Newswise — NEW YORK – So long, paper travel guides. For the hotel world, it’s the invasion of the tech and social media world. Consumer-travelers now force hotel-review web sites and the hotels themselves – if they want to survive in this business climate – into economic efficiency.
Now, the hotel industry’s lifeblood runs through the heart of social media. Chris Anderson, Cornell associate professor, in the School of Hotel Administration, offers fresh data on how travel review web sites, the online reputation of hotels and hotel-industry elasticity are forming a 2013 tidal wave of change. He talks on this new research at a journalists-only luncheon on Monday, Nov. 12, 2012 from 12:30 to 2 p.m., at Times Square in Manhattan. (With journalist RSVP, location will be disclosed.) Also joining the discussion will be Michael Johnson, dean, Cornell School of Hotel Administration
Consumers don’t dawdle. Anderson unveils fresh information on how long consumers spend on TripAdvisor.com versus deciding where to stay, versus making a reservation elsewhere. He can tell you which web sites consumers visit before and after looking at TripAdvisor.
Anderson then explains the value – sometimes lack thereof – of consumer web review scores and how those scores affect rooms-sold data, and how hotels perform against like-competitors and how it impacts total revenue. He examines “aggregate” reviews using different web sites to discern the prices charged. Ultimately, he illuminates how current online reputation affects a hotel’s average daily rate, product price and occupancy, and relative performance to review scores. About Inside Cornell: This event is part of a monthly series held in New York City featuring researchers and experts working at Cornell University's centers in Ithaca, Manhattan and around the world. The free, catered lunch sessions are on-the-record, and media members are welcome to record video and audio as desired.Media Contact: Blaine Friedlander [email protected] Desk: (607) 254-8093 Mobile: (607) 351-2610-30-
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