Hilton Worldwide is pushing
for guests to book direct in its new advertising campaign, called "Stop
Clicking Around." Hilton said it is the largest marketing campaign in
the hotel company’s 97-year history.
The first TV ad aired
during the Feb. 15 broadcast of the Grammy Awards. The commercial uses the
Rolling Stones song “Satisfaction” as its theme music and includes a voiceover
encouraging potential guests to “book direct at Hilton.com for the lowest price
online.”
Hilton has said that HHonors
loyalty program members can get an “exclusive discount on room rates” and other
benefits such as free room nights and free WiFi if they book direct. These
perks also are available to customers who book through "approved"
travel agents, said Hilton. However, Hilton's TV ad makes no mention of travel
agents.
ASTA has voiced displeasure
about hotel companies' book-direct advertising. Last summer, Marriott launched
an YouTube marketing campaign with the
tagline, “It pays to book direct.” ASTA said ads were “misleading” and
“disparaging” to travel agents, and the organization ultimately pressured
Marriott to remove one of the YouTube videos.
An ASTA representative
didn’t respond to a request for comment about the Hilton campaign on Tuesday.
The campaign by Hilton is a
follow-up of sorts to an initiative Hilton launched last August. Under that
program, HHonors members who book direct or through traditional travel agents
who use a Hilton-owned distribution channel or a GDS are granted free WiFi for
their stay.
Hilton representatives
weren’t immediately available on Tuesday to say how travel agents can get the
“Stop Clicking Around” perks for their customers or how the current campaign is
connected, if at all, to last year’s effort.
Hilton's primary goal
appears to be stymieing the growth of online travel agencies, believed
to be hotels' most expensive sales channel. Travel research firm Phocuswright says
that half of all online hotel bookings currently go through the OTAs and the
hotel supplier websites get the other half. However, Phocuswright forecasts
that the OTAs share is expected to grow to 51% in 2017.
Furthermore, Phocuswright
recently said that the OTAs' gross hotel bookings have grown by double digits each
year since 2013.