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The article introduced about the opportunities and challenges if the hotels want to expand their ecommerce in China. As the China Internet Network Information Center said, more than 500 million Internet users reside in China while it is still growing, hotels around the world believe that it is a big opportunities to develop their online distribution in China. However, although this is a big opportunities, there are also many challenges which can influence the effect. As the author said, the challenges are government restriction, language and translation and lack of adequate technology. As many hoteliers said, in china, it is very hard to develop its ecommerce. The key issue is the language, only the companies can find professional staff to translate the system into Chinese, the ecommerce can be used. Also, as Chinese credit limits are very low, most of the overseas travel transactions are completed offline in cash.However, hoteliers are trying to find solutions to beat challenges like hiring local marketing agencies or developing in-house marketing teams. Also working with local partners has been more used in the industry.

This article discusses the importance of ecommerce becoming a more personalized experience for customers. It talks about how Amazon and Netflix do a great job in finding items their customers may be interested on based on their past purchases and recent searches. I found it interesting how social networks such as Facebook are being targeted to assist with ecommerce. Companies want to take what Facebook members put on their page and use it as data for when they visit their website. That way they already have some information on the customer before they even visit. Companies are being challenged in the way they maintain this data. Many companies are having issues figuring out how to store the data they receive from their customers. I think it's a great idea and absolutely love when online shopping sites show me items similar to what I was looking at. A majority of the time I click on what was suggested and purchase it or at least like it. I agree that ecommerce needs to become more personalized because it is the future of shopping. Many people are lazy and find it easier to just purchase items via the Internet than actually visit a store. The internet needs to find a way to provide that customer service feeling that customers are provided when they visit a physical store.

With increased competition, Walmart is now offering a similar program to that of Amazon. Now Walmart shoppers are able to utilize free 2 day shipping with a purchase of over $35 (a decrease from that of $50 before). By decreasing the price Walmart will now enable more of its shoppers to take advantage. Marc Lore, president and CEO of Walmart US eCommerce said "in today's world of eCommerce, two day free shipping is table stakes. It no longer makes sense to charge for it." Amazon made just shy of $513 million in the first quarter of 2016 (Wired.com). I'm sure this is one way in which Walmart aims to get a piece of that pie in 2017.

This article talks about the future delivery trends expected to emerge in the Ecommerce business. Many shoppers are moving their shopping experience online for reasons such as convenience, time saver etc. However, there are many consumers who prefer the offline shopping experience and some choose to do it because of the lack of certain services online. One of the main reasons they prefer going to the stores is because they have their product available to them immediately rather than having to wait for the delivery. Many retailers are working on solving this issue. The three trends that are most likely to emerge as solutions soon are: same day delivery, drone or robot delivery and pick up and pack companies. These three options will entice customers to shop online since they will be able to receive their products same day. "Research shows that consumers are willing to pay more if it means getting faster delivery. Although this could increase costs for brands, they will get more sales and will be one step ahead of other brands who do not yet offer this service".The retailers might raise the cost of the product but consumers are willing to pay a little extra for same day delivery.

Hospitality companies should begin to focus marketing tailored to the youth of America. Millennials are projected to become the largest demographic in the US by 2019, which means they are on track to surpass baby boomers in terms of purchasing power. Hotels should be looking to offer more ways to pay that just credit cards and cash with many more people using alternative paying methods such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal as their primary payment source

Hospitality tech company invests millions in new eCommerce technology for luxury hotels. Its main goal will be to help hotels maximize property profitability by creating a kind of Shopify for hotels by gathering the hotels products and services into purchasable inventory for guests.

This article by Leo Huang suggest ideas, base on his research at Taiwan, on how to generate more revenue in Bed & Breakfast market by having eCommerce. Mr. Huang send out survey to B&B that have less then 15 rooms in Taiwan to get an insight on eCommerce development in local area. Mr. Huang was able to obtain 51.32% of the target population and a total sample size of 302 B&B owner survey. At the end of the research, Mr. Huang recommend B&B owner should work with travel industry when developing their eCommerce strategy. Mr. Huang also suggest that owner should seek partners to attracts customers during off season and to have a strong pricing strategy. Base on the research result, B&B business will get resource, competitive and performance advantages by having eCommerce The research also say that it increases sales and better in ROI.

The findings of this research make very interesting reading. We were impressed to see so many independent hotels using social media - 85% had a Facebook page and 74% were on Twitter, although only 35% actually responded to our tweet. The fact that 37% of the hotels take the time to respond to every review on TripAdvisor was also very positive

This article is talking about the comparison between the traditional retail model and the E-commerce model. People put more attention on the online business rather than the traditional system. From the data of Martec international, it says the spending in the IT has declined since 2003. In the helping of the computer and internet technology people understand the benefits in online. The internet is fast and convenient so that retailers can stay at home and manage their products. People do not be out of home and talk with customers face to face. In the past, the store system was the major part of the IT budge. But nowadays people are seeking another way to decrease the expense and focus on the mobile sales. With the demands of the retailers the CRM, mobile and cloud-based applications are designed, these application are working for implementing consumer solutions and then enable a Omni-channel experience for customers. Now even though the e-commerce does not have many users, the potential users is worth to be mentioned in the retailers. The e-commerce has a bright future prospect.

This article reveals that eCommerce has been used for many purposes and the numerous benefits of this trend. One of these benefits is saving time either for customers or airline companies. It is also considered the use of eCommerce as an effective way of marketing. The variety of services offering by this trend is a real increase of airline companies' revenue. Moreover, there are many websites that give the airline companies a lot of opportunities to sell their tickets. The last benefits mentioned is how simple the management of rewords programs.

This article states the differences in job description of both digital marketing manager and revenue manager, but LaRose focuses on the importance of having them work closely to best reach their goals. Basically you cant have one without the other and each position has something unique to offer to the hotels growth and popularity. Every hotel must sell a story and meet the demands of their guests, consistently adapting and changing, adding and subtracting when needed in order to maximize revenue and continue to be attractive to its consumer.

Is Shopify the new Amazon? If you do not know what Shopify is, it is an ecommerce platform for companies to use to sell their goods. It helps merchants to set up simple website store fronts and allows them to customize their store anyway they want. It also assists them will marketing campaigns, distribution, and shipping.

Very interesting article! This introduces Shopify as one the new ecommerce platform that allows individuals to set up the way they want to see their store front. It allows them to manage everything on this platform. Almost like a direct competitor to Amazon.Very interesting market for exponential growth!

iPerceptions put information together on online travel shopping. One question being what are some of the things that keep travelers from booking rooms. Price was number one on this list of things. This is not surprising because most online travel customers comparison shop to find the best deals. Next, after price, functionality and site design were among the biggest stumbling blocks to those who wanted to book online. Having a website that is easy to navigate so the customer can get the information they are looking for is critical to that traveler actually making that reservation. 8% gave up after being unable to find what they needed. And 7% had a technical issue when trying to book. That's 15% altogether. The survey also concluded that it is mostly leisure travelers who were seeking information as opposed to business travelers. Although, business travelers were more likely to complete reservations. Maybe this can be accredited to the fact that business travelers have all the information they need so they don't have to spend time searching. Or the increased frequency of travel makes them more familiar with sites and where to go and how to get information. The highest percentage of respondents said they arrived at a website by typing in the web address. This leads me to believe that in addition to having a website that is functional and easy to navigate, your web address must be memorable and easy to spell. Those who got to the site by search engine came in at a close second.

This article was about how online travel agencies are attempting to shift their priorities based on the technological advancements and desires of the consumers. These improvements are bringing along challenges in booking trips/ hotels. Booking online was once a smaller portion of businesses. Now, it has gained a major spot in businesses, especially in the areas of consumer sales and research. Now, businesses are attempting to keep up with today's focus in ratings and reviews, mobile, and media and distribution (especially through mobile usage). Being able to research and book trips/hotels through mobile devices is becoming a major move and an important factor for consumers. Most consumers are pressed for time and don't have the opportunity to sit at a computer to research and book trips/hotels. So, implementing this through mobile devices gives the option to book and research from anywhere easily. Any businesses that can keep up with this will definitely be able to thrive in the industry.

Here BusinessWire, via The National Post, discusses the Inaugural Conference for the travel industry's leading travel advisors. The conference was hosted by ULTRA Luxury Exchange, which is led by a staff of global travel industry experts with decades of experience in the luxury travel industry and event management. Behind the ULTRA Luxury Exchange, is Questex Hospitality + Travel who developed and curated the conference. Questex Hospitality + Travel is the world's largest multinational media, event and eCommerce company which serves the global and hospitality industry. The multi-day conference brought together the "greatest minds in the luxury travel advisor community," according to Ruthanne Terrero of Questex. New travel trends were discussed through key-note speakers, presentations and moderated panels. Topics included, "Capturing and Capitalizing on the Millenial Luxury Travel", "The Art of Customer Service", and "The Rising Trend for Butler Service in Luxury Hotels." The millenial generation was the main topic for discussion with a growth in buying power in the luxury travel industry. The privileged conference attendees will have exclusive access to the formal research presented in the conference to reference for the future.

With both individual sites like American Airlines or bundle sites like Travelocity; everyone is jumping on the eCommerce train. And what better way to grow customer loyalty than with your very own app. Want to buy a plane ticket or rent a hotel room do it from your smart phone. Problem is how do you get people to down load your app. Well Facebook has figured that out for you. Advertise on their site and customers can install your app with a click of a button. No jumping to other websites and hassling with tricky downloads; just click and your off.

L'Oreal Canada is now utilizing OSF Global Service's eCommerce solutions to further their luxury skin-care brand, Biotherm. Their new e-boutique is based on the Demandware Commence cloud-based platform. This new solution will offer their target consumer a personalized shopping experience with the "integration of responsive designed webpages, comprehensive analytics and a new product reviews platform." With online shopping behavior constantly changing, integrating the appropriate platform is key for store and web-based companies. With added control over the products consumers view and purchase, shoppers are provided with deeper insight into Biotherm. I believe that L'Oreal Canada's advance approach to consumer shopping will bring added success to their products while enhancing their 30 brand portfolio. While meeting their customers' expectations, they are able to evolve their image.

When it comes to holidays, you're now able to research online, but before the process of arranging a holiday involves a long ptocess of reading holiday brochure, phoning hotels and deciding where to book

Today's online space is more complex and more fragmented. There is a tremendous amount of growth in the mobile research and booking space, which in turn is leading to shortening booking windows.The rise in importance of the mobile channel garnered much attention at PhoCusWright. There are OTAs that are helping solve a problem hoteliers could not do on their own and there are OTAs that are maliciously attacking hotel revenue with large margins. Search-engine marketing, particularly with new parameters introduced by Google, is making it harder to promote and sell hotel rooms.

Another interesting article here regarding smart phones and the booking process. How many times have you gone home to your computer to book a flight or a hotel? Well according to this article you are one of the few. Expedia reported that 65% of hotel bookings in a random 24 hour period were booked on the go. With smartphone sales reaching $982 million this year, there are many companies that are now doing "mobile-only" booking. eMarketer indicates that ecommerce sales are going to reach $119 billion this year. With that being said, travel agencies should be bracing themselves for a hit. If people are using sites like Priceline and Expedia more and more everyday, eventually there will be no need for agencies.