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Hotels Increasingly Offering Booking Options Through Social and Mobile Channels

TravelClick Data Finds that Three Quarters of All Hotels will Offer Consumers Ability to Book on Facebook and Mobile Devices by 2013

NEW YORK – 2013-02-14 — /travelprnews.com/ — According to a recent survey from TravelClick (TravelClick.com), a leading global provider of revenue generating solutions for hoteliers, the majority of hotels will have booking engines integrated into their social media channels and mobile websites in 2013.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the approximately 400 global hotels surveyed have a booking engine on Facebook or another social media channel. Of those that do not have a booking channel on social media, approximately half (22.5 percent of the 52 percent) plan to integrate one in 2013.

“With so many users relying on Facebook for research and information, it is critical that hotels make it easy for consumers to use Facebook to initiate a booking,” said Jason Ewell, Executive Vice President of Media, Web Solutions and Business Intelligence.

Mobile enabled websites and applications are also gaining in popularity among hoteliers. Half of those surveyed indicated that they have an application that allows users to book rooms on their tablet or smart phone.Of the remaining 44 percent, 23 percent plan to add booking functionality to their mobile site in 2013.

However, even with the proliferation of social and mobile, the majority (53 percent) of hoteliers still think their property’s website will see the most growth in bookings when looking at ‘brand.com’ channels. Search engines and social media followed in a distant second with approximately 20 percent.

Ewell concluded, “With smart phone and tablet traffic expanding rapidly, we recommend that all properties have a mobile-optimized site to ensure that their property is visible on all types of devices.”

Social and Mobile Channels Press Release.pdf

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About TravelClick, Inc.
TravelClick (TravelClick.com) is the leading provider of revenue generating solutions for hoteliers across the globe. TravelClick offers hotels world-class reservation solutions, business intelligence products and comprehensive media and marketing solutions to help hotels grow their business. With local experts around the globe, we help more than 30,000 hotel clients in over 160 countries drive profitable room reservations through better revenue management decisions, proven reservation technology and innovative marketing. Since 1999, TravelClick has helped hotels leverage the web to effectively navigate the complex global distribution landscape. TravelClick has offices in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Barcelona, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, Melbourne, Orlando, Philadelphia, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. Follow us on twitter.com/TravelClick and facebook.com/TravelClick.

Danielle DeVoren/ Taylor McGrann

KCSA Strategic Communications

212.896.1272 / 212.896.1253

ddevoren@kcsa.com / tmcgrann@kcsa.com

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