BANGKOK Dusit International has launched a more interactive Dusit.com, with the Bangkok-based hotel company aiming for improved targeting of prospective guests and a more intuitive booking process.
The new website will also help Dusit understand its customers’ behavior better with guest history, web statistics, conversion rates and Google Analytics features. With an investment of almost 10 million baht (US$335,000), Dusit aims to increase the overall online bookings through Dusit.com from 12% in 2010 to 25% this year.
“The global traveler of today now expects 24/7 instantaneous connectivity wherever they are in the world,” says Jennifer Cronin, vice president of sales and marketing for Dusit. “In less than three years since the last website rebuild, as a company we have made a firm commitment to investing in the new Dusit.com and to be continually upgrading to keep up with these major changes in the way we do business. The project has taken almost 12 months to finalize to this point that we are at today, and will be an ongoing [key performance indicator] for our online marketing efforts.”
The revamped website features new content management and customer relationship management systems, including the ability to track guest booking patterns. Other features include a more flexible booking engine, enhanced search engine optimization capabilities, multi-language capability and group bookings technology.
Dusit is also planning to launch a smartphone application in April.
Ringzero Networks (Thailand) Ltd. was hired to develop and implement the new Dusit.com.
Other upcoming online marketing programs will include initiatives such as special online-only offers, driven by an increased proportion of 45% of the marketing budget allocated for online advertising.
Social networking has also taken a high priority at Dusit, with the appointment last year of the company’s first social media representative and the creation of social media standard operating procedures and social media “champions” at every Dusit property.