Eric Oppegaard
By Nicole Carlino
NEW YORK—The marketing and distribution landscape in the hospitality industry is shifting. With increased competition—both in the form of nearby hotels and channels with which to reach guests—hoteliers need access to the best available data and more sophisticated tools to maximize revenue and improve performance. It’s one of the reasons why TravelClick has expanded its relationship with Google, gaining Google Premier Partner status—to help independent and small- to mid-sized hotel chains to better identify, attract and convert guests.
“Google is a vital player in the booking landscape, as it plays a crucial role in a customer’s entire journey—from Search to Maps to HotelAds to Flight Search and more,” explained Curtis Brewer, SVP of reservations and website solutions for TravelClick. “As a result, Google generates a huge amount of traffic and has the ability to connect consumers directly to hotels across various stages of their journey. We expect Google to continue to play a central role for bookings in the future, especially with the advent of assistant technology, which can change consumer behaviors.”
There were several reasons why TravelClick chose to expand this relationship. “TravelClick’s products are built as a suite that seamlessly leverages data from one part of our solution to another to help hoteliers drive revenue,” Brewer explained. “Given Google’s role across the customer journey, as well as its scale, reach and localization, Google is a natural partner for TravelClick to innovate with on ways for hoteliers to maximize revenue using data. Google touches a lot of travelers, so it makes sense for us to connect our hotels with them. Our combined partnership enables hoteliers to expand their reach and generate new guests.”
