WARNING: This scoring has been deprecated and is no longer applicable              View update

Similar to the way Google is constantly adding new variables to improve the accuracy and usefulness of their search rankings, we are constantly looking for new ways to do improve the HT Score.

At the end of March we will be rolling out several updates centered around building additional quality signals into the HT Score to increase its robustness and accuracy. Most of these variables were introduced into this year's HotelTechAwards (view scoring methodology) and now will be built into the HT Score algorithm as of the end of March.

Below we will cover (1) What are the new variables and (2) How to improve your HT Score/rankings.

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I. How the new bonus variables/quality signals are weighted in the total HT Score calculation

The majority of the HT Score 90%+ is entirely based on customer reviews and always will be. The below Please note that these are relative percentage weights, not raw points in the HT Score.

Verified customer reviews & ratings variables make up 85% weighting of the HT Score algorithm with additional quality signals making up the additional 15%.

• Customer reviews related variables (85%): Customer reviews (80%, includes quantity, quality and recency of reviews), Customer advocates bonus (2.5%), Global reach bonus (2.5%)
• Additional quality signals: Partner recommendations bonus (3%), Verified customer support bonus (3%), Integrations bonus (2%), Company staying power (3%), Company resources (3%)

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II. What are the new variables

👏 Customer Advocates Bonus

• What is it: Top 3 products with the most reviews (aka customer advocates) in the category will receive additional points
• Why is it important: The current HT Score only looks to identify if company meets the category average number of reviews; however, it doesn't fairly reward top companies with extremely high customer engagement.
• How to earn points: Most reviews // 2nd most // 3rd most
• Weight: up to 2.5%

🌏 Global Reach Bonus

• What is it: Bonus for products who have 5 or more verified reviews from at least 3 countries
• Why is it important: Scaling to, and maintaining, a global presence is resource intensive and requires strong product market fit, experienced leadership and strong business fundamentals each of which are strong success indicators. Hotel Tech Report's audience is also global and therefore the probability of best-fit matches for users increases for companies with a global presence.
• How to earn points: >3 countries // >5 countries // >7 countries
• Weight: up to 2.5%

📞 Certified Support Bonus

• What is it: Verified customer support certification achieved based on the Global Support Certification Standards
• Why is it important: Customer support is one of the most critical decision factors when hoteliers are selecting new vendors but is also one of the most difficult to assess in the buying process. Companies who have opened their systems and invested into tools and processes to help their clients succeed and have achieved HTR's GCSC Customer Support Certification earn additional points.
• How to earn points: Level I // Level II // Level III // Level IV
• Weight: up to 3%

🤝 Partner Recommendations Bonus

• What is it: Products who have at least 5 partner recommendations.
• Why is it important: Partner recommendations are a strong quality indicator and vote of confidence from industry experts that speak to the product, team and company

• How to earn points: >5 recommendations // >10 recommendations

  // >15 recommendations

• Weight: up to 3%

🔌 Integrated Vendor Bonus

• What is it: Products who have at least the average number of verified integrations relative to other products in their category.
• Why is it important: Integrations are one of the most critical elements to increase tooling efficiency, time savings and the ability to leverage data while reduce redundancies, manual entry and disparate data.
• How to earn points: Meets category average // Most integrations in category
• Weight: up to 2.5%

👬 Company Resource Bonus

• What is it: Companies with at least 15 employees 
• Why is it important: Having more resources means a company has more to invest in their product, R&D, customer support and growth. Since many companies' funding rounds are not publicly available or they are funded by cashflow, number of employees serves as a proxy for resource availability.
• How to earn points: Company size
• Weight: up to 3%

⏰ Company Staying Power Bonus

• What is it: Companies who have been in business for at least 3 years.
• Why is it important: When choosing technology vendors, hoteliers are looking for a partner that will be around for the long haul. More years in business is a strong indicator of a stable and sustainable company that will be around for more to come.
• How to earn points: Years in business

• Weight: up to 3%

  
  

💬 Minimum Review Threshold Update

• What is it: Previously, the category average was calculated based on the average number of reviews for products in the category with >10 reviews but will now only factor in products with >30 reviews.
• Why is it important: As categories develop and have higher review volumes, products with <30 reviews were given an unfair advantage despite have 1/3 or even less the number of reviews and being able to compete side-by-side. The minimum review threshold will remain in place to ensure a level playing field for smaller companies who don't have as many clients to get reviews from but will also fairly compensate companies who have drastically higher review volumes and customer advocates by increasing the requirements for the category average.
• How to earn points: Check the minimum review threshold for your products in your vendor dashboard and make sure you are above the category average.

III. How to improve your HT Score/rankings

Below are 6 simple ways to improve your HT Score or you can check out our more in-depth guide in the help center here.

1. Get more reviews Learn more
2. Get more partner recommendations Learn more
3. List and verify your integrations Learn more
4. Get more reviews from clients in other countries Learn more
5. Earn the GCSC Customer Support Certification Learn more
6. Review the bonus variables to identify more opportunities Learn more

Want to get custom recommendations to improve your HT Score? 

Write in via the live chat on Hotel Tech Report and we'll send you your current standing and how to improve as shown in the screenshot below.

WARNING: This scoring has been deprecated and is no longer applicable

Update: Check out the article

As you know, every year Hotel Tech Report attends ITB Berlin and distills trends and new innovations into a recap article (2019 Recap) that typically garner north of 3,000 views.

While we were saddened by ITB's cancellation since not only did we all lose a hefty chunk of our marketing budgets, but because its our favorite conference of the year.

That said, our job is to get the word out about your products and we are committed to doing that now more than ever to create interest and drive demand for your products during these next few months which will be especially difficult since many of you will scale back your outbound sales efforts due to the hardships hotels around the world are facing.

Your investments and innovations still deserve recognition and our audience of 49k+ hoteliers are still thirsty to discover great new products to help their hotels drive revenue and run more efficiently and for that reason, we are pivoting our ITB coverage submissions and articles this year to a quarterly innovation report that will be released at the end of the month.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY TO GET FEATURED →

Submission deadline is Friday March 20th, 2020

FAQs

What if my company already applied for the ITB article?

Then you're all set to be featured so just kick back and relax and we'll let you know when the report goes live at the end of the month.

What if I didn't complete a submission for the ITB article?

If you haven't applied but would like to be featured, we are extending the submission deadline so please make sure to complete your application no later than next Friday March 20th

Each year the winners of the HotelTechAwards are featured in HTR's annual product look book and each winner receives both featured placement as well as a hard copy to leverage in your digital marketing and lead generation.

The 2020 Market Leaders Index Report draft is now ready for winners to review! 🎉

• Launch date: Will be launching the look book on Monday March 23rd so please make sure to flip through to your featured placement and review the copy
• Revisions: If you have any revisions, edits or changes please note that they must be submitted via the live chat on HTR or by replying to this email no later than 5pm PST next Wednesday March 18th
• Your hard copy: Once the look book goes live, we will send along a hard copy with your 1-year content license to leverage the look book in your own digital marketing and lead gen campaign

If you have any questions feel free to reach out via the live chat on HTR

(NEW) Update: Added Visibility for Premium Members (March 2022)

While all rankings on HTR are (and always will) be entirely based on customer reviews and the HT Score, there are additional placements throughout the site where premium members get enhanced brand placement and visibility through the lead booster perk.

Visibility and reputation are the key to generating more leads on Hotel Tech Report so making sure you are visible throughout the buying journey is critical which is why we're adding boosted visibility in select unbiased areas of the buyer journey.

Rankings within categories are (and always be) entirely based on customer reviews and the HT Score

But Premium Members can now benefit from thousands of additional (non-ranking based) placements throughout key areas of the buyer journey...enter...the 🚀 lead booster

I. Boosted Visibility in the RFP Workflow

Premium Members will now benefit from added visibility in HTR's RFP builder tool where hoteliers can select feature requirements, upload RFP documents and more to streamline their workflow and gather information faster in the research process to find the best fit for their hotels.

II. Boosted Visibility in Direct Request Modals

Hoteliers typically consider 2-3 options when narrowing down their consideration set during the research process so now Premium Members get priority placement and more chances to slide right into hoteliers' consideration set with boosted visibility in direct lead requests.

III. Boosted visibility in alternatives

Learn more and apply

Now when Premium Members post a press release to share their latest company news and announcements they will also be featured in HTR's new monthly newsletter, theRewind,  with more than 4,000+ opt-in subscribers to boost their visibility and keep your brand top of mind with hoteliers.

• Dec 6, 2018 Edition (1st edition)
• Dec 19, 2019 Edition

Update: Feb '20 theRewind newsletter Stats (list size = 22k, open=28%, click = 11%)

Last year at this time when Premium was introduced, we had our first members sign up to Premium 1.0 so its only right to give a shout out to some of our first members (aka. the innovators and the early adopters): Atomize, Quore, Juyo, Hotelogix, IDeaS, HotelIQ, Hotel Effectiveness, GuestRevu and Revinate! 🎉

One year later and we now have nearly every major hotel tech company across the globe from fast growing startups like Bookboost and Pace to major global enterprises like SiteMinder, Cloudbeds, Amadeus, Oracle and OTA Insight.

What's changed since last year for Premium Members

1. We tripled site traffic from 15k to 49k monthly hoteliers
2. We launched lead generation (didn't exist on the site last year)
3. We rolled out new Premium 2.0 plans with tons of new features and benefits for members

What are the new benefits that were rolled out with Premium 2.0 Membership plans?

1. Significant upgrades to the Premium Review Manager to help you save time, improve your rankings and boost your visibility
2. Redesigned premium profiles to help you convert more profile visitors
3. Hosted reports and downloads to add additional intent capture mechanisms
4. Discounted leads (30% off all leads)
5. Boosted visibility in the RFP builder
6. Content credits/coverage to increase brand awareness and visibility (the content credits that are now included with Premium 2.0 alone range from $1,000-$9,000 (startup-->growth plan) which by itself more than covers the nominal price increase for 2.0)
7. Free GCSC certification to enable your sales teams, differentiate from the competition and build trust with buyers ($2500 for basic members)
8. Thousands of dollars in new discounts on sponsored content and advertising
9. Renewal offer for members to get up to $1200 in free lead credit when you renew your membership
10. Free tickets to HTR's HotelTechAwards part in London 

Even with all of the new discounts and features we rolled out we tried to keep pricing as similar as possible with a nominal ~$100/mo price increase (even just a few of the discounts like content credits and lead discounts more than offset this let alone any of the new features or the new renewal offer for members).

We are beyond excited to have you all aboard and are committed to continuing to add new benefits to make your membership even more valuable in 2020 than we did in 2019. Cheers to another great year ahead and we're looking forward to continuing to empower our members to build your brands and grow your install bases via Hotel Tech Report's community of 49k+ monthly hoteliers and growing ! 🚀

This week we're rolling out a new feature to give you even more intel about leads to let your teams know where in the purchase journey each lead currently is to better tailor your followup. Each purchase journey insight box includes a link with tips to tailor your teams followup based on the purchase stage the buyer is at.

💡Tip: Each insight tile includes a link to more details about the research stage the user is in and tips to help your team optimize their followup! Learn more

Several vendors have pointed out that there are certain products on Hotel Tech Report that can't be purchased al-a-carte. For example, a booking engine that is sold with a PMS. (special shout out to William @ Net Affinity for the initial feature request 👏)

The Problem is that these add-on products can be mis-leading to buyers as they are not standalone products.

The Solution is the new 'add-on' products feature where HTR will designate products that are add-ons clearly throughout the site UI for buyers.

Category sponsors now benefit from organic native brand placement to 30k+ hoteliers every month on the Hotel Tech Report home page! 🎉

Learn more about category sponsorship and check availability