Articles tagged “hilton”

Roots run deep between Host Hotels and Marriott, obviously. But the fact that Host also owns properties that fly under Starwood and Marriott's brands, among others, gives its perspectives on ownership and operations some serious weight when talking about the future of the big merger and the direct booking wars.

Online travel agencies and the looming Starwood-Marriott merger won't get Hilton down, according to Hilton's CEO. Solid first quarter earnings suggest a stable year ahead for the company. But will alienating online travel agencies and pursuing an asset-light strategy ultimately result in success? We'll have to see how the rest of the year plays out.

Many travel and tourism brands are harnessing the power of 360-degree video to inspire travelers, but this is the first time we've seen it used to convert direct bookings. It'll be interesting to see the results of this campaign by the end of this year.

We'd rather see PricewaterhouseCoopers or another neutral party estimate the revenue impact of hotel chains' direct-marketing campaigns instead of relying on Expedia, which obviously has vested interests. Still, Expedia's chart furthers discussion and the dialogue under way with hotels, and speaks to how seriously Expedia views the threat and the issue.

Being a digital savvy hotel brand goes beyond just having a social media account. Brands that truly understand digital brand strategy in all its forms, from mobile and SEO to social and e-commerce, have the upper hand as more and more consumers demand these platforms and services.

Interestingly, the Starwood Preferred Guest program, beloved among frequent travelers, ranked near the bottom, and it's never fared well in past J.D. Powers' reports. So, why is it so admired, and why does Marriott want it so badly?

Although his company has made it a mission to tell customers to book direct, Hilton CEO Christopher Nassetta knows he can't afford to overlook other distribution channels, including online travel agencies and travel agents.

Hilton's experiment with the ride-sharing service finally offers a bit more than just reminding you to hail an Uber from the Hilton HHonors mobile app.

Most travel brands have so far shied away from Snapchat for all the right reasons. Marketing efforts on the platform have a fuzzy return on investment and can be difficult to scale.

When Hilton decided to merge its marketing and digital departments last year, and focus on driving direct bookings, that resulted in the company's largest marketing campaign ever.