A new survey from TravelClick has revealed that a third of hoteliers across the UK and Europe would not use “Flash Sale” websites like Groupon, Living Social and JetSetter. A further 27% of hoteliers agreed that they will not be repeating this sales tactic.
Overall, the hotel industry reports dissatisfaction with flash sale websites – of which Groupon is the most used (60%), ahead of Living Social (28%) and JetSetter (15%).The survey, conducted amongst almost 400 chain and independent properties in mainland Europe and the UK, revealed five main reasons why hotels were unhappy with the group sale experience:
- Did not make enough revenue per room
- Gave up too much revenue to the sale site
- Deal wasn’t as successful as expected
- Failed to see any repeat business
- Did not attract the right calibre of customer
But the survey was not all negative. Hoteliers were also asked why they would consider using group discount websites. Key benefits include:
- Increasing off-season occupancy (70%)
- Raising the property’s profile (60%)
- Reaching a new demographic (35%)
- Keeping up with competition (24%)
“Group discount websites are a real success story and have grown incredibly quickly, but it seems word has spread in the accommodation sector that they don’t always deliver the results that hotels are anticipating,” explained Jan Tissera, President, TravelClick International.“Anecdotal evidence has indicated that hotels are also concerned that a large percentage of the customers who book had actually stayed with them before and cannot be ‘up-sold’, which discourages incremental business.”
A new survey from TravelClick has revealed that a third of hoteliers across the UK and Europe would not use “Flash Sale” websites like Groupon, Living Social and JetSetter. A further 27% of hoteliers agreed that they will not be repeating this sales tactic.
Overall, the hotel industry reports dissatisfaction with flash sale websites – of which Groupon is the most used (60%), ahead of Living Social (28%) and JetSetter (15%).The survey, conducted amongst almost 400 chain and independent properties in mainland Europe and the UK, revealed five main reasons why hotels were unhappy with the group sale experience:
- Did not make enough revenue per room
- Gave up too much revenue to the sale site
- Deal wasn’t as successful as expected
- Failed to see any repeat business
- Did not attract the right calibre of customer
But the survey was not all negative. Hoteliers were also asked why they would consider using group discount websites. Key benefits include:
- Increasing off-season occupancy (70%)
- Raising the property’s profile (60%)
- Reaching a new demographic (35%)
- Keeping up with competition (24%)
“Group discount websites are a real success story and have grown incredibly quickly, but it seems word has spread in the accommodation sector that they don’t always deliver the results that hotels are anticipating,” explained Jan Tissera, President, TravelClick International.“Anecdotal evidence has indicated that hotels are also concerned that a large percentage of the customers who book had actually stayed with them before and cannot be ‘up-sold’, which discourages incremental business.”
