Lodging professionals agree that successful marketing campaigns focus on specific segments and include the right mix of television, radio, press and, now, Internet advertising. Of these promotional channels, the Internet has the greatest potential to reach a global audience in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

The benefits of Internet promotion cannot be ignored. The Internet's strategic advantages include:

• Continuous 24-Hour / 7-Day Featuring and Booking
• Information On-Demand
• Worldwide Reach
• Targeted Reach through Strategic Online Partnerships
• Push Advertising - Indirectly Requested Media
          1. Banners
          2. Interstitials ("Pop-Up"s and Inter-Stream Ads)
          3. E-Mail
• Pull Advertising - Specifically Requested Media
          1. Sensory-Rich Streaming Audio and Video ("Rich Media")
          2. Searchable Information - Websites, White Papers, Reviews
• Statistical Evaluation of Online Marketing Efforts

By using the Internet platform to support rich-media advertising initiatives, hoteliers gain the ability to efficiently reach targeted segments within the global market and evaluate these online campaigns, simultaneously lowering overall advertising costs.     

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In Internet terms, video is considered “rich media” because it provides a sensory-rich experience, delivering information in an entertaining way. Video on the Internet, once requested (by clicking on the “video tour” icon) presents its content to the end user without them having to make decisions, or interact in any other way.

Over the last few years, rich media advertising has grown in popularity among advertisers. Industry metrics consistently indicate that the average click-through conversion rate on traditional banner ads is less than 1%. For rich media like HotelView, available metrics indicate that the average “Book It” conversion rate ranges from 8% to 12% of an ever expanding browsing public.

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Visual Data Corporation has positioned the HotelView program to accommodate the variety of video production needs of individual hotels, hotel management groups and global hotel chains, while maintaining a uniform program consisting of online hosting and distribution with quantifiable results.

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HotelView's core component consists of a two to five minute video vignette, showcasing a featured motel, hotel or resort ("property"). In simple terms, HotelView vignettes allow viewers to preview a property's external features and internal amenities; thus, its slogan "Go There, Before You Get There!".

Specifically, HotelView vignettes are produced with the viewer in mind. Every vignette is professionally produced in-house, complete with musical background and voice narration. HotelView is committed to providing viewers with an informative and entertaining experience.

Once production is completed, each member's vignette is uploaded and tested for Internet distribution. Online HotelView vignettes consist of either a slideshow or full motion video available in the following five format/connection combinations:

Microsoft's Windows Media Player - bundled with MS Internet Explorer
1) 56k Dial-Up: Slideshow (optimized for narrowband)
2) 100k ISDN: Full-Motion Video
3) 300k Cable: Full-Motion Video

RealNetwork's RealPlayer
4) 56k Dial-Up: Slideshow
5) 100k+ ISDN and Cable: Full-Motion Video
Additionally, each HotelView member is provided with VHS copies (in either NTSC or PAL) or CD-ROMS of their professionally produced property vignette. Other ancillary production services include: loop tapes, CD business cards, DVDs and foreign language narrations.

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Simply put, HotelView provides members with a complete Internet solution, leaving no aspect of online vignette support and distribution to the hotelier…..

In addition, HotelView also manages the onward distribution of each member’s vignette through to their Internet site and throughout HotelView’s rapidly expanding network of preferred content partners. HotelView’s partners represent some of the Internet’s top portal, destination, hotel reservation, meeting planner, travel information, travel agent, and multimedia sites.

Through the continuous tracking of a property’s vignette activity, HotelView provides members with real-time metrics. Specific property metrics include highlighted sources of “Video-Views” and “Book-Its”. These valuable metrics combine to formulate a hotelier’s Return on Investment (ROI)

A video-view is registered every time a user requests to view a property vignette. A member property’s video-views may be segmented by a content partner and by specific format/speed combination.
A booking conversion is registered every time a consumer utilizes a property’s “Book It” link throughout HotelView’s content partner network. These conversions can be segmented by partner.

The following ROI models use HotelView’s metrics to effectively calculate a member property’s ROI, based upon a model specifically created for HotelView by PricewaterhouseCoopers

This case study represents the actual first quarter 2001 ROI for a member resort, located on a popular island in the Caribbean.

Utilizing its online network, the sole objective of the HotelView program is to generate incremental online revenue for its member properties. This objective is reached by:

1. producing a professional property vignette
2. promoting the property through meaningful online distribution
3. enhancing consumers’ search for acceptable accommodations, and
4. facilitating lodging reservations

But, HotelView is not a reservation company. Instead, HotelView is a complete online media solution!!

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