How can advertising on the kiosks save my business money?
Ez-Info Kiosks packages our hotels into local networks. Every display package, unless specified by the business, includes access to several hotel properties. Each year we add new hotel properties to the network which constantly increases the businesses exposure within the market.
If a business is currently using a traditional form of print media (In room guides, maps, key cards, etc.)in some of our participating hotels and paying to be in each hotel seperately by becoming a participant on our kiosk network they can access all the hotels for one price, which is typically much less than paying to be in 1 hotel.
For Example:
Let's say you currently advertise in 4 local hotels "In Room Guides", with a total of 480 rooms. You have negotiated an average rate of $400 for a 1/2 page, Black & White ad (Not a Bad Deal). Your total investment for the year is $1600/yr.
Now if this year 3 of those hotels now have Ez-Info Kiosks in their lobbies and you shift your ad dollars to the kiosk systems instead of the room guides because they offer more flexibility and full color displays. Which means you are upgrading your display. The typical investment for a 4 kiosk network would be $960/yr and access on average 700 rooms. This would be a net saving for the year of $640, allowing you to still stay in the one hotel without a kiosk( still saving $240), and increase the number of rooms you have access to significantly.
Your display rates are surprisingly low, is this because the medium is not that effective?
Absolutely not. The rates are totally based on our business philosophy. Guest Service kiosks have been in several of our East Coast markets for over 10 yrs, and we have display advertisers that have been on the system the entire time. Our kiosks promote local businesses to tourists and business travelers, these people are guests in our area and have come to experience what we have to offer. Ez-Info's goal is to provide them with a great selection of what the area has to offer. Our goal with display advertisers is to offer them a superior media to reach these visitors and to help them grow their business. We seek long term relationships with display advertisers, and part of the way we do this is by offering very reasonable prices. The hotels require rich content on the kiosks for them to be of value to the hotel staff and guest. We would have to provide this content regardless of whether it was purchased - so we choose to take a little less and have much better content while still providing exclusive hotel access with the kiosk.
What are the advantages of the kiosk-vs-the many magazine publications like Travel Host,Pointe etc.
Our kiosk systems have several advantages to these types of publications, we will discuss what most advertisers see as being the major advantages.
1. Price, the term of a display on the kiosks is 12 months as opposed to monthly or bi-monthly and includes a network of hotels.
2. Longevity, the print pieces are typically placed in guest rooms, however once they are picked up by a guest are they replaced? In some cases yes but in many cases once they are picked up they are gone. Our kiosks containing your display are prominently placed in the lobby, operate 24/7, print on demand, and provide access using an web portal to anyone with a computer and web access. No chance of your valuable display disappearing prematurly.
3. Flexibility, our kiosk displays are an electronic media format, that can be edited and updated whenever your businesses information changes. This insures that potential new customers always get current information.
Why should I use the kiosk media-vs-In Room, Maps or some other format.
A few of the major advantages of the kiosks are
1) Full color displays that can be edited and updated throughout the term of the agreement. So your ad is never static, and always current.
2) Multiple pages allow you to provide more information on your business than traditional media.
3) Custom directions to your business - no relying on internet maping or directions from an outside source.
4) Prominent placement in the lobbies of hotels - where guests are gathering.
5) Regular interaction with the front desk, bell staff and concierge at each hotel. We work with and promote our kiosks regularly to maintain top of mind awareness and get the hotel staff to use our systems.
6) Our kiosks are provided in packages in stead of individually, allowing the business to receive a better value for their ad dollar.
7) Multiple packages to fit any budget.
Our company has multiple concepts in a single network area. Are there multi unit rates.
Yes. There are typically two situations that fall into this area. Multiple units of the same concept, and multiple concepts.
In the case of the multiple units of the same concept, we target the unit closest to each hotel. If there is a different unit for each hotel location then we write custom directions to each unit. (software limitations only allow 3 seperate units to be listed on a single display).
In the case of multiple concepts in the same network, we offer discounts based on the number of units brought into the network or create a custom package with value added features like banners & extra images. Typical multi-unit discounts are in the range of 10% for 2 units, 15%-25% for 3 to 6 units, and 20% - 32% for 7 units or more.
Discount examples are subject to network location, number of hotels, and other offers being made.
I want to offer a discount or coupon to track response rates?
We do not currently have coupons on our kiosk systems. The primary reason being that we do not want any business to feel like they have to discount their product/service to be competitive on the system.
In some markets we offer value added programs like the VIP Club Card in conjunction with market partners. These local discount and privilege cards are distributed at each of our participating hotels as well as through other points to the locals & leisure travelers. Each business can participate at no added expense by simply offering a privilege or discount when a patron shows the card. We currently have a program like this in the Harrisburg/Hershey market with over 45,000 discount cards in circulation.
Do the kiosks offer tracking of usage
Yes. We pull the stats from the system at 6 month intervals. We track individual unique touches to the kiosk, Total display views and direction page prints. We present these to display advertisers should they request them during one of our follow-up visits throughout the term of the agreement.
Most Recent Statistics: Harrisburg/Hershey Network - While several different factors impact individual traffic such as type of display, category, banners, etc We also track overall individual touches to each of our kiosks. For the initial 5 kiosks which have been in place 6 full months as of October 1, 2006, we had 282,000 unique touches on those kiosks. With 8 kiosks currently online and a 9th to come on soon this network is on track to receive 500,000 touches for it's first 12 months of operations.
What is the cost of the kiosk to the hotel.
Our informational kiosks are provided to qualifying hotels at no cost.
For a hotel to qualify in most markets the hotel must have 200+ rooms, provide a prominent lobby location for the kiosk, a hard line for internet access and sign a placement agreement commiting to placement so we can promote the hotel to potential advertisers.
How much control over content on the kiosk does the hotel have?
Ez-Info kiosks works closely with the hotels when soliciting display content from local businesses. When our hotel partners are active participants and give us some assistance in securing advertisers to support the kiosks this is how they have control over content.
We do not accept displays from any adult businesses from any type ever.
As for the ability to pre-approve content prior to it going live on the kiosk, No the hotel has no control over this. That is why the service is provide at no charge to the hotel. Should the hotel desire to have approval this would require monitary support of the system and would be discussed on an individual basis.
To view typical content on our kioks networks click - ONLINE KIOSKS and view any of our hotels kiosks live.
Who provides support and maintenance on the kiosks once installed?
Maintenance, supplies and support are provided by Ez-Info Kiosks. We will stock the kioks with paper & toner along with any other supply that may be required. We will instruct the hotel staff on refilling the paper in case there are periods of high usage. We check the kiosks remotely on a regular basis and on site based on usage numbers (typically every 60 days).
Ez-Info stocks a supply of back-up equipment incase there is a failure, we provide next business day service, to insure the systems are functioning 100% of the time. Most repairs can be facilitated remotely - this is why we request a hard line connection for internet service. It is much more reliable than wireless and allows us to provide superior service.
Is the kiosk internet based, and open to the internet all the time?
All of our kiosks are completely self contained, they are not open to the internet for surfing and do not tie up any band width. The connection to the internet is only used for maintenance & updates on a periodic basis. The software we use does not access the internet at all during the normal process of its operation.
There is also an online version of each hotels kiosk that is accessable via the internet for the hotels use and is visible to the public.
The back end of our systems that we use for maintenance and creation of our displays is internet based but has nothing to do with the daily operation of the systems within the hotels.
Has Ez-Info Kiosks compiled any stats on impact to guest satisfaction scores?
We have not done any formal surveys of the direct impact, all we can relay are the comments made by some of our hotels.
The systems seem to have an overall positive impact due to the fact that guests get serviced very efficiently, the information is accurate and professionally presented. It cuts down wait time if the front desk, bell staff or concierge is busy which is viewed as a positive for the guest.
In order for the system to have a positive impact we provide free training to the staff whenever requested by the hotel. It is important to train the staff that the kiosks are a tool not an ultimate fix to every question. When utilized to handle routine questions, provide directions, and information on the local area it creates a very effecient solution to assist ever changing staff.
Are the kiosks internet based?
Yes & No. The software that runs the kiosks is internet based which allows the kiosks to have the online functionality for the Anywhere~Everywhere feature found at www.LocalHotelInfo.com. However the kiosks that are placed in the hotel properties are self contained - meaning that they do access the internet to function. We utilize the internet connections that are required for periodic updates and remote maintenance. This allows us to troubleshoot problems from where ever we may happen to be. Remote updates allow new content to arrive on a much more timely basis than with manual updating. We still do visit each kiosk approx. every 45 days to check the equipment, and check in with the hotel staff.
How much band-width does a kiosk utilize?
NONE, Since our kiosks are self-contained we do not tie up any band-width from wireless internet. Whenever possible we try to have each kiosk hardwired, this is based on reliability, wireless tends to be provided by an outside company which the hotel cannot control, and we experience frequent losses of connectivity. This delays content updates, doesn't allow for remote troubleshooting, and prevents access to the Anywhere~Everywhere feature for the hotels staff.
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