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Hotel marketers successfully embrace tablets

August 20, 2012 | Hotel Marketing

While the hotel industry is still in the early stages of understanding the possibilities of tablet marketing, it is becoming clear that tablets are adding a complex but fruitful layer to the emerging mobile distribution channel.

Tablets - called a “lounging device” because they are commonly used during downtime - offer hoteliers the ability to reach consumers when they’re most likely to be researching or booking travel, sources said.

“Tablets are used during the times when the travelers are most susceptible; when they’re lounging or with loved ones,” said Max Starkov, president and CEO at Hospitality eBusiness Strategies. “They’re used for planning and for execution.”

Unlike social media, where the hotel industry has struggled to accurately measure return on investment, Starkov said the mobile channel is proving itself more each day as an effective marketing channel. Tablets, he said, add a new dynamic that allow for a rich, quality user experience.

Robert Simon, director of interactive marketing at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, pointed to the tablet’s penetration rate among consumers as a driving factor behind the brand’s strategic approach to marketing on the platform. Four Seasons created a tablet-specific website that simplifies the user experience, offering a “progressively visual” experience that is user friendly and places the booking flow as top priority.

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