Who are you? I am Luke Terheyden, Solution Architect at Hotelchamp
How did you end up with Hotelchamp? I have a deep interest in the e-commerce world, and I find hotels the most interesting e-commerce product out there. When I heard about Hotelchamp in Amsterdam, I was thrilled to see that they were bringing advanced e-commerce technology and techniques to really lift the performance of hotel websites. When I met the large team I was convinced by the deep bench of talent that I knew I would be able to set the agenda for the future of hotel websites.
What do you think are the three things that nobody within the industry knows about you?
1. I studied War at King's College London, most of my friends are now commanders, spys and working in risk. 2. I had a PhD position to study terrorism which I gave up to join Hotelchamp. 3. As a child I helped out at my best friend's small hotel, which is where I got to know the hotel industry.
What are you going to talk about during the seminar?
It can seem quite mysterious to see huge percentages of web traffic leaving the website on every page visited. Hotels invest huge sums of money to bring people through the door, yet nearly all are leaving. By looking at websites from the perspective of the guest, we can understand the real reason people are leaving - and fix this problem. Every visitor is at a different stage in their booking journey. Some are ready to book and just want to work out where to get the best deal. Others are on the website to check out the images, and they may never even visit the city. By targeting visitors differently depending on where they are in their journey with persuasive messages, hotels can ensure they have maximum effect
What are the key points you want the participants to take with you from your speech? To understand why nearly everyone leaves without making a booking. To think about the guest journey and how guests experience hotel websites and to understand how hotels can fix their websites using techniques mastered by OTAs, to keep people On Site and make a booking
