Monetising user-generated videos
Published: 27 Jun 2008
Online Marketing in Travel Special
Tripr.TV, a video portal that pays travellers commission for hotel video reviews, has been launched.
The site had earlier described itself as "a kind of YouTube for the travel industry."
Consumers can post video reviews of hotels on the site. When a video results in a booking, the filmmaker, who submitted the video, will receive one third of the commission fee.
Hotels are marked with a flag on Google Maps so users can easily spot in which area a hotel is situated.
Speaking in favour of online video, Tim Saarela, VP Marketing USA, Tripr.tv said there is a great potential for such site as all user reviews are not equal.
"Text reviews can not capture the look, feel and vibe of a hotel. Also, there can be malicious or bogus reviews from persons who have never stayed in the hotel. And there can be paid negative reviews by competitors," said Saarela. "On the other hand, there is a lot more transparency in case of videos plus it captures the look, feel and vibe of a hotel, it is great for search engine ranking and video content means better conversion."
Saarela, a speaker during EyeforTravel's Online Marketing in Travel 2008 conference in Chicago, recommended that travel companies can encourage their customers to shoot their hotel and provide a platform for sharing video reviews.
For empowering a website with videos, he said there are two solutions: Build your own web software to encourage customers to create and share video content or use a Plug & Play HotelVideoReviews widget.
"In case a company opts for its own web software, the system would have to handle all the video file formats, convert videos to standard Flash Video, build administration to moderate the content, tagging, build a rating system so users can rate videos...the disadvantage is that this process involves high development costs, and it can take long time to get it up and running," he said.
In case, hotels decide to go for a Plug & Play widget, firstly they can benefit in terms of no development costs. Secondly, it would only require very short time to get it up and running, and lastly, this can dramatically improve conversion, said Saarela.
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tromba said on 30 Jun 08:
This is a very good idea. Until now, all I have read about user generated content (UGC) had hotel visitors donating their written reviews and videos. Well, it would not take long before the realization set in that some company was making money from the donated content, and then the UGC would stop or there would be a demand for payment.