Travel Tripper is now Pegasus! New name, new brand — but all the same great TT solutions as before. Follow us at @pegasussol and learn more at www.pegs.com.
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Gautam Lulla
The Hotel Website Is About to Split in Two
In my last post, I wrote about how the discovery layer in hospitality is being rewritten — AI agents mediating the guest journey before a traveler ever visits your website — and this is the other side of that conversation: what happens to the website itself. Short answer — it needs to become two things at once, and the way most hotel websites are built today, they're not really equipped to be either.
The Volatile Travel Landscape Makes Agile Technology More Important Than Ever | By Gautam Lulla – Hospitality Net
More than a year after the fact, it’s still stunning to look back at the performance figures across the travel industry from April 2020. Numbers cratered in every category. Overall RevPAR for US hotels fell to $17.93—a 79.9% YoY decrease from 2019. Business and operations teams were stripped down during that month, with more than 70% of hotel employees laid off. Airlines saw a 96% decrease in passengers. Search volumes for travel on Google fell to a fraction of their normal benchmarks.
The future of the CRS: Digital marketing connectivity and open APIs | By Gautam Lulla – Hospitality Net
We're seeing a dramatic shift in the hotel distribution landscape right now. For the last decade, there's been a boom in the number of new hospitality technology providers entering the market. These companies introduced fresh ideas and products into a tech landscape that had long been stagnant.
Op-Ed: What’s hidden in the fine print of Expedia’s “Revive and Relief” coronavirus recovery program
It has since begun piloting this “Revive and Relief” program in various markets, targeting independent hotels and small chains. In the program, Expedia promises to provide: Accelerator credits to increase visibility in a hotel’s search results. The amount of credits is equal to 25% of the total 2019 compensation they earned from bookings from the participating hotel’s property. 10% reduction in commissions on new bookings made during the duration of the program (90 days from start).
What's hidden in the fine print of Expedia’s “Revive and Relief” coronavirus recovery program | By Gautam Lulla – Hospitality Net
Expedia announced at the end of May that it would pledge $275M in coronavirus relief to the industry, with $250M going to its lodging partners in the form of marketing credits and reduced commissions. It has since begun piloting this "Revive and Relief" program in various markets, targeting independent hotels and small chains. In the program, Expedia promises to provide: Accelerator credits to increase visibility in a hotel's search results.
The future of the CRS | By Gautam Lulla – Hospitality Net
Opinion Article22 May 2019 By Gautam Lulla, President at Travel Tripper and Pegasus Solutions Comments We’re seeing a dramatic shift in the hotel distribution landscape right now. For the last decade, writes Travel Tripper’s Gautam Lulla, there’s been a boom in the number of new hospitality technology providers entering the market. These companies introduced fresh ideas and products into a tech landscape that had long been stagnant.
Understanding the True Cost of Distribution: Are You Leaving Money on the Table by Ignoring Your Direct Channel?
By Gautam Lulla Hotels can make the biggest impact to their bottom line with an optimized direct channel. But a recent white paper by HEDNA found most independent properties are underinvesting and undervaluing this crucial part of their business. In “Hotel Distribution Data Management And Analysis,” HEDNA discovered that just 48% of independents look closely at cost of distribution.
A hotel's guide to image SEO in 2018
Image search is an often-overlooked element of SEO, but hotels that take the time to optimize their imagery will find that it can bring significant benefits to their marketing efforts. With travel being such a visual and emotive industry, strong imagery, made easily searchable through strong optimization, can be a good way to inspire travellers to visit your destination, show off your hotel’s venue or event/function facilities, and build the overall brand of your hotel.
The end of the professional critic (and why you need to get over it)
This email is sent to you (_t.e.s.t_@example.com) with permission as part of your Hospitality Net registration.Click here to update your info or click here if you wish to unsubscribe. Hospitality Net, Boschcour 54, Maastricht 6221 LH, The Netherlands
6 hotel booking trends we’re watching in 2018
Significant changes look set to transform the travel industry in 2018. Blockchain technology, China's booming tourist sector, and the continuing travel ambitions of Airbnb, Facebook and Google all look set to define the coming 12 months. Here are six major trends we will be keeping an eye on in 2018. The dominance of the world's biggest travel review site will be heavily challenged in 2018.
6 Hotel Booking Trends We’re Watching in 2018
By Gautam Lulla Significant changes look set to transform the travel industry in 2018. Blockchain technology, China’s booming tourist sector, and the continuing travel ambitions of Airbnb, Facebook and Google all look set to define the coming 12 months. Here are six major trends we will be keeping an eye on in 2018. 1. Review platforms attempting to dethrone TripAdvisor The dominance of the world’s biggest travel review site will be heavily challenged in 2018.
5 Ways Hotels Can Use Behavioral Economics to Improve Conversion Rates
By Gautam Lulla Understanding the rationale behind consumer decision-making has long been an obsession for marketers. Popularized today as behavioral economics, brands such as Amazon and Netflix invest millions into understanding the psychology of their consumers shopping habits in order to drive purchases. In the travel industry, OTAs also build their platforms around principles of buying psychology to boost conversion rates.
Hotel metasearch evolution from price to product comparison
A recent article by Tnooz suggested it’s time for travel metasearch to evolve. But what should this evolution look like? On the one hand, the industry has made big strides recently. An increasing number of companies now allow customers to complete a booking on their own site, rather than sending them to the travel agent or hotel’s website to complete the transaction. A slicker service, for sure. But in other ways, the metasearch model has remained static.
Eye tracking in 2017 for Google hotel searches: Why the old rules don’t apply
When one of the first eye-tracking studies on Google search engine results pages (SERPs) came out in 2005, researchers from Mediative discovered that there was a distinct pattern to the way people read the pages—what became known as the “Golden Triangle.” By 2014 a new eye-tracking study found that this model had shifted, owing to many changes and developments in Google search pages.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Gautam
Contact Gautam, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack