Hilton launches its biggest campaign ever in push to battle third party travel sites
Hilton is launching the biggest global campaign in its 97-year history called ‘Stop Clicking Around’ that encourages travelers to book rooms directly through the brand instead of hunting around on other sites like Expedia to find the lowest prices.
The international hotel chain’s latest initative attempts to show consumers the perks of joining and booking travel though its loyalty program, HHonors. Benefits include an "exclusive discount on room rates," free Wi-Fi and the ability to choose a room from a digital floor plan through its mobile app.
However, the campaign likely stems from the fact that companies like Hilton don’t have to pay a commission fee to sites such as Priceline or Expedia if consumers book directly through the hotel itself instead.
The global push is kicking off in the UK and US this week with a spot created by London-based agency Fold7.
In the spot, which features the song ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ by the Rolling Stones, people are hopelessly clicking around on mobile apps to try and find hotel deals.
Towards the end a voiceover states: “Stop clicking around. Book direct on Hilton.com for the lowest price online and start playing, start relaxing, start loving.”
According to Hilton, 57 billion of its HHonors points – which it says equals about 1.6 million free nights – went to waste last year because guests booked their rooms through a third party.
“There is a huge misconception that third parties offer lower prices for our hotel rooms, which is simply not true,” said Mark Weinstein, global head of customer engagement, loyalty and partnerships at Hilton.
Last year, Hilton announced a partnership with Uber that provided travel perks to guests staying at one of its hotels or resorts.