Online Conference organized by the Acelera SME Office of Ashotel and Paraty Tech

Last Wednesday, September 28, we participated in the Online Conference The direct channel in the Islands: objective of maximizing income ; organized by the Acelera SME Office of Ashotel and Paraty Tech .

A morning in which we talked at length about hotel direct sales, together with our usual collaborators, Smart Travel News , and the Landmar Hotels tourist complex.

The day began with the presentation of our CRO, Daniel Sánchez Adarve , who focused on the keys to optimizing the direct channel; and continued with the use case of Landmar Hotels, with Francisco Quintero Rodríguez , Sales Director at Landmar Hotels , who presented the “Experience & Loyalty” initiative applied in the establishments.

Then we moved on to the discussion table moderated by Juan Daniel Núñez, Editor of Smart Travel News , made up of our CEO & Co-Founder, Gina Matheis , Francisco Quintero Rodriguez, Director of Sales at Landmar Hotels and Enrique Padrón Fumero , Director of Innovation at Ashotel.

Below, we leave you with an article that summarizes the most important points that were discussed and with the full video of the day.

How do you encourage hoteliers to opt for Direct Sales (DV)?

Gina mentioned that the Canary Islands are a different case from the rest of the national territory, due to the large number of tour operators (TTOO). I mentioned that selling directly does not mean eliminating the rest of the channels , although I am a faithful defender of direct sales, since TTOOs offer guarantees that are a good cushion.

Even so, a balance must be found between direct sales and tour operations. Canarian hotels are betting on direct sales according to the figures, but for it to work, they need: strategy, the best technology, knowledge and training, and investment in human resources and marketing.

Do you think the increase in Direct Sales is temporary or will it last?

Our CEO & Co-Founder recalled that during the months of the pandemic due to Covid-19, in the Canary Islands there has been a 40% increase in direct sales from hotel establishments, although it is true that we came from very low to compare (it did not exceed 20% of the share in the best of cases). He stressed that the data has improved and not only in the Canary Islands, but in all destinations. Clients and hotels have realized that they can operate by betting on direct sales .

What weight does Direct Sales have for Landmar Hotels?

Francisco Quintero Rodriguez, Sales Director at Landmar Hotels, commented that direct sales are just another client. For Landmar Hotels, intermediaries are fundamental, they are a showcase, they give visibility. The billboard effect also reaches tour operations. He commented that direct sales have a high cost when it is the first customer, when loyalty is established that cost drops. Even so, they are committed to direct sales since that client becomes theirs, they speak directly with him, but for Landmar Hotels, tour operations are important.

From what point is Direct Selling profitable?

After Francisco's intervention, Gina confirmed his words, arguing that direct sales require investment in human resources and online marketing, which, without control, can become a bottomless pit. He recalled the importance of keeping Direct Selling costs below 15%, since if not, it will not be profitable. Furthermore, he added, intermediary channels also generate traffic to the direct channel, and if the hotel is not properly distributed, high occupancy will not be achieved only through the official website.

What new technology or technologies could be most important to enhance Direct Sales and what is the degree of digitalization of Canarian hotels?

Enrique Padrón Fumero, Director of Innovation at Ashotel, recalled that the competition is fierce and the Canary Islands are a unique place due to their isolation . They are in a medium or advanced state of digitalization, and they know that it is easier for large companies, while small companies feel overwhelmed by the excess of information and solutions. He admitted that he could not stay with a specific technology, since each company is a world and each business model must find a way to function in its environment. More than technology, it is also about people. They are in the process of transformation, of continuous improvement and from Ashotel they want to contribute their grain of sand. To do this, they are trying to get in touch with those who design the instruments and gather the needs of the companies. I mentioned that the Digital Kit entails a slow process, but little by little it is arriving.

How do you approach the choice of tools for Direct Selling and how do you manage them?

It is key to optimizing staff time, according to Francisco. They rely on well-integrated technologies, which help them make future forecasts. They work with test banks, test environments, to implement strategies and see if they work. He said that there is no better advisor than experience: it is important to analyze everything and for the team to assume any tool they implement.

Is there any technology that you have installed and have seen that has impacted Direct Selling?

Francisco commented that they have implemented an RMS that allows them to control a series of business rules to differentiate by channel, and thus, favor Direct Selling from the management of the rest of the channels. An important decision that has brought peace of mind to the team and the automation of processes.

From Ashotel, what do you do to train hoteliers in this type of technologies?

Enrique highlighted that Ashotel has a training department in full transformation , it is digitalizing to improve its training model and make it more versatile . In addition, throughout the year they hold around 50 conferences/webinars on technological, regulatory, operational, etc. dissemination. Many of them, related to Direct Sales. Between the training program and the dissemination through these sessions, they cover a good dissemination of all these subjects. On the other hand, they have stable business support programs (SME acceleration office, digital challenges program, intelligence, competitiveness and sustainability observatory) to capture and organize all the information in the sector and turn it into a valuable service.

Talent crisis, to what extent can it affect when finding profiles? Have you noticed it?

Enrique commented that there is demand for this type of profiles, hence they want to adapt the training offer, but they have the feeling that the market is finding the profiles it is looking for .

For Francisco, these profiles are arriving, although it is becoming more and more complicated, but they are very technologically oriented profiles, a very positive factor for the line of personal and company development. In the services part, he commented that it is becoming much more difficult to find the right candidates.

In the case of hotels on the islands, is there a standard for that distribution mix?

Strong response from Gina, who stated that there is never a standard, you have to look at each product: typology, location, number of rooms. Although he recommended developing a global Direct Selling strategy, online and offline, which must be part of the business culture, differentiating 3 fundamental elements: website, voice and interns (who are disappearing due to current last-minute reservations through the mobile).

Gina reminded that they must also be accompanied by the in-house strategy. Since, once the client enters the hotel, it is no longer TUI, Booking, etc. It is your client and you must redirect their next stays to the official website. Through information, through staff, through Internet access that requires going through the web... It is a transversal strategy of all departments that combines technology and HR.

At Paraty Tech they think that there is no common strategy and that direct selling is not an exact science. They believe in trial/error. You have to test based on the trends shown by the establishment to identify which channels convert and, then, it is essential to measure and rely on the data to make decisions.

You have made an important commitment to the voice. There was talk of Siri, Alexa, etc. but it turns out that no, it is the traditional call center that prevails. Results?

The CEO of Paraty Tech stated that the results, to date, are very satisfactory. They try to implement human2human, people2people. Since there are still many guests who prefer to talk to a person , and many hotels do not have the necessary investment capacity to implement their own call center. Hence, they have opted for this line of business, incorporating qualified personnel, focused on conversion, who knows how to provide adequate attention, including interacting with technologies such as a CRM, which will help offer the client, in real time, what they know they need. likes.

Do you think there will be a strong balance towards mobile reservations?

The Director of Innovation at Ashotel, Enrique, said that it is something that is already happening, that it is a latent and obvious change for years. And he warned: anyone who is not adapting will be losing an interesting sales quota.

Francisco, in fact, confirmed that they have more mobile reservations (60%) than desktop reservations (40%).

Does this trend affect Direct Sales more or does it also happen in intermediary sales?

A tactic that the Sales Director of Landmar Hotels commented on is the ability of intermediaries to introduce discounts that were not seen in desktop versions and greatly influenced mobile reservations. Currently, they still see it on OTAs, but they can also apply this practice on the web. The intermediaries that use it make it very difficult to detect disparities, which has caused mobile phones to become a flight of reservations to other channels.

How does the customer face this price difference, not only between channels, but between devices?

Gina commented that Paraty Tech is undertaking developments mainly by and for mobile phones, due to the increase they are seeing in reservations through these devices. No one is surprised anymore by these price differences by channel, device, which can be said to be even part of the travel booking culture. To the point that Paraty Tech is investing in integration with the Whatsapp API to be pioneers in this sense , and Whatsapp is an almost exclusive mobile app, although it has a desktop version. The objective is for the confirmation to reach WhatsApp directly.

For Enrique, this would constitute a great step, the solution, since many travelers have the habit of downloading the reservation from email and sending it to WhatsApp.

Does it make more sense for WhatsApp to develop more features instead of other applications emerging?

Francisco is clear about it and stated that they are implementing WhatsApp a lot for communications with clients and that is where they believe the shots will go. Everyone has WhatsApp and it is logical that this platform evolves.

What about the data? How do you get them? What weight do they have?

In Francisco's words, the basic idea is to capture a lot of data when the client is here and transfer it to the CRM. Surveys per stay, but also surveys for cancellation of reservations, with the aim of being able to respond and build loyalty even after a cancellation. Let's not harass. We customize and get to the point. The key is data and optimizing resources .

For his part, Enrique added that technology allows us to create that link that is being sought with loyalty . We all like to feel linked to the brand we like, those incentives are what technology will allow us to apply.

What are the chances of independent hotels and small chains creating a profitable loyalty program?

Gina recalled that obviously, the strategy is different for each product. Nobody doubts that the level of loyalty of a large chain has nothing to do with that of an independent hotel. You have to get the data, but also analyze it and know what to do with that data. It is not about collecting for the sake of collecting. He also commented that it is essential to have a good CRM that organizes all this information. They are working on detecting repetitive customers on the web to channel them towards loyalty clubs, which more and more hotels are implementing. It speaks, beyond the traditional ones, of clubs designed to offer different services adapted to the needs of each type of client.

Should we opt for more direct communication channels with the customer, beyond cookies and so on?

We have the voice there, right? More direct than that... They were Gina's words. The tools collect public information and automate tasks that were previously done manually. As long as the information is public, they will not have any problems accessing it. If you have exposed information, why can't it be compiled in a dashboard citing the source? Gina thus predicted a long life for web scraping.

The CRM, where would you place it within loyalty?

Enrique believed that it is vital and would place it in the center, understanding it as the key to everything. Both for the design of the product and the experience.

Francisco recalled the importance of this CRM data being accessible to anyone in the hotel, recognizing that what does work very well is the CRM at the level of the marketing strategy, but not so much at the hotel level, a field in which it is still They can improve a lot.

Apart from the economic benefit of Direct Selling, what other benefits does it provide?

The person in charge of Paraty Tech said that if managed correctly, with strategy, technology and investment, it is the channel that offers the highest profitability per occupation, offers commercial autonomy, increases customer satisfaction (more direct treatment), and is also , a generator of treasury and diversifies risk. The hotels that have traditionally been more tour-operated have suffered much more than the rest. He insisted on the importance of finding the balance between direct and intermediated sales, and from there, focusing on increasing the Direct Sales share.

How is the season expected in the Canary Islands?

The Sales Director at Landmar Hotels is positive. In this sense, he commented that they have done prior work that is leading them to have a positive pickup rate. He recalled that they live in a bubble with few competitors in winter and are very positive about the immediate future , although it is true that the advance booking period has been reduced (the long term now does not exceed 2 months). They continue to have a high cancellation percentage (30%, 10 points more than usual) and average stays have also been reduced. This implies that they need more reserves, more fundraising potential. Landmar Hotels pays a lot of attention to segmentation. Families, for example, go on specific vacation dates, with a greater advance notice of purchase, etc.