Client Newsletters on RoomSaver.com
Connecting
October 2004
Florida, our thoughts are with you...
With all the devastating effects of mulitiple hurricanes damaging land and property all over the state, we know times are tough at the moment. We're keeping our fingers crossed that repairs will be made and buildings reconstructed, so business will flourish when it's all said and done.Industry News
- This year over 20% of all revenues in hospitality will be generated from the Internet (15% in 2003)*
- The Internet will influence another 20% of hotel bookings, bringing in travelers through call center reservations, walk-ins, etc.*
- In 2004, for the first time Internet hotel bookings will surpass Global Display Solutions hotel bookings*
- Two years from now the Internet will contribute over 27% of all hotel bookings*
- 53% of all Internet bookings in hospitality will be direct to consumer (i.e. via hotel-owned websites)*
- Over 205 million Americans are active Internet users**
- 50 million of them will purchase travel online this year**
**Nielsen
Hotels Gain Ground in Online Travel Space.
Travel continues to be the leading revenue producer among all online commerce segments, with both Forrester Research and PhoCusWright expecting US leisure & unmanaged travel bookings to total $53 billion in 2004. To further put the importance of online travel in perspective, eMarketer estimates that it constitutes approximately 40% of all US B2C e-commerce.Travel remains a behemoth, despite economic uncertainty and travel safety concerns. To date, airline tickets have typically generated over 60% of online travel sales, but in the past several years, online hotel bookings have been soaring, thanks in no small part to efforts by major chains to move more of their inventory management to the Web.
Survey data from PhoCusWright reveal more good news for hospitality and lodging firms. The incidence of consumers purchasing hotel rooms online has been in an uptrend and while a plateau may be in sight, the percentage of those buying airline tickets has been largely stable for five years. In addition, PhoCusWright research suggests that hotels have been able to reclaim a significant portion of the bookings that previously went to online travel agencies.
Courtesy of eMarketer.com, click to view entire article by Noah Elkin, Ph.D.
In The Spotlight
Successful Brand Marketing is effective storytelling! Each of you has a story to promote about your Business. Tell your property?s story on RoomSaver.com with our online brochure!What is the Online Brochure?
A benefit of the Premium and Featured Premium listings, the online brochure showcases your property with four photos and 500 words of marketing text, and sends travelers to you via links to your e-mail and website. The best part is you personalize the brochure to your property! With three designs to choose from, you get to select the one that best reflects your image. The four photos of your choice and 500 words of marketing text can be changed at any time through the RoomSaver.com online Advertiser?s Corner. A feature installed to give you full control over your personalized brochure and listing!
What better way to display your property online than with beautiful photos and detailed descriptions? Ask your Internet Sales Consultant about the online brochure today!
Interested in viewing an online brochure? Go to the RoomSaver.com homepage and click on one of the Featured Advertisers to view their brochures.
Traffic News
Since our new Search Engine Optimization Specialist, Matt Wade joined the RoomSaver.com team; site traffic is up in numbers in comparison to previous weeks. Although the number of total visitors has decreased by less than 10,000 since Week 20, our total number of visitors for this year, which is more than 90,000, surpasses the total visitors from last year. Also, the number of RoomSaver.com pageviews has catapulted from 450,000 to 500,000 - that is a 10% increase!Where is RoomSaver.com
We're in the Wichita Eagle out of Wichita, KansasBargain Tips for Summer Driving Trips by Jean Allen
We're in the R News Online Money Saving Travel Tips article
Stay tuned for more RoomSaver.com activity.
Always visit our website to keep abreast of your listings!
Let us know if we can make any changes for you.
Tourism takes a dive in hurricane-ravaged Florida
The back-to-back-to-back hurricanes have pummeled expensive oceanfront resorts, eroding sandy beaches and damaging some hotels. A fourth hurricane, Jeanne, is threatening to hit over the weekend. The economic effect of the hurricanes on the state's tourism has yet to be calculated, but it could be in the billions of dollars.'Everybody told us 'Don't go to Florida!'' said Carol Tharp, 50, a counselor from Cookeville, Tennessee. 'But we're here and we're enjoying it.'
Only a hundred yards from where the Tharps frolicked in the water, though, was the Holiday Inn Cocoa Beach, temporarily closed because of water damage from Frances and a testament to the biggest crisis to hit Florida's $51 billion tourism industry since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused a 20 percent drop in Florida tourism.
'We are very concerned about the image that Florida has gotten because Florida has gotten so much negative publicity over the last 45 days,' said Tom Waits, president and CEO of the Florida Hotel & Motel Association.
Click Here to View Entire Article
Traveler Tribute
?We travel a lot with my son?s sport teams. We just returned from a trip where I used a RoomSaver coupon. I can?t tell you how much you have saved us over the years! There are very few times if any, that we do not use RoomSaver. I tell everyone about it. As far as I am concerned you get the best deals with RoomSaver. Thank you so much! On top of that you have the best website ? so fast and easy to navigate. Great job? -Trisha GreenTravel Trends: Travel Expectations are High This Fall
A high interest in leisure travel and a solid return to business travel bodes well for this fall travel season, making it one of the strongest in years.According to the Fall 2004 forecast from the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), Americans will take 278 million person-trips during September, October and November 2004, an increase of 3.1 percent over last fall. A person-trip is one person on one trip traveling 50 miles or more from home, one way.
?Consumers' pent-up demand and corporate America's healthier bottom line are merging to create a ripe environment for the travel market,? remarked Dr. Suzanne Cook, senior vice president of research for the Travel Industry Association of America.
Leisure travelers will be out in full force this fall as they take advantage of long weekends, fewer crowds at parks and attractions and a wide array of travel bargains. Americans plan on taking 224.8 million leisure person-trips in fall 2004, up 2.6 percent from last fall.
View entire article, Click Here
How are We Doing?
Have you taken the opportunity to take RoomSaver.com?s brief client satisfaction survey? We value your feedback and would like to know how we can serve you better. Click here to participate and we?ll send you a free gift!Success Stories
The RoomSaver.com program is a unique and excellent source for certain destinations and leisure market travelers wishing to find a good deal without hassle. We've been with the program only a short time, but the results were instant, in fact, we started getting coupons within a few days of inception. We knew it was working because we would get reports daily saying that people were viewing our ad and printing it out. It's a great way to bring in business and the control panel gives complete functionality to change rates, information, and other criteria, which is crucial and may change according to demand.Sal Surra
D.O.S.
Sales Department
Best Western Orange County Airport
We want to know about your success using RoomSaver.com, and what your employees and guests? think. If you, your colleagues or one of your guests would like to share an experience with us, please e-mail editor@roomsaver.com.
Share your opinions and suggestions about RoomSaver.com! Informing customer service about your concerns will help us make RoomSaver.com work better for you. Contact customer service at 800-766-6728, option 2 or e-mail custserv@roomsaver.com
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