My Monday morning started like every other Monday however, my brain would very soon be racing as I contemplated mobile phones and their place in not only our business, but the world.
Pedro Colaco, President and CEO GuestCentric, provides a commentary regarding the use of smartphones and their relevance to hoteliers. Specifically he feels it is in a hotels best interest to ensure their website is, at the very least, mobile friendly, with a separate mobile site being the preferred manner to engage Smart Phone users. Pedro notes the following trends are currently occurring in our industry:
- 19% of hotel queries are initiated from a mobile device.
- Mobile traffic/Smart Phone penetration is growing exponentially month-by-month
- 3% of mobile visitors engage the hotel
- 1% of mobile visitors will book a hotel room
I think we need to look at the preceding trends appropriately and realize that there is a shift in the way consumer’s access information. As hoteliers, and for that matter business people, we need to adapt to the changes in the market place to ensure that purchasing our product is made as easy as possible for potential customers.
