Paper directory binned as Hilton goes online

Hilton International is dropping its Worldwide Directory in favour of a series of ‘Ebrochures’.

Replacing the Hilton Worldwide Directory with global Ebrochures will give savings of over £1 million in production costs for over 900,000 brochures over three years, the company estimates. It will also enable a reduction in printing of 162 million pages and in distribution of 283 tons.

The electronic brochures are being made available across nine Hilton and Scandic hotels’ websites in seven languages. Information is available on more than 400 Hilton and 130 Scandic properties.

The move is part of a strategy to increase online business to 25% over the next three years as more customers move to the web to shop and buy hotel products, Hilton said. When using broadband, 10 pages of colour content can be delivered per second and a 20-page Ebrochure can be created in 2.5 seconds.

The three types of Ebrochure formats include a Directory Listing which provides a brief description, amenities and location map; a Quick Reference Guide offering one page of information on hotel amenities, local attractions and directions; and a Complete Hotel Brochure giving two pages of individual hotel information with leisure and business facilities, local attractions and travel details.

The company quoted PhoCusWright statistics showing that one in two people currently use the web to make a purchase decision and that the travel industry is the largest sector with 34% share globally. In the US alone, online channels will generate 60% of gross travel bookings by 2008.  It is also predicted that the number of reservations made via hotel brand websites will continue to increase by over 60% by 2008.

The hotel group’s marketing senior vice-president Mike Ashton said: “The hotel industry is experiencing a phenomenal growth in online reservations. Our Hilton branded websites are key sales and marketing tools with the best choice for business and leisure customers, industry partners and travel agents.

“Delivering bespoke and dynamic online Ebrochures is an important step in our strategy to increase online bookings and to deliver innovative tools for our customers.

“The Ebrochures offer unrivalled, real time information, latest offers and best rates guaranteed and enable travel agents to present clients with tailored information at a click of a button. In the first trial month 300,000 pages of personalised Ebrochure content have been researched.”

Report by Phil Davies