun it looked.
http://info.text100.com/Portals/162056/docs/Text100DigitalIndexTravelTourismStudTOP10Final.pdf

18. http://renaissance-hotels.marriott.com/r-life
RENAISSANCE
HOTELS (MARRIOTT),
RLIVE LIVE
“Emerging artists.
Unique events.
Surprising discoveries
in your hotel.”
“Link up with us on
Facebook and hear
about all upcoming
events.”
Experiencing content
benchmark case:

19. Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012
5. Sharing

20. 63 PERCENT OF PEOPLE ARE INFLUENCED BY
RECOMMENDATIONS / OTHER'S TESTIMONIALS
http://deegeedeeconsulting.com/why-the-travel-industry-needs-content-marketing/; http://infographicsmania.com/content-marketing-in-travel-industry/
40% of leisure travelers read reviews from other travelers.
http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-2012-traveler.html
48% of travelers watch videos made by people like me
http://www.google.com/think/research-studies/the-2012-traveler.html
82% of hotel brands have created a presence on Instagram.
Leading hotel brands’ presence on Instagram has increased
by more than fourfold since last year
http://blog.revinate.com/2013/03/announcing-instagram-integration-in-revinate.html; http://brand-e.biz/leading-hotel-brands-up-presence-on-instagram_25984.html
34% of travel apps are downloaded
following referral from friends
http://ssl.gstatic.com/think/docs/the-2012-traveler_research-studies.pdf

21. 47% of travelers share videos
or photos during their vacation,
52% after their vacation.
http://info.text100.com/Portals/162056/docs/Text100DigitalIndexTravelTourismStudTOP10Final.pdf

22. http://info.text100.com/Portals/162056/docs/Text100DigitalIndexTravelTourismStudTOP10Final.pdf

23. http://instagram.com/fourseasons/
http://magazine.fourseasons.com/; http://gb.zinio.com/www/browse/product.jsp?rf=schproductId=500727928
FOUR SEASONS
ON INSTAGRAM*
Sharing content benchmark case 1

24. http://www.citizenmag.com/
CITIZEN M’S
CITIZENMAG
Sharing content
benchmark case 2

25. More inspiring hotel content marketing cases?
RADISSON BLU EDWARDIAN, LONDON GUIDE
NH HOTELES, BEDSIDE STORIES
@SHANGRILAHOTELS ON INSTAGRAM
RENAISSANCE HOTELS, RNAVIGATORS
GRAND VELAS RIVIERA MAYA ON PINTEREST
ATLANTIS/THE PALM, DUBAI ON FACEBOOK
…
http://renaissance-
hotels.marriott.com/; http://
www.radissonblu-edwardian.com/
feature.do?feature=london-guides;
http://www.socialwatchlist.com/
category/hotel/

26. Content is the trigger
throughout the traveler's
customer journey
The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012

27. Convert
your audience
into smarter,
more loyal
and MORE
PROFITABLE
CUSTOMERS.
Get content.
Get
sQills, part of Sanoma
0032 (0)15 67 83 77
info@sqills.be Source visual: The Traveler’s Road to Decision,
Google Ipsos MediaCT July 2012