Revolution UK Interviews Me On PPC

Had an phone interview with one of their reporters when I was in the UK in July. Here is part of the online piece:

==============
Millennium Hotels experiments with PPC to boost ROI

Revolution UK 03-Sep-07

Joe Nguyen used his background in search and web site development to ramp up search activity at Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, when he joined the global chain of 110 hotels last November as director of e-commerce. Netbooster was selected to work with Millennium Hotels to manage PPC campaigns for Europe, New Zealand and Singapore.

From the outset, Nguyen decided to focus on four key performance indicators (KPIs) - impressions, click-through rates, percentage of conversions and return on investment (ROI)...
=============

The full online article can be found here (free registration required). I think another version of it may be in the printed edition this month. If ya got it, please email me. :-)

UPDATE: Here's the printed case study...


Digg This Post

Skype for hotel websites (?)

There is an interesting discussion (login required) on WIWIH regarding putting in Skype into your hotel websites. It was sparked off by a posting on Guillaume Thevenot's blog posting on Skype the Chelsea. Here's my 2 cents worth.


With the explosive growth of Skype since it launched in 2003 (500 million downloads!!) and was bought by eBay for USD 3 billion, the inclusion into a hotel website seems like a "no-brainer". Then again "no-brainer" could mean >>>>>>

So there are a couple of major things holding it back:

1) The quality of a Skype call is inconsistent. Hey, I have used it for years now and have a SkypeOut and set up a SkypeIn account with an LA telephone number for my grandfather in Vietnam (so that his kids in the US can call a US number and reach Ben Tre, Vietnam). I put in a WiFi Skype phone so that he does not even need a computer. But using it is a pain; it's like using a CB radio: "10-4 Grandpa. How are you, grandpa? Joe, out"... And the quality is usually bad. I guess if you are in the US calling the US, or UK calling UK, it might be better. But as a business/customer service line?... That can be annoying. But then again, it's more or less FREE! (unless you use SkypeIn or SkypeOut). And it is better than having no toll-free line, right?

2) Process - To install and set up Skype in your reservations office or call center, you need to train up people and also requires new processes. And we all know change is bad. Look at what happened to MJ:


3) The biggest problem may be the hotels' IT and Finance. In my former life selling online solutions to hotels, I have come across many hotel groups. Here are some points that are relevant to the adoption of Skype and similar technologies:

* Most hotels' IT infrastructure is pretty outdated. Old computers, old servers, old hubs and old switches. Some of these computers used by staff do not even have sound cards. (Saved that $25 dollars a few years ago didn't we?)
* But mainly old mindset. The hotel IT managers will not let Instant messaging, Adobe Flash, and other plug-ins and programs be installed. They also notoriously filter content. There are of course good reasons for doing these things, but I feel that there is a certain element of overzealous control issues at play. Ever heard of CITRIX? 'nuff said...
* Hotels' IT are also very tight on the bandwidth. This may be less true of US hotels now, but many hotels are still very stingy on net access by their employees. Probably related to the point above.
* Skype aside, there are other technologies out there worth exploring... eStara (inbound call routing) and LivePersons (chats on website) are a couple of things I would love to have. But then.... IN COMES THE BEANCOUNTERS.

Corporate issues aside, Skype makes a lot of sense and seem more doable for individual hotels or small groups that have savvy IT and finance people, or at least ones that can drag their IT and finance teams kicking and screaming into the 21st century...


Digg This Post

USA Today: "Travelers arrive at Facebook"

So USA today has a big scoop that people are using Facebook.com to talk about their travels and share where they have been. It talks about the Facebook applications like "Where I've Been", TripAdvisor's "Cities I've Visited", and TravelPod's "Traveler IQ Challenge". It talks about "Where I've Been's" 2.6 million download and rumored $3 million deals. It lists Web 2.0 companies like Sidestep and Couchswap. It quotes John DiScala of Johnnyjet.com. Hey, it even quotes PhoCusWright saying that Facebook.com "is certainly making an impact on travel".

Ok hoteliers, let's go out there and join facebook and get your hotels on "Where I've Been" and "Cities I've Visited". You have to. Everyone is doing it! You are missing the boat!! The OTAs are getting on!!! Your competitors are getting on!!!!

Whoa... hold on here. Take a deep breath... now breath out while chanting "OOommm...". Repeat 5 times and let the sound vibrate throughout your lungs...

OK... So what does this really mean? So I know what Facebook is. I re-registered recently (since I lost/forgot my first registration a year or so ago. This rarely happens to other people. Nah. Just silly ol' me). I started looking around for the three mentioned applications. Well unless you know your way around, you aren't going to find the Applications easily. So those hoteliers registering for Facebook for the first time because of this article, don't give up. You will find it.

Anyhow, these applications - just like a social networking app should - allows you to share where you have been and connect it to your profile and share it with your friends. Travel IQ is a contest which is more about geography than travel, but hey, it's better than working. So you can load up a world map with places you have been and share it with your "network" which might be 2 people or 100 people. They may do up their own "map'o'world according to me" and share it back with you. Maybe you chat with each other and wind up thinking about going to that place or even that hotel that your "friend" recommended - because you want the EXACT experience that he/she had.

So you start looking at hotels. There's TripAdvisor selling Expedia stuff. You check the rates quickly there but it doesn't seem as cheap as your friend had told you. Then you google the hotel and start your search there - just like you do every time you plan your travel. But at least you have good an idea of what you are getting into and where you are going.

However, the fact of the matter is:
1) There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of these "networks". Everyone has their own groups and friends.
2) You can not jump into people's maps and promote yourself if you are not a member of that network
3) The above works because these entities develop applications that the members use and promote VIRALLY. Not unlike Widgets.
4) Hey these apps get traffic. "Where I've Been" gets over 90,000 daily users and "Cities I've Visited" gets over 40,000 daily users. But remember, they only see what is in their network; they don't see what everyone puts up.

For a consumer, it's great. If you are an intermediary, it's another R&D project that you need to get into in order to keep that traffic going to your site; because once the person is in your site, you can offer them tons of stuff and lots of choices.

But what's in it for a hotelier? What can you really do? At this point, not much; you can experiment as Ken Burglin of Profitable Hospitality suggests here. If you are Accor or InterCon or Marriott or Starwood, you can spend some money and develop a Facebook application that will let people ... um.. do something interesting or whatever. Maybe use it as an outlet for distressed inventory (instead of going to say lastminute.com or priceline.com). People will swarm looking for deals and the hotel group keeps a bit of margins going direct.

Hmm.. that's a cool thought: Use Web 2.0 to get rid of distressed inventory DIRECT to consumers (You heard it on this blog first!!!). They are the right target: these people are price-sensitive leisure travelers who are always looking for deals. Many access from home since big corps also filter out facebook, youtube, and flickr. (You know.. productivity.)

Anyhoo... for individual hotels and smaller chains, just check Facebook.com out. See what it's all about. Don't worry, there is no rush. Let the big guys make the mistakes; remember that Starwood just pulled out of Second Life (also on Time.com and LA Times ) after putting in a chunk of money. They are going to donate ALOFT's Second Life to some charity or other rather than sending it to a proper after life.


I must admit though that the applications on Facebook are pretty cool and relatively easy to develop. If I was an online marketing person in any FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) line, I would definitely give it a go with my marketing/branding dollars.

But alas, I am in... roi-DRIVEN, kpi-OBSESSED, bottomline-ASSESSED ... hotel eCommerce.

Digg This Post

New Website: Design & US Home Page

On 15th August 2007, Millennium & Copthorne (M & C) re-launched its web presence for its group websites and for each of the hotels. Www.millenniumhotels.com largely focuses on the hotels in the United States, while www.millenniumhotels.co.uk, www.millenniumhotels.com.sg, and www.millenniumhotels.co.nz will be dedicated to the United Kingdom, Singapore and New Zealand, respectively. This Website Redevelopment & Re-engineering Project has taken 6 months since the request for proposal (RFP) was released to potential vendors in February of this year.

The design challenge given for BLUE Singapore (the interactive agency) was to come up with a something that will be fresh and can also be used across the three M & C brands. The final concept was to provide a basic structure for navigation and brand colours while incorporating large background images for the sites.

For the countries, images that evoked an "emotive iconic” feel were selected with regional marketing teams; the aim was to find images that makes a visitor connect with that destination emotionally rather than the typical skyline image. Each country would have 3 images that would rotate based on your visit. The decision was made to have a wider screen resolution than the original; at 1024 X 768, this would be optimal for over 92% of M & C website visitors in 2007. See the various version of the country pages below:


WWW.MILLENNIUMHOTELS.COM Home Pages Image for the United States

Yellow Taxi on Broadway. Gee, where is that? Do you need an immigrant taxi driver sticking his head out and waving atcha?

Gotta think about this one. Where is Hol*ly*wood |ˈhälēˌwoŏd|?
Click on the link. I dare ya.

Alright, no more spoon feedin'. That Big Black Building is a hint, but so is the street sign. If you see it on the site, it actually says "MICHIGAN AV". I don't wanna hear it, I didn't choose this image.

See Home Page Images for the United Kingdom

See Home Page Images for Singapore

See Home Page Images for New Zealand

Digg This Post

New Website: UK Home Page

WWW.MILLENNIUMHOTELS.CO.UK Home Page Images for the United Kingdom

Stoic Beefeaters in front of a castle. Must be Czechoslovakia (NOT!)... umm.. ok, is it Scotland? (DOH! Do ya see any skirts? Getting warmer though. Just click on the link....)

A castle on a lake. It COULD be Deustchland, but we are going for the King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake thing. ...bokay?

Big Hint "TATE BRITAIN" sign. Bigger hint is that clock tower in the back. And just to throw you off a little bit, we give you clear blue skies. HAHAHAHAH!

New Website: Singapore Home Page

WWW.MILLENNIUMHOTELS.COM.SG Home Page Images for Singapore

BQ At Night - Food for tourists and Skyscrapers. I guess it is an "icon", since it's been around longer than anything else that might be an icon. Then again, we could have a picture of the Merlion. (NOT!)

A subtle picture of Orchard Road. What gave it away? The Forum Galleria? The National Day Banners? Anyhoo... what is more iconic Singapore than that? (PS. I took this picture!)
(PPS. Forget that "Road Trip" thing. A road trip in Singapore last 30 minutes, unless you get stuck in some weird weekend traffic jam downtown.)

Clarke Quay & Riverfront Apartments - the future icons of Singapore (we hope!)
(I took this picture too!!! ...But the Photoshopping was done by real professionals)

New Website: New Zealand Home Page

WWW.MILLENNIUMHOTELS.CO.NZ Home Page Images for New Zealand

New Zealand = Adventure (duh!?!?)
(Yeah, I know it's a link to AJ Hackett's site and not about whitewater rafting. I'll talk to AJ next time I see him as ask about some bungy pix from KAWARAU BRIDGE.)

New Zealand = Rubgy (at least one very popular rugby team.. ahem.. The All Saints or something like that.)

100% PureNZ.
You haven't seen the ads? Please go back under your rock.