A modern online presence | episode 6
Reading Time: 1 minuteContinuing our tour around the world, in this sixth episode of the series “The Importance of a modern online presence” we went to Iceland and spoke to Sonja Magnusdottir, Sales and Marketing manager for G J Travel, one of the oldest tour operators in Iceland.
For Sonja there are little doubts regarding to stress that the Internet has become the most important channel to reach out to customers. Better yet, it is also the cheapest way to do it. Sonja didn’t forget about one important issue: to be visible on every search engine out there. This is really important as most travelers do start their search on OTA’s or on Google. One of the emerging trends however is that people are now asking their social network about a good place to stay before they actually start their search.
Despite the crisis people will still be traveling in 2011 and for Sonja, the big challenge for hotels next year is just to be visible. There is an increasing competition but if you are offering a good deal, good value for money and you are able to have it visible and bookable on your website, you’ll do well. It’s that simple!
Long gone are the times when there was the need of a large budget and a great deal of time to build a strong online presence. In fact, for most hoteliers, the development of the hotel’s website was almost seen (and felt!) like having a baby, due to the time they consumed and headaches involved. Speed is really one of the key points to create a strong online presence because it provides flexibility to test different approaches and see what works better with your customers. One question: Are you able to change your website and your offer quickly and by yourself?
