With the prevalence of smart technology and the need it has created for both efficiency and immediacy, travelers have become more connected and tech-savvy than ever before. Almost all travelers now gather their information through meta-search engines – search tools that send user requests to several other search engines and aggregate the results into a single list – in spite of most travelers probably being familiar with the ‘meta-search’ term.

1. 9reasons why hotels
should capitalize on the trend
towards meta-search
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2. www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 2
We’re living in the era of the empowered buyer!
With the prevalence of smart technology and the need it has created for both efficiency
and immediacy, travelers have become more connected and tech-savvy than ever before.
Almost all travelers now gather their information through meta-search engines – search tools
that send user requests to several other search engines and aggregate the results into a
single list – in spite of most travelers probably being familiar with the ‘meta-search’ term.
Enter TripAdvisor, Google Hotel Finder, Kayak, HotelsCombined and Trivago – meta-search
engines that are steadily becoming a key element in the buying cycle. These, among many
others, pull rates and offers directly from major online booking channels, such as Expedia.
com or Hotels.com, allowing travelers to compare properties in real-time.
The outlook is rosy
Recent research conducted by TripAdvisor states that 21% of travelers plan on spending
more on their trips in 2014, with 85% of travelers worldwide willing to sacrifice spending in
other ways in order to fund their travel plans. It’s critically important for even the smallest
properties to stay abreast of these changes, exploit the opportunities offered by the online
marketplace, and educate themselves on why joining the meta-search society is no longer
just important, but unavoidable.
Here are our top nine reasons why hotels need to capitalize on the trend towards meta-
search.
9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on
the trend towards meta-search

3. www.siteminder.com | 9 reasons why hotels should capitalize on the trend towards meta-search | 3
1. It increases domestic and global exposure
By placing your rates and inventory on the major meta-search engines, you’re unifying
online visibility as you give potential customers the opportunity to find all your offers using
one single website. Most travelers now use these types of engines to research destinations,
hotels and activities before making a booking.
As an example, TripAdvisor, with its 41 sites in 24 languages, records 260 million visitors per
month and in April 2013, stock analysis firm Trefis1
estimated total searches worldwide on
Kayak to triple from 1.2 billion in 2012 to 3.6 billion by 2019.
Base: Shop for travel online.
Source: PhoCisWright Inc.
These numbers reinforce the importance of moving your hotel onto meta-search engines (in
addition to online booking channels) in order boost both your domestic and global reach.
2. It increases brand awareness
By focusing on online distribution and having your hotel appear in search results across
multiple channels, you not only increase sales but also brand awareness. People will start
recognizing you. Be smart and use meta-search engines not only as a tool, but also as a
key part of your online marketing strategy. Meta-search engines can be easily controlled and
used as another marketing instrument to sell your hotel.
The more online booking channels your property can be found on, the greater your reach
and exposure across search engine results. HeBS digital explains this in their 2013 post
Meta Search Marketing: The New Revenue Frontier in Hospitality:2
“Meta search marketing
is an important tool to help hoteliers lessen their dependency on the OTAs and drive more
direct bookings through the property website. Independent hotels are particularly OTA-
dependent. Last year, more than 76% of online bookings for non-branded hotels came from
the OTAs and just 24% came from the hotels’ own websites.”
By allowing potential customers to find you across meta-search engines and having your
property appear in search results, you’re naturally increasing your brand awareness as well
as brand reach. Potential guests will be more inclined to book through you directly, as a
result.
1 http://www.trefis.com/stock/kyak/articles/175716/hotel-queries-on-kayak-expected-to-grow-significantly/2013-04-02
2 http://www.hebsdigital.com/blog/meta-search-marketing-the-new-revenue-frontier-in-hospitality/?chebs=eyepr_0314

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3. It increases direct bookings and improves the bottom line
Travelers use meta-search engines as a research tool to find best rates, best availability
and best reviews. Generally, the best rate can (and should) be found on the hotel’s own
website. Being visible on meta-search engines doesn’t necessarily cost you anything
– perhaps a key reason why meta-search engines are growing fast and becoming
increasingly popular. You will only pay commission on successful bookings, for paid search
entries, or if you wish to place an advertisement.
By using rates in a manner that makes it attractive for potential guests to book directly
through your website, you’re able to reduce third party commissions and increase traffic to
your website. Trivago, for example, fosters 50 million connections between hotel searchers
and hotel owners per month, while HotelsCombined 3
generates and refers $1 billion in
online booking revenue annually for its various partners.
4. It improves a hotel’s value proposition to online travel consumers
As eyefortravel.com4
sums up quite comprehensively, “Meta-search marketing’s value
proposition to travel consumers is undeniable: by adding real-time availability and pricing
and enabling rate shopping, travel planners are now provided with everything they need
to research and book their hotel stay.” Meta-search tackles all four fundamentals online
consumers are looking for in a hotel: location, hotel details, reviews and real-time rates –
not to mention availability.
Suddenly shoppers have all the information they need to make an educated decision on
where they want to spend their money and they WILL spend it when they come across a
deal that suits their needs. According to financial platform Trefis5
, Kayak’s hotel requests
are rising at a faster pace and are more profitable, with $321 of distribution revenue per
1000 queries.
3 http://press.hotelscombined.com/Media-Kit/Press_kit_2014_web.pdf
4 http://www.eyefortravel.com/distribution-strategies/4-multi-faceted-ways-meta-search-can-and-must-help-hotels-
take-otas
5 http://www.trefis.com/stock/kyak/articles/175716/hotel-queries-on-kayak-expected-to-grow-significantly/2013-04-02

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5. It increases capability to track competitors
Using meta-search engines from the customer’s perspective, allows you to investigate
what your competitors are offering, their rates, what the common trends are, and also how
you’re positioned within the marketplace. By analyzing your rankings within meta-search
results, and benchmarking against your competitors, you’re able to use this information to
your competitive advantage, ensuring your property is always on top of its game.
Dynamic pricing software is one example of a handy tool, which allows you to update your
rates and inventory in real-time, across all channels, as soon as you detect trends and
changes in the marketplace.
6. It increases a hotel’s social proof
Social proof, also commonly referred to as ‘social influence’, works on the principle that if
other people are doing it, you should be doing it too. When it comes to hotels, social proof
influences which properties get the most bookings. A hotel that has more reviews than
its competitors, and mostly positive reviews, is more likely to generate additional direct
bookings, as there is social proof that people should stay at this particular hotel.
Meta-search engines give you the ability to see what customers are saying about you via
the reviews they post on your listing, providing you with the opportunity to engage and
respond accordingly. Additionally, positive customer reviews will increase your social proof
by showing what a stay is really like at your property.
Engaging with customers via their reviews – positive or negative – increases your social
proof and customer engagement. As importantly, it also demonstrates that you value their
feedback. Reviews can provide other benefits too, for example, giving insight into customer
experience and areas such as what processes they feel may need to be improved at your
property. This is a great way to stay ‘switched on’ via direct market research.
Online Travel Ad Revenues Worldwide, by Site,
Q1-Q3 2013 & Q1-Q3 2013
millions, % of total revenues and % change
Q1-Q3
2012
Q1-Q3
2013
% of total
revenues
% change
TripAdvisor* 535.8 638.0 87.2% 19%
Expedia 98.0 235.0 6.5% 140%
Priceline** 10.2 111.5 2.1% 993%
Note: *includes click-based and display advertising; **primarily includes advertis-
ing bus also other revenues.
Source: eMarketer compiled from company reports, Q3 2013; eMarketer calculations, Nov 8, 2013

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7. It has free analytics and research tools
Meta-search engines often offer free analytics and research tools, providing you with
handy, free tips and tricks to ensure you get the best out of your listing. These tools help
you understand how you’re performing and provide insight on areas of improvement on
your listing. Hipmunk, for example, uses integrated software TrustYou, which allows the
hotel owner to analyze consumer feedback, positively influence reviews, and find out what
is working and what isn’t, so potential glitches can be fixed before they start becoming an
issue.
Trivago’s Hotel Price Index6
is another fantastic research tool, a handy little helper showing
the average overnight accommodation prices for the most popular cities worldwide.
From TripAdvisor’s TripBarometer April 2014: Global Edition
8. It levels the playing field
Placing your hotel on meta-search engines is a must-have addition to your online marketing
strategy. It’s a pivotal channel for all types of properties, allowing potential guests to access
a collated view of available search results that meet their specified filter settings. Suddenly,
smaller and independent accommodation providers can compete online with larger chains
that have bigger marketing budgets.
6 http://www.trivago.com/hotelprices

7. The Americas
Phone: +1 800 511 6038
Oceania
Phone: +61 2 9221 4444
Europe
Phone: +44 (0)20 3151 0730
Africa
Phone: +27 (0)21 403 6327
Asia
Phone: +66 2 660 3733| | | |
However, if you don’t want to just rely on organic search results, then there are also paid
options available to propel your property towards meta-search success. TripAdvisor is
just one example that offers Cost-Per-Click advertising, with TripConnect perfect for
independent properties.
9. You don’t want to be left behind!
Meta-search is an invaluable tool that could potentially surpass the popularity of online
booking channels in the future. The Internet is too large for any one-search engine to index,
so it’s important to be across both online booking channels and meta-search engines to
ensure your property is visible, as most of your competitors already will be. In 2012, 36
percent of online travelers used meta-search tools7
when researching and booking hotels
online, up from 28 percent in 2010 and this is only the beginning.
Listing on meta-search engines increases your brand’s exposure and saves your potential
guest from having to use multiple search engines separately. The process of fusion also
improves the search results, naturally increasing your brand awareness and, consequently,
potential guests will be more inclined to book through you directly.
Why meta-search engines are a must have
These nine reasons illustrate why adopting a meta-search strategy has become
unavoidable in today’s digital age and should be an integral part of your online marketing
activities. Meta-search engines have fast become the ‘virtual database’ of the future, with
potential travelers leaning both on traditional online booking channels and today’s meta-
search ecosystem. Not only do they complement traditional online booking channels, they
also excel by allowing hotels to draw valuable information from reviews and analysis.
Using meta-search engines increase direct bookings and improve your bottom line, but
they also provide additional benefits such as making the booking experience easier, more
personalized and much more centralized.
It’s crucial that you figure out the right balance to propel your property to online booking
channel and meta-search success. By having the right mix of integrated technology,
together with a cost-effective commercial model that provides a consistent ability to
convert more direct business, hotels around the world will have a huge opportunity to
lower their cost of acquiring direct business.
7 http://www.statista.com/statistics/295040/share-of-online-travelers-using-meta-search-tools/