Tag Archives: Data

16 Hotel Marketing Trends for 2016

Marketing

2016 is right around the corner, and this past year has seen a slew of changes to the digital marketing landscape. The growth isn’t over, though – mobile is exploding and technology is expanding. That means that digital marketing, still a relatively young and swiftly-growing field, is rapidly growing and changing along with it.

Here’s an what we’re predicting:

  1. Mobile Dominates: Mobile has contributed over 94% of year-on-year growth in e-commerce traffic. On average, 21% of hotel bookings take place on Mobile devices. Make sure you’re ready for the future. (Learn More)
  2. Content is the New SEO: With an average of 30-40% of a hotel’s revenue deriving from Organic traffic, having a content strategy that goes beyond typical ‘hotel information’ is extremely valuable. Whether it’s a blog about local events or an innovative social presence now is the time to get creative.
  3. Relationship Marketing: It’s vital to market to real people, and market to therightpeople. Insights from persona marketing, machine learning, programmatic marketing and Google’s customer match will all help you talk to your guests in 2016. (Learn More)
  4. The Rise of Ad Blocking: With Ad Blocking on the rise, other methods of driving traffic to your site need to step up. Ad blocking grew globally by 41% in the past 12 months, and is expected to cost the industry $41B globally in 2016. (Learn More)
  5. Video Everywhere: Video is taking over, with auto-play clips appearing on Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere. It’s no longer restricted to your website and YouTube – in 2016, there will be more channels than ever to promote your hotel’s videos on.
  6. Buy Buttons Taking Over: Social E-Commerce is on the rise! Buy buttons on Facebook, Pinterest & other social channels will become standard as the line thins between social media and e-commerce sites. (Learn More)
  7. In-the-Moment Marketing: Being “in the moment” matters for hotels. Showing up at the right place and the right time and having a strong presence on all channels where your personas hang out is crucial, so nail down guest personas and strengthen your strategy.
  8. New Payment Methods: New ways of completing a payment, particularly on mobile are growing. Companies like Stripe are starting to change the market. 2016 will see fingerprint payment grow, more mobile payments and simplified checkout flows. (Learn More)

For more: http://bit.ly/1IkuczB

Comments Off on 16 Hotel Marketing Trends for 2016

Filed under Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Training

Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Those ‘Secure’ Websites Aren’t Always Secure, Study Finds”

“InterContinental Hotels Group, for example, last year used Ghostery to discover the source of unauthorized digital vendors that were collecting data on some of the hotel company’s web pages,laptop which were slowing down the sites’ response times…’Every millisecond of page latency costs thousands of dollars in lost sales,’  said InterContinental Hotels Group Director of Web Delivery Chad Westfall.”

As brands invest in marketing technologies that make it easier to engage with consumers online, their concerns about digital security are growing.

Companies have encrypted web pages that are designed to prevent third parties from accessing customer data entered online. But many of these sites still have marketing technology that isn’t secure and that could expose a brand to potential data breaches, according to new research from privacy tech firm Ghostery.

Ghostery examined 50 encrypted websites in the airline, financial services, insurance, news and retail industries using data collected from its panel of 20 million consumers. According to Ghostery, 96% of the web pages studied that were supposed to be secure had a security blind spot due to the presence of non-secure code.

For more: http://on.wsj.com/1mCbsAJ

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Security Update: “Those ‘Secure’ Websites Aren’t Always Secure, Study Finds”

Filed under Crime, Hotel Industry, Management And Ownership, Risk Management, Technology, Theft

Hospitality Industry Information Risks: "Specialized Cyber-Risk Insurance" Is Important In Providing "Security Liability" And "Privacy Liability" Coverage

A specialized cyber-risk insurance policy is necessary. Coverage would not usually be triggered under a commercial general liability policy–many of which also have exclusions. Importantly, property-damage policies typically do not acknowledge “data” as property.

“Cyber liability” is essentially comprised of two defined risks:

  • Security Liability: the unauthorized access and/or use of a network. Employees or others with access to the network can misappropriate identity information, business secrets, transmit malicious codes, and undertake a denial of service attack against your network or other networks.
  • Privacy Liability: the breach of personal data protection laws that allow individuals to control the collection, access, transmission, use, and accuracy of their personal information.

The available policy coverage options start with General Internet Crime Liability. This addresses the first and third party risks associated with e-business, the Internet, networks and informational assets.

However, it is critical to review your business activities to ensure appropriate coverage. To this needs to be added appropriate Property, Directors and Officers, Business Interruption and Fidelity wordings. For those businesses offering software and services susceptible to outage or malfunction associated with a cyber-attack, Electronic Errors and Omissions coverage should also be obtained.

For more:  http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/252126/can_insurance_cover_cybercrime_damages_at_your_business.html

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Information Risks: "Specialized Cyber-Risk Insurance" Is Important In Providing "Security Liability" And "Privacy Liability" Coverage

Filed under Crime, Guest Issues, Insurance, Liability, Maintenance, Management And Ownership, Privacy, Risk Management, Theft

Hotel Information And Data Security Risks: Costs To Hotels Can Be High If Guests Personal Information And Credit Card Data Are Stolen

“…class-action claims will be brought against hotels. These are particularly problematic because while the actual damages may be low, the cost of settling is very high…”

…basis for a claim can be negligence—hotel guests can argue that even when a hotel did not overstep its promises, it is liable to a guest for negligence by not taking adequate steps to protect information. That is going to be even more important as state and federal governments pass laws and adopt regulations that require companies to take affirmative steps to safeguard personal information; these laws and regulations will form a road map for potential plaintiffs.

as we see larger and larger breaches (such as the recently announced Wyndham breach), it’s likely that class-action claims will be brought against hotels. These are particularly problematic because while the actual damages may be low, the cost of settling is very high. Second, governmental agencies—particularly states’ attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission—are increasingly active in monitoring and investigating breaches. Even where no damages are incurred, responding to investigations is a costly, time-consuming process. I am currently working on a response to an informal FTC investigation that recently topped 1,000 pages—and we’re about half way through.

For more:   http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/Articles.aspx?ArticleId=3364&ArticleType=35&PageType=News

Comments Off on Hotel Information And Data Security Risks: Costs To Hotels Can Be High If Guests Personal Information And Credit Card Data Are Stolen

Filed under Crime, Insurance, Liability, Theft