First read is on us.

Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news.

Why hotel marketing agencies don't understand how to build decent websites


Skift Take

Hotel websites are only one tiny step away from architects' websites as the worst user experience on the Internet. From Flash-based sites to other whizz-bang applications (that never work on mobile, mind your) it's a field littered with failure. And hotels are to blame for falling for the nonsense of marketing agency salesmen.

The hotel industry has always been a target for misinformation about new, emerging, and especially open-source technology. It feels like the industry is stuck in a time warp, which I blame on negative propaganda unleashed by ubiquitous “marketing experts.” But remember what the best philosophers say? Always question the source. Agencies want to make money. They want to make it efficiently, without having to revamp their processes, and without being asked any questions. This simple truth forms the basis of every outdated piece of technology being used today by hotels.

I have long been wanting to share my list of the “reasons” hotel marketing agencies have given to prevent clients from choosing WordPress over their own proprietary platforms. It’s pretty sad for the industry that they have decided to spread these lies about a great new resource in order to make a few extra dollars. So there you are: the reason why we have hotel websites’ clunky, abysmal, and outdated “custom” content management systems littering the Internet.

Up Next

Hotels

How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations

There are wide discrepancies in data quality for hotel transactions across global regions, with the largest occurring in Asia-Pacific. Because hotels and agencies need to harness data quality to thrive, they must take a more nuanced regional approach to monitoring potential issues.
Sponsored
Hotels

IHG Buys Ruby Hotels as 20th Brand

IHG's latest franchising deal underscores how there's distribution pressure on independent hotel brands to join forces with the largest hotel groups.