We also hear that hotels have a unique and powerful advantage over OTAs and metasearch engines because they own the actual guest experience during the hotel stay.
What's more, all research points to mobile as an increasingly important component of the guest's journey, and that when it comes to loyal members, native app could just be the answer.
"Because our loyalty members stay with us a lot, we are able to understand their needs and better meet their expectations," says Intercontinental Hotels Group's (IHG), Fabrizio Di Martino, its manager for mobile and social media in Europe.