When it comes to the Internet, here are the two most critical questions that should be addressed and that are curiously absent from the traditional distribution intelligence reports:

• Price vs. Positioning on the Web
• Direct vs. Indirect online channel utilization

Please read more in our article: In Search of the Internet Intelligence Report That Makes Sense Growing online distribution drives demand for new intelligence tools. HospitalityNet, 2003.

Price vs. Positioning - Traditional intelligence reports provide GDS pricing data but do not address the critical question of positioning of hotels on major online intermediary services and the search engines. On the Internet, positioning (ranking) is equal if not more important than pricing for the hotelier to make sound revenue management decisions. The order in which the hotel appears on a search engine or online travel intermediary website is of absolute importance otherwise no one will find your hotel rates.

Bear Stearns analysts’ research uncovered that being listed in the top five assures the highest level of bookings, and that after the fifth slot, bookings drop dramatically. Many surveys confirm the existence of the so called "50% Factor" - roughly 50% of people that visit the first web page go to the 2nd page, and only 50% of them go to the 3rd page, and so on.

Direct vs. Indirect Online Channel Utilization - Roughly 53% of all online bookings this year will be completed directly through hotel-sponsored websites. If your hotel is not generating at least 53% of its online bookings directly from the hotel website then you are not competitive on the Web and run the risk of long term price and brand erosion caused by the intermediaries. Therefore Direct vs. Indirect Channel utilization of your comp set is of critical importance. None of the traditional intelligence reports address this issue.

The IDM Report is produced as a quarterly intelligence report or a one-time analysis report and comes in two versions: Property IDM Report (for a single property) or Brand IDM Report (for major brands and multi-market lodging companies).

The IDM Report is the ideal tool to benchmark your and your comp set’s Internet presence and evaluate your progress. Are your competitors selling online? What online channels are they utilizing to move inventory? How effective is their Direct Web Distribution Strategy? Are they focusing on the Direct Channel or their online distribution is skewed toward the Indirect Channel? How well are they utilizing third-party channels and marketing initiatives? How do you compare to them?

For a snapshot of how well your hotel compares in online channel utilization, positioning, pricing and presentation, get fast and competitive intelligence at your fingertips.

The IDM Report evaluates the hotel and its comp set's position and visibility in Cyberspace and measure performance on various online channels. It measures up the hotel with its competitive set evaluating the use of the direct vs. indirect online channels—offering pricing and positioning information. It will determine if the hotel's online distribution is skewed toward indirect channels to the detriment of the hotel brand and price integrity. It would compare website to website, ranking on search engines and utilization of the direct channel, as well as pricing and positioning on major third-party channels.

The multi-page IDM Intelligence Report offers concrete recommendations and easy to understand comparison charts that will help you understand not only how you fare with the comp set, but what you can do to remedy and improve the situation. Build an effective and competitive online distribution strategy, gain clarity and control over your Internet distribution strategy, and measure and maintain your lead online long term.