With nearly all e-bookers using a different agent every time, providing excellent customer experience can be the key differentiator for travel e-tailers. In particular, video can be a valuable tool for these websites.

Published: 23 Aug 2011

With nearly all e-bookers using a different agent every time, providing excellent customer experience can be the key differentiator for travel e-tailers. In particular, video can be a valuable tool for these websites.

The impact that rich media can have on travel sites was accepted a long time ago. Online travel retailers were among the first to take advantage of this dynamic tool, by adding images, 360-degrees tours and live-footage videos of hotels and destinations to enhance their customers’ experience and increase sales. However, since the initial adoption newer technologies have been introduced and yet travel websites have largely not kept up with these developments.

According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) two thirds of UK marketers are planning to increase their online video advertising spend in 2011; so here we look at the key reasons why travel retailers should embrace video to ‘upgrade’ their websites.

First-class user experience: sit back and relax

37% of US leisure travellers will not book hotel rooms if they don't see satisfactory photos, video or written content on the website they are visiting, according to a 2010 Forrester Research survey. Given that most users follow the same ‘itinerary’ on travel websites i.e. find an interesting deal then trawl through all the relevant images, read some user reviews, check rates, and sometimes read about the destination - video offers the most streamlined way to present this information; it literally lets customers lean back and relax while the information is delivered to them professionally and without the need to click and browse through various sections of the website.

SEO: join the 10% club

A recent survey revealed that when users search online for popular destinations, hotel chains, airlines, etc. a staggering 90% of the first SERPs had no video content. While the power of video to drive new, high-quality traffic to websites has been proven and leveraged in many markets, the e-travel industry seems to be mostly blind to it. This means that any travel website enhancing its offerings by adding video content will stand out from 90% of the competition!

Source: SundaySky’s State Of Video In E-Commerce Q1 Report.

Make some noise!

The most common form of rich media in travel websites are photos/slideshows and virtual 360-degrees tours. While both have a lot to offer, a user will usually watch just one or two; the lack of narration does not encourage the customer to connect with the venue or destination. On the other hand, with video it is possible and easy to add a bespoke voice over that can offer additional information on the product/service and even encourage the user to ultimately make the purchase.

So much to see, (not) so much to do

The online travel industry boasts more soft content than retail, property, and news websites, with endless information about destinations, attractions, user reviews, deals, etc. These resources can be quickly and easily packaged as videos into one solid presentation layer; with little effort the online travel business significantly increases the value of this information, delivering a new type of experience to the customer.

Keep up with the changes!

Content on travel websites is constantly changing: fares go up and down in price, seasonal deals are launched or expire, last-minute offers are added and so on. It is possible to surrender to these fast-moving developments by relying on rich media for static content (images, video interviews, etc.) and on Web 2.0 for reviews, prices, availability, etc.; but that is like using a mobile phone for calls and a separate device for emails: who does that anymore? Consolidation is the name of the game: rich media today must be as dynamic as the web and the arrival of automated video production means that videos can be now created on-the-fly to incorporate the most up-to-date information for all offers and deals on the website.

(This article has been contributed by Jim Dicso, President and Chief Revenue Officer, SundaySky).