BigHospitality Online Trends Survey 2012

BigHospitality Online
Trends Survey 2012

Online trends among restaurant,
hotel, pub & bar professionals
BigHospitality Online Trends Survey 2012
Page 1 2012 | BigHospitality.co.uk

Executive Summary
Online trends among restaurant, hotel, pub & bar professionals

In January 2012, BigHospitality conducted a survey of its user base of restaurant,
hotel, pub & bar professionals.
The objective of the BigHospitality Online Trends Survey was to determine online
usage trends among BigHospitality readers. The survey was taken by 251 hospitality
professionals based in the UK. Highlights from the survey results include:
71.7% use the Internet for more than six hours per week for work purposes
85% use the Internet to find products, equipment, services and suppliers for
their business
84.3% have visited an advertisers website as a result of viewing online
advertisements when browsing online for work
83.9% have downloaded information for use or future reference when
visiting websites for work
50.2% access the Internet via mobile devices every day for work purposes
62.2% read their work emails every day via mobile devices
89% use the Internet to promote their businesses
83.8% use social networks to market their business


Recommendations
Online activities hospitality professionals cant afford to ignore anymore

An industry that has embraced the fast changing online world
As diners and guests at restaurants, hotels and pubs and bars increasingly use the
Internet to make reservations, compare prices and read reviews, professionals in
the hospitality industry have been forced to move online quickly to market their
businesses.
As a result 89% use the Internet to promote their own businesses and 85% now
use the Internet to find products, equipment, services and suppliers for their own
business.

Stay ahead by building a strong online presence
Hospitality professionals use multiple online resources to search for information,
products and suppliers, with over 73% visiting five or more work-related websites
per week.

Because of this, suppliers cannot afford not to have a strong online presence
anymore. Our survey shows that when researching a potential work-related
purchase, the top four resources in order of priority are: search engines, word of
mouth, industry trade publications websites and of course suppliers websites;
the dominant role of the Internet is clear.

Thankfully there are simple steps to start businesses on their road to online
success. On top of a robust website you need to ensure good rankings in search
engines, use industry websites providing you with lead generation tools, harness
the power of email marketing and promote your brand via banner advertising; the
role of advertising remaining very clear, with 84.3% visiting an advertisers website
as a result of viewing online advertisements.

To reap the benefits of these developing trends, advertisers need to embrace the
online habits of their clients and prospects to develop a broad marketing mix that
encompasses search marketing, banners, social media and lead generation.


Keep your eye on social media
Nowadays, the majority of hospitality professionals know the importance of social
networks: 83.8% use them to promote their own business with 63.8% using
Facebook and 57% Twitter as a way to boost trade and communicate directly with
customers.

These social media tools are free, help to build a community around your brand and
allow you to promote your business in an environment where competitive offers
and good feedback are shared readily between users. The sometimes negative
effects of online review sites have been well publicised in recent months, actively
embracing social media allows you to build meaningful relationship with customers
and resolve complaints before customers feel obliged to publicise their problems.

The mobile revolution
Our survey found that more than half (50.2%) of hospitality professionals access
the Internet on a daily basis for work on their mobiles or smartphones. Also,
62.2% read their work email every day via a mobile device. This highlights that
whether researching products on their desktop computer, or keeping in touch while
on the move, hospitality professionals are always connected to the web.


41.0%
18.7%
16.7%
13.9%
8.8%
0.8%
0.0%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
More than 12
hours
3 - 5 hours 9 - 12 hours 6 - 8 hours 1 - 2 hours None Less than 1
hour
How much time per week do you spend on the Internet for
work purposes
57.7% of respondents spend nine hours or more on the Internet per week for work
purposes.

50.2%
21.9%
12.0%
8.4%
7.6%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Everyday Never 2 - 3 times per
week
4 or more Once a week
How often per week do you access the Internet with a smartphone
or a tablet (iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android) for work purposes
50.2% access the Internet everyday with a smartphone or a tablet for work purposes.

62.2%
23.9%
5.6%
5.2%
3.2%
0.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
Everyday Never 4 or more 2 - 3 times per
week
Once a week
How often per week do you check your emails with a smartphone
or a tablet (iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android) for work purposes
62.2% check their work emails everyday with a smartphone or a tablet.

32%
38%
39%
40%
42%
46%
53%
56%
57%
61%
66%
76%
84%
85%
90%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Find standards
Request samples
Career research/job search
Peer reviews of products/suppliers
Training/workshops/tutorials/seminars
Find product availability information
Request price quote
Compare products across suppliers
Business advice
Purchase products
Find pricing information
Obtain product information
Research
Find products, equipment, services and suppliers
News and trends
For which of the following have you used the Internet for your
work purposes
News and trends leads the way with 90% of respondents having used the Internet to stay
up-to-date with industry developments, closely followed by the 85% who have used online
to find products, equipment, services and suppliers.


43.0%
30.7%
20.7%
5.2%
0.4%
0.0%
0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
50.0%
More 5 - 10 3 - 4 2 1 None
How many different work-related websites do you generally
visit in a week
73.7% visit five or more work-related websites in a week.

2.1
2.7
3.0
3.1
3.3
3.5
3.6
3.8
3.8
3.9
4.4
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0
Blogs
Networking sites (Facebook - LinkedIn - Twitter)
Print catalogues
Supplier sales representatives
Industry conferences / trade shows / in person
seminars
Industry trade publications - Print
BigHospitality
Supplier websites
Industry trade publications - Websites
Word of mouth / peer / colleagues
General search engines (Google - Yahoo! - Bing)
When researching a potential work-related purchase, how
valuable do you find each of the following resources
( 1= not at all valuable, 5= very valuable)
Four of the top five most valuable resources when researching a work-based purchase are
based online, with search engines deemed to be the most valuable by our respondents.
Word of mouth and print editions of industry trade publications are considered to be the
most important offline resources.

11.1%
88.9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
No
Yes
Do you use the Internet to promote your own business
20%
80%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%
Yes
No
Do you use online voucher schemes to promote your business
88.9% of respondents use the Internet to promote their own business.
80% of respondents use online voucher schemes to promote their own business.

8.1%
16.2%
17.0%
17.4%
18.7%
43.4%
57.0%
63.8%
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%
Other
None
Google+
YouTube
Blogging
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Which social networks do you use to promote your business
83.8% of respondents use social networks to promote their business; Facebook proved the
most popular with 63.8% utilising it.

6.8%
11.1%
15.7%
23.8%
34.5%
35.7%
36.2%
43.4%
0.0% 5.0% 10.0% 15.0% 20.0% 25.0% 30.0% 35.0% 40.0% 45.0% 50.0%
Other
Blogging
YouTube
Google+
None
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
Which social networks do you use to find information about
your industry or product information
65.5% of respondents use social networks to find information about products and the
industry in general; LinkedIn leads the way with 43.4% utilising it.

27%
23% 23%
17%
10%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
Everyday Never 2-3 times per week Once a week 4 or more
How often per week do you use social networks for work
purposes
60% use social networks for work purposes at least two times a week with 27% of
respondents logging on everyday.

30.0%
50.9%
59.6%
62.2%
83.9%
83.9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Downloaded a white paper
Ordered samples
Passed commercial information on to a colleague
Purchased product online
Contacted a supplier
Downloaded information for use or future
reference
As a result of visiting a website for work purposes, have you
taken any of these actions
83.9% of respondents have both downloaded information for future use/reference and
contacted a supplier having visited a website for work purposes.

8.7%
36.1%
38.7%
44.3%
45.2%
55.2%
84.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%100%
None
Called the advertiser
Bookmarked the advertisers site for future
reference
Purchased product from their website
Forwarded the advertisers website to a colleague
E-mailed the advertiser
Visited advertisers website
As a result of seeing an advertisement online, have you taken
any of these actions?
84.3% of respondents have visited an advertisers website having seen an advertisement
online.

About BigHospitality

BigHospitality is used by hospitality professionals to stay in touch with the latest
news on the industry and help them to find information on products, business
advice and services. BigHospitality readers benefit from in-depth analysis, access to
videos and audio podcasts and an advanced search engine. It is read by more than
70,000 professionals each month in the UK, its daily newsletter is received by more
than 20,000 subscribers and engages with more than 11,000 people on social
networks.
For more information on BigHospitalitys comprehensive marketing solutions that
complement your traditional programs, please contact us:

Email: tim.evans@wrbm.com | Tel: 01293 610 353

About BigHospitality Jobs

Each month, more than 24,000 hospitality professionals look for a new position
using BigHospitality Jobs.
BigHospitality Jobs is the place to go when youre thinking about posting jobs or
hiring candidates. BigHospitality Jobs is more than just job posting, you can also
grab the opportunity to:
Find the perfect candidate by browsing our CV database
Reach our 20,000 daily subscribers with a featured listing in BigHospitalitys
newsletter
Advertise your companys values with our company profile feature
Add video and special layouts to enhance your jobs
Benefit from the strong qualified traffic of the BigHospitality content site
Looking for your perfect candidate? Simply get in touch with our team today.
Want to advertise a job?
Email: recruit@bighospitality.co.uk | Tel: 01293 610 260

BigHospitality Online Trends Survey 2012

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