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"Today, a hotel cannot survive without marketing automation."</div>
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Erich Falkensteiner
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Digitalization in Vacation Hotel Industry

The first part of the interview with Erich Falkensteiner focused on the history of the company and the career of the entrepreneur himself. The second part focused on the current exceptional situation in the hotel industry around COVID-19.

In this third part of the interview with Erich Falkensteiner, the topics of digitalization and online marketing are discussed in more detail. Mark Kantioler, responsible marketing manager of the Falkensteiner Hotels in South Tyrol, provides detailed insights. (Photo in header: FMTG Management Board - Andreas Falkensteiner, Erich Falkensteiner, Otmar Michaeler)

<h3 class="interview-question">What does "digitalization" mean to you in the hotel industry? What opportunities and risks do you see in the holiday hotel sector in particular? Is digitalization important for Falkensteiner and the Welcome Home principle?</h3>
Erich Falkensteiner: It has to be clearly stated: Communicate outwardly as people, inwardly digitally! By this I mean that the holiday hotel industry must understand that digitalization is a great support in the background for the back office. But in the front office, i.e. outwards to the guest, you don't need digital communication - the vacation guest doesn't want a computer in front of him, he wants a human being.
For internal processes and internal communication, however, we actively use digital media to move faster. Of course, all the hotels in the group are perfectly networked, and the Croatian hotels also know about Falkensteiner Club Funimation Katschberg regular guest Mrs. Meier from Munich, what her interests are and what her habits are.

<h3 class="interview-question">Which digital communication and sales channels are primarily used in the "Falkensteiner marketing mix", and how intense?</h3>
Mark Kantioler: Basically, the most important point of contact is our website and landing pages. Occasionally, we get a phone call from the Italian market or from South Tyrol, but in general, all of our traffic comes exclusively from online sales channels. The majority of our marketing budget is spent on performance campaigns: SEA marketing and social media ads are the biggest drivers of bookings and inquiries for us. In addition to this, we also use social media channels organically in the area of social media for hotels, as well as affiliate marketing and newsletter marketing. The latter is primarily used to retain existing and regular guests, to communicate continuously, and thus to generate inquiries and bookings.

PR is another area that has become increasingly important in recent years, both online and offline. And yes, we still use some budget for offline advertising to market hotels: targeted print ads, some out-of-home advertising (note: outdoor advertising or advertising in public spaces such as large billboards or posters on pillars) and radio advertising. However, the majority is definitely invested in digital campaigns as part of online tourism marketing. Of course, there are also local and international portals that we serve, but with different results: for some hotels they work well, for others less so.

<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"Of course, there are also local and international portals that we serve, but with different results: for some hotels they work well, for others less so."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Mark Kantioler</div></div></div>

<h3 class="interview-question">Are OTAs still relevant as a distribution channel for Falkensteiner Hotels?</h3>
Mark Kantioler: To be honest, I have to admit that we cannot yet work independently of them. But the number of bookings via OTAs is decreasing, on average between 10 and 20%. However, the proportion of bookings from OTAs varies greatly depending on the type of hotel: family hotels traditionally receive few bookings from OTAs because families are simply not well represented there. In the adults-only segment, on the other hand, the major portals do very well.

Our biggest criticism: the commission costs are simply too high, especially in the off-season. If you have a special offer running at the same time, there is not much left after the commissions. And the second major point of criticism: you don't get any guest data when booking through OTAs, or only with additional effort. And this data is crucial for further processing in order to communicate with the guest on an ongoing basis, to maintain guest loyalty and to increase the proportion of regular guests.

<h3 class="interview-question">Gift vouchers are considered a highly effective communication and marketing tool. How important are they as part of the Falkensteiner marketing mix?</h3>
Mark Kantioler: Vouchers are of course a tried and tested means of generating liquidity - especially in times when many hotels are completely shut down due to closures. The Falkensteiner Group has just revamped the voucher shop on its website and is implementing many new ideas in this area. This is done centrally at the headquarters in Vienna – the challenge is to standardize the needs of 30 different hotels & residences.

Automation as the Key to Innovation in the Hotel Industry

<h3 class="interview-question">travitude: Falkensteiner's travel blog is storytelling at its best: But what does a post about children's books about otherness, feminism and diversity have to do with your hotels and brand?travitude: Falkensteiner's travel blog is storytelling at its best: But what does a post about children's books about otherness, feminism and diversity have to do with your hotels and brand?</h3>
Mark Kantioler: The blog reflects the Falkensteiner philosophy and serves as inspiration on the topic of travel and travel planning, but also on our hotel concept topics of family, activities, recreation and wellness. These are topics that are important to the younger generation and are becoming increasingly important. Potential content is gathered in monthly brainstorming meetings, and then implemented by our own content creators. It is then distributed through the blog itself, social media channels and sometimes the newsletter. The blog really took off in 2020: there was a leap in the quality and proper distribution of content, so traffic tripled. The content created supports all communication and sales activities in the marketing of the hotels.

<div class="article_quote"><div class="article_quote_contain"><div class="article_quote_quote">"No hotel can exist today without marketing automation, it has become unavoidable and a top priority for us."</div><div class="article_quote_name u-text-style-main">Erich Falkensteiner</div></div></div>

<h3 class="interview-question">What is the role of marketing automation at Falkensteiner?</h3>
Erich Falkensteiner: It plays an absolutely major role for us – no hotel can exist today without marketing automation, it has become unavoidable and a top priority for us. That's why we founded Falkensteiner Ventures: I see it as an innovation factory for the whole group. The most important thing when setting up an innovation hub is never to integrate it into your own group. The hub would then have no chance and no opportunity to develop for young people with new ideas. The danger in your own company is to fall into the role of "We've been doing it this way for 10 years, and it's always worked". Once a product or service is established, the group can buy that service or the whole company.

The fourth and final part of the interview with Erich Falkensteiner provides detailed insights into Falkensteiner Ventures AG. Readers will learn which well-known start-ups have emerged from it and how crowd investing works for hotels.