Study: Music tempo key to tourism commercial effectiveness – Tourism organizations produce commercials with fast-tempo music to gain the audience’s attention and increase message recall, according to a recently published study. Researchers at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management reported that as fast-tempo music demands more processing resources, advertisers compensate by including fewer scenes. They suggest that marketing organizations are “walking on the edge by striking a delicate balance between aural and visual information load.” The use of music in TV commercials can exploit this ability to create and change the listener’s mood, so watching a tourism commercial has the potential to create or change the perception of a destination. Researchers reported that music with around 120 beats per minute and roughly 15 scenes is about right for a 30-second commercial. The fast tempo combined with a slight reduction in visual information will ensure the audience’s attention without creating a processing overload.
Report: Restaurant decisions influenced by consumer needs, industry trends — Consumers decide to eat away from home for many different reasons. Maybe they’re looking for a fun-filled environment or a family-friendly atmosphere. Or perhaps they crave a favorite menu item or simply a convenient, budget-friendly meal. Often the decision to eat out stems from more than one reason. Restaurants that genuinely understand consumers’ most significant visit drivers can take important steps to tweak their operations and win incremental business. To help foodservice executives better understand consumer behavior, preferences and attitude, Technomic has developed the Menu Positioning & Occasion Driver Consumer Trend Report. Among the findings:
- 70 percent of consumers say they order shareable meals so they can try more than one item on the menu
- Cravings are strong foodservice purchase drivers with 50 percent of all consumers’ – and 59 percent of younger males’ (aged 18-24) – foodservice occasions are driven by cravings
- 55 percent of consumers look for combo meals when seeking strong overall value for their money at restaurants and other foodservice locations
- When having a regular meal with family or friends, nearly three-fifths of consumers (58 percent) prefer comfort foods
- And more than any other factor, 69 percent of consumers report that dining with friends contributes to a fun, exciting restaurant experience.
STR: Key trends that will shape the hotel sector in 2013 – According to Smith Travel Research, there are several key trends that will affect the hotel industry and impact per-available-room revenue during 2013. With banks lending again, the number of rooms in the pipeline is steadily increasing so expect to see new hotel openings throughout 2013, mostly in the limited- and select-service categories. While the rate of growth for room demand will slow in 2013, hoteliers once again will sell more room nights. In an environment of continued scrutiny, government travel is an easy scapegoat and likely will be reduced further. Fewer resort fees, more ADR demand and more mobile bookings are also among the trends.
STR: Preliminary year-end data indicates that the U.S. hotel industry will finish strong – STR’s preliminary year-end data indicates that the U.S. hotel industry will finish 2012 by posting strong performances in all major metrics. Based on STR data through November, preliminary 2012 year-end results for the U.S. hotel industry include increases in supply (0.5 percent) and demand (2.8 percent), a 2.3-percent increase in occupancy to 61.3 percent, a 4.3-percent rise in average daily rate to US$106.17, and a 6.6-percent jump in revenue per available room to $65.08.
Blogger: When to redesign your website – ‘Emarketing Muse’ Scott van Hartesvelt was recently asked by a client how often a website needed to be redesigned. The company was planning for its 2013 budget and wanted to know if the time had come to give its website a facelift. That question inspired him to write a guide, something to help readers evaluate their own website needs. The simple answer is that a hotel’s or resort’s website should be in an almost constant state of improvement. In order to allow for that, clients should insist their websites be built with easy-to-use content management systems. However, there comes a time when a website has run its course and needs to be redesigned.