Loading ...Max Starkov, president and CEO of Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, presented “Mobile Marketing in Hospitality: the Future is Already Here” during the Mobile Marketing Distribution session of the European Hospitality Technology Educational Conference (EHTEC) in Amsterdam last month. Highlights of his presentation are discussed on HotelNewsNow.com in the article, “Mobile-friendly sites essential as usage grows.”
Starkov presented the facts about mobile:
- The number of mobile devices has surpassed the number of personal computers.
- 41% of leisure guests and 54% of business guests with mobile phones with data plans used their phones for travel-related purposes.
- 10% of hotel guests with mobile phones with data plans have used them to reserve rooms.
- Mobile bookings are expected to exceed $1 billion in 2010.
Mobile marketing is the fastest growing sector in travel marketing. As technology continues to improve and mobile usage increases, Starkov maintains, hoteliers need to have an action plan in place to take advantage of the market.
The first step, as many have noticed when accessing their current sites from mobile devices, is a mobile-ready website, designed and developed for viewing on small screens. Once a mobile-ready website is in place, hoteliers should begin m-marketing including mobile search, m-CRM, and other initiatives to round out a comprehensive Mobile Web strategy.
Starkov’s presentation at EHTEC, “Mobile Marketing in Hospitality: the Future is Already Here,” explained to hoteliers why they can no longer ignore mobile marketing, its importance to the travel and hospitality industries, and where to begin.
To read HotelNewsNow.com’s coverage of this event, please click here. For more about mobile marketing, please click here.
