Direct Online Hotel Distribution: Review And Prospects. Part 1

Hilton relies on a movie star to attract new customers

In September 2018, the American hotelier launched an advertising campaign under the slogan “Expect Better. Expect Hilton.”, which featured movie star Anna Kendrick. The idea was to address customers of generations Y and Z (18-34 years-old), with whom the celebrity is known. The ad encouraged them to use Hilton's booking platform and thus benefit from the Hilton Honors loyalty program. The strategy was ultimately to compete with digital platforms by strengthening direct booking.

One year after the first campaign, Hilton renewed this communication operation in September 2019. With the same actress, Hilton released a series of new videos with much of the same humorous and offbeat tone. The objective was to highlight all the advantages that the Hilton Honors booking and loyalty program provide, such as the loyalty points (redeemable for nights after collecting a  certain amount of them), room choice, free Wi-Fi, opening the hotel room via a mobile phone, or the assurance of having the best rates in the Hilton group (with a commitment to reducing the direct selling price by 25% compared to the price posted elsewhere than at Hilton).

With regards to this last point, replicas of online platforms sometimes sell hotel rooms at the same rates as the direct booking originals. Finally, Hilton wanted to take this opportunity to remind customers that all these advantages are valid in all the hotels of the group's 17 brands.

The campaign was a great success according to the group's official results: a 10% increase in the number of potential customers (all age groups combined) who book directly and who usually book indirectly, an increase in the number of new customers who stay at Hilton for the first time, and a 20%...