The medium and the message

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The Medium - Choice of channel often reflects on the Brand. It is not always good to be seen as Expedia or as Kayak etc. In many cases a different drum attracts travelers to the small hotels. Many travelers are looking for a personal touch.

The Message - The message is much more than content. It is also about form, function and process. In the OTA channel the primary process is about costing and comparing options in order to make a buy decision. It is an important service not available on a hotel website or on many destination sites. You choose to buy at store X for many reasons but if there are no price tags and you have to go to the counter to get a price, would you bother? Creating a message that is not fully integrated with the product is similarly dissonant. The shopping experience should be fully fluid. If you are in an OTA channel, many travelers will seek out your website. They expect to have equivalent value and more personal service.

Promise & Expectation - A Brand is a promise. It can say we are a small family hotel, we are local, we are friendly, we are fun, we are dignified, we are different, we care. What is the Brand of an OTA? Expedia mission statement says: "We are on a mission to be the largest and most profitable reseller of travel in the world".

Differentiation & Personality - Differentiation and personality are conveyed by the suppliers' website, by its individual tastes, its use of colour, its layout and its processes. The OTA does not create a brand personality for its suppliers. Properties are compared on features and price and location, but the brand is the OTA, the hotels is its product, and all product website look the same.

Relationship - Travelers build a relationship with their suppliers. If you have bought from an OTA and you got what you wanted, you will most likely go there again to check out other options (properties, products, destinations). Creating the OTA relationship diminishes the hotel brand and can result in loss of repeat business

Loyalty - OTAs are building their own loyalty program. Much like the airlines, small hotels can and should reward repeat clients and clients that refer others to them. Loyalty programmes work. The visitor's loyalty should be to the hotel . AXSES has loyalty solutions for the hotel brand. Appropriate use of branding and loyalty programmes can significantly increase repeat business.

Ownership - With arcRes, the database belongs to the supplier. This database is unique in that it captures leads as well as committed shoppers. arcRes database marketing allows hotels to market directly to their leads and their guests. OTAs have their own marketing tools, aimed at promoting their own Brand.

Sustainability - if you don't own the brand and don't have the relationship and loyalty, your business will not be sustainable.

© AXSES 2010 - Branding Concepts By AXSES