By EFT Correspondent in MunichHotel video review sites are emerging as a new tool in the online travel planning and buying process. There are sites which have chosen different ways of generating hotel videos and along with it have different business models, with one of the new players even paying travellers commission for hotel video reviews.

Published: 21 Oct 2008

By EFT Correspondent in Munich

Hotel video review sites are emerging as a new tool in the online travel planning and buying process. There are sites which have chosen different ways of generating hotel videos and along with it have different business models, with one of the new players even paying travellers commission for hotel video reviews.

One of the emerging companies, TVtrip.com allows customers to search for hotels in key European, Asian and American cities using professional quality videos. The site was launched in December 2007 and currently, the service is available in 14 different markets.

Describing videos as ideal informative content, Marc Ruff, CEO, TVTrip, a speaker during the Sales and Marketing in Travel Summit Europe 2008 in Munich, said, "Today, video in travel is "a nice to have" as there is no customer expectations. Soon, video in travel will become a pre-requisite to sell online."

On what works, Ruff said, "Behind each user hides a new Spielberg: Users are the best source of free content and

users will increasingly produce video content." He pointed out that in terms of critical mass, several millions users are required to generate a decent number of text reviews. On why the text review model can't be entirely replicated, he said, "Text reviews are best to describe experience and services: Quantity is necessary to create trust and to reflect the different experiences. On the other hand, videos show the product as it is: one good film can say it all and UGC video often focus on the same views."

Ruff shared that there are three types of videos - Hotel video which is artistic and commercial and accepted on the hotel site; Professional transparent video (search unbiased and informative) and UGC video.

On customers' expectations, he said customers expect video to answer three basic questions:

· What's around the hotel: what is the neighborhood like, what is nearby the hotel

· What kind of hotel is it: Is it more a family or a design hotel, what are the amenities, etc…

· What are the different room categories: What do I get if I pay €100 more for a junior suite vs. the standard double

From technology and platform perspective, he said videos require permanent evolution: New versions of video players are periodically released; User bandwidth increases, quality expectations increase accordingly; Cost and performance of the platform need to be optimised.

Finally, Ruff said that quality video helps to sell and poor quality video prevents from selling.

Earlier this year, speaking in favour of online video, Tim Saarela, VP Marketing USA, Tripr.tv (during EyeforTravel's Online Marketing in Travel 2008 conference in Chicago), recommended that travel companies can encourage their customers to shoot their hotel and provide a platform for sharing video reviews.

For empowering a website with videos, he said there are two solutions: Build your own web software to encourage customers to create and share video content or use a Plug & Play HotelVideoReviews widget.

"In case a company opts for its own web software, the system would have to handle all the video file formats, convert videos to standard Flash Video, build administration to moderate the content, tagging, build a rating system so users can rate videos...the disadvantage is that this process involves high development costs, and it can take long time to get it up and running," he said.

In case, hotels decide to go for a Plug & Play widget, firstly they can benefit in terms of no development costs. Secondly, it would only require very short time to get it up and running, and lastly, this can dramatically improve conversion, said Saarela.