BF Saul Success Story
Situation
• B.F. Saul owns and operates a portfolio of 19 business class hotels
• Airport, urban and suburban markets
• Full-service, select service and extended stay
• Hilton, IHG and Marriott
Challenge
David Attardi, Director of E-Commerce ensures that people are finding AND booking B.F. Saul’s hotels on the Internet, including brand websites, independent websites, online travel agencies (OTA) and more. Prior to joining B.F. Saul, their hotels had inconsistent online presences and something needed to be done in order to extract more value from online channels and increase bookings.
Solution
David focused on refining B.F. Saul’s Hotels’ messages on the sales floor by upgrading from photo and virtual tour distribution to video distribution for all properties. “There is so much inconsistency in the media out there for your hotel, VFM Leonardo represents a reliable, centralized, and consistent voice for your hotel,” states David.
Benefits
Distributing video is a great way to tell a hotel’s story and engage prospective guests online on brand.com, hotel.com, OTAs. With VFM Leonardo’s VBrochure Ultra Premium Online Merchandising System, David has the ability to display all types of visual content (video, virtual tours, photos) in an ‘e-brochure’ on the hotel websites and throughout the VNetwork. “The true value of VFM Leonardo is their distribution network,” states David. The VBrochure system is an easy way to manage visual content and distribution for all of B.F. Saul’s hotel properties in one central location. As a result, B.F. Saul’s hotels are consistently well-merchandised online.
Results
Online bookings increased 30% on average across the board from FY ‘07 to FY ’08. That’s double the industry average growth in online bookings in 2008 of 15%, according to PhoCusWright. Further, revenue per visit has increased over 300% since 2006. “Media, Media, Media…Visuals SELL hotel rooms… show them off! E-Brochures are GREAT selling tools that let you show off your hotel with professional still shots, 360 virtual tours and HD videos,” states David.
What our Customers and
Partners Say
What VFM Leonardo brought to our hotel is an unbiased 'eye' and an industry leading knowledge of how we can better connect with consumers through the use of rich media marketing. Being tapped by Best Western corporate to produce and distribute virtual tours meant VFM Leonardo could balance the brand standards with the unique features of our hotel. Their courteous production staff helped us select the most important features to our customers and then shot them without any interruption to our operation. While there are millions of travelers considering a Jackson Hole holiday, the Best Western Inn at Jackson Hole now stands out from the crowd thanks to VFM Leonardo.
Mark Weakland, Director of Sales,
Best Western Inn at Jackson Hole
