1 How do hotels regain control of their price and brand ? David Hughes Sales, Marketing and Commercial, EMEA 17 th May 2004

2 ….rumours of my death are greatly exaggerated…. Mark Twain

3 In the next 20 minutes….. Touchpoints and Brands Not all customers are the same Pricing Managing those channels

4 Many Customers Many Hotels Touchpoints

5 The role of the brands Brands are a badge of trust, a shorthand -For guests -For investors Every time a guest interacts with us, it influences their view of the brand Our is a family of experiential brands Good brands are consistent

6 Not all customers are the same

7 The Martini strategy Any time Any place Any where

8 Pricing Trust Through the customer’s eyes Consistent across channel Simple

9 FLEX Rate VALUE ADD Low Discount VALUE ADD Medium Discount VALUE ADD High Discount Pricing is simple VALUE ADD

10 Educating the customers is also key

11 A topical example….online third party intermediaries A valuable source of business but can be expensive On everyone’s shelf Can cause problems for brands, hotels and customers Standards required

12 The standard (simple version) Chain control of the brand marks (e.g. keywords) Hotel control of the price point Yieldable channel Retail selling model for room only distribution Distributors clearly positioned as agents - it’s a channel not a client Automation is essential Pay for performance

13 What this means in practice Flexibility for the hotel on the rooms they make available Flexibility on the rate the hotel charges Retail pricing model that gives the hotel control of the price point and clarifies the tax position Automated solution that guarantees performance for the guest and allows the hotel to benefit from system scale Commissions which reflect the incrementality of the business to the hotel Control of keywords and brand marks to ensure TPI business is incremental

14 Conclusion Most of the brand is hotel delivery The booking experience remains an important element We want to be on all shelves - and will be Pricing needs to be consumer focused Hotel education is essential Channels have to be appropriate for guests, hotels and the brands

15 Thank you