TripAdvisor survey reveals insights into Thai Hotel Industry

TripAdvisor has revealed the results of the latest TripAdvisor Industry Index hotel survey.With more than 25,000 responses from hoteliers around the globe, and over 500 from Thailand alone, the survey has revealed some interesting findings about today’s top hospitality industry trends.

According to the survey, a greater percentage of Thailand (31%) and Indonesia (30%) hoteliers plan to increase the number of employees they have. In comparison, hoteliers in Japan (20%), New Zealand (9%) and Australia (8%) trail behind.

Nearly half (49%) of Thailand properties felt that the economy will improve, while in comparison, Indonesia ranks first in the world, with 67% of properties questioned expecting the economy to improve in the next 6 months.

Additionally, the business outlook for accommodation in Asia Pacific, has improved slightly as 50% now expect the economy to improve, up from 48% according to the last Industry Index survey in December 2011.

Most Positive Outlook:
1. Indonesia
2. Brazil
3. Russia
4. United States
5. India

Most Negative Outlook:
1. New Zealand
2. France
3. Spain
4. Italy
5. Greece

Larger Properties More Profitable

In the last six months, 29% of Thailand properties reported to have been extremely or very profitable. Additionally, 37% of larger properties (with over 50 rooms) indicated that they had been extremely or very profitable, compared to 24% of smaller properties (50 rooms or less).

Within Asia Pacific, Indonesia and India saw a stronger start to the year. 44% of accommodations in Indonesia and 35% in India reported being extremely or very profitable.

Room Rate Rankings

Top 5 for Lower Rates:
1. Greece – 58%
2. Spain – 43%
3. Italy – 37%
4. Australia – 32%
5. New Zealand – 29%

Top 5 for Higher Rates:
1. U.S. – 47%
2. Brazil – 42%
3. Russia¹ – 42%
4. Indonesia – 37%
5. Turkey – 35%

Special Offers and Deals: How Thailand Hotels Win Guests

Top Special Offers:
1. Discounts of rooms – 64%
2. Special amenities (e.g. free WiFi) – 49%
3. Free night’s stay with booking – 28%
4. Free parking – 19%
5. Free local transport – 17%

Only 5% of Thailand accommodations do not have any special offers.

41% of the respondents who do not currently offer free WiFi, plan to do so in the next six months

Thailand (80%) ranks #6 in the world for usage of social media to attract travellers after Malaysia (89%) and Indonesia (84%), but beating its counterparts in Asia Pacific such as Japan (62%), Australia (55%) and New Zealand (46%).

Across Thailand property types and sizes, respondents cited marketing through social media sites (51%), industry research/reports (41%) and friend’s recommendation (24%) as the top reasons why they are using social media, while posting deals (68%), responding to guest feedback (66%) and promoting events (50%) were the most common responses for how they are using these sites.

33% of respondents monitor mentions of their property once a day with 64% reporting that internal staff manages monitoring responsibility. In both cases, these were the most common responses.

Ranked #13 in the world for eco-friendly practices. Thailand hoteliers (75%) beat its counterparts in Asia Pacific such as Japan (69%) but is behind New Zealand (93%), Australia (80%), India (80%) and Malaysia (76%).

The most common eco-friendly programs are energy efficient light bulbs (66%), towel/linen reuse (65%) and energy efficiency program (61%).When asked why they offer eco-friendly programs, respondents cited cost reduction (69%) and marketing purpose (40%) as their top reasons.

“The TripAdvisor Industry Index underscores the current economic climate, as hoteliers in North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America are all approximately twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months than hoteliers in the EMEA region,” said Christine Petersen, president, TripAdvisor for Business. “What’s encouraging is the traction accommodations are making in the areas of online, social and mobile marketing. While currently only a quarter of respondents offer programs to engage with mobile device users, we expect this number to grow.”