Pepijn Rijvers' Booking Roadmap and 4 more stories
THE COMPLETE DIRECT BOOKINGS REPORT
Direct Bookings is a brilliant topic for the media because it has all the elements of a good story. Big names, money, conflict, huge companies and small ones fighting for their lives. But every time the dust settles the question arises, is it really as profitable as they say? The answer is... it depends. The truth is it really does. Skift's 150+ page report (yeah you need to buy it) is incredibly thorough and sheds light many many questions that have not been answered clearly before.
LAST CLICK ATTRIBUTION PROBLEMS
There's an unsolved problem in hotel marketing, attribution. Part of the problem is that confused attribution models are practical for publishers and agencies as they can claim higher efficiency. So what many hotels then do is move to a simple model of last click only. Which isn't right either. Add to that the "assisted booking" (bookings that happened because of some action during a set time period) and one has a right mess. While nobody has worked out the perfect solution yet, this article does help clarify some of the mess.
THE BEST ISSUE OF HOTELS MAGAZINE YET
I love the fact that HOTELs Magazine still has a print mag. It is beautiful, has a gorgeous layout and graphic design, and it keeps that real world class of which great hotels are made. I've often complained that it doesn't have enough of the hotel tech scene in it. But this issue does, and it is embracing the disruption and tech scene in a hotelier kind of way. Here are many beautiful pages worth reading.
BOOKING'S CMO AND HIS ROAD MAP
There are always nuggets of information when Pepijn Rijvers from Booking gives an interview. This recent one is no exception, some key parts where Booking wants to go is Messaging and better Content Marketing. I agree Booking can do better at both, but I really hope there is a ton of stuff that he's not saying because Messaging and Content are hardly pushing the limits of innovation. What I'd love to see from Booking is how they can disrupt themselves turning the hotel booking experience around completely.
A GDS CEO'S VIEW ON TRAVEL TECH
There's a lot to dislike about the GDS system, not the least of which is the archaic and user un-friendly interface, and that when the GDS providers innovate, they add pop-up banners and call it a new design. But other than that, Amadeus' CEO has some interesting views on where Travel Tech is going and what he envisions is going to happen. It's a rare glimpse into one of Travel Tech's biggest companies.