Yext, Inc. (NYSE: YEXT), the Answers Search Company, and The Langham Hotels have today announced the results of their collaboration, which saw it integrate Yext's search technology to help manage online listings and reviews.
Synonymous with luxury, The Langham operates globally, delivering a five-star experience since the opening of its London location in 1865. The brand seeks to deliver iconic British hospitality and sought to work with Yext to extend this experience to its search touchpoints.
Given its huge presence, The Langham needed a sophisticated platform that would allow them to seamlessly update business information, and monitor and respond to reviews. With nearly 40 locations, and the importance of a robust reviews strategy being key to the hotel industry, manually updating and responding to every single one was not scalable while still delivering the level of excellence in customer experience that The Langham strived for.
To help solve this problem, The Langham worked with Yext to manage its listings and reviews programmes, as well as leverage competitive intelligence to inform its strategy.
During the first few months of working with Yext, the Langham saw their number of profile views from Yext powered listings increase by 112% compared to the same period in the previous year. This increased visibility led directly to more consumers visiting the website to book a stay, facilitating a higher conversion rate and resulting in a 362% increase in revenue through organic channels.
Since its integration in 2018, The Langham has driven over 3 million clicks to its listings, while experiencing a year over year growth rate of 10%. This growth also includes a 9% year over year growth in direction clicks, 9% year over year growth in website clicks and 24% year over year growth in phone call clicks too, from when the programme began.
"Reviews are such a hot topic in this industry," said Kasia Rudnik, Director of eCommerce, The Langham, London. "As a luxury hotel chain, we pride ourselves on an exceptional experience, and want that to extend to the beginning of the customer journey. We know that over 66% percent of travellers won't stay in a hotel if there are no management responses to reviews. By responding to our customers, we show them we're listening but also gain valuable insight into how to improve" said Rudnik.
By aggregating reviews in the Yext platform, The Langham has a view of specific improvements that need to be made in order to bolster their five-star reputation. The brand also relies on the Yext platform to interact with their customers.
"The hospitality industry had been hugely impacted by the pandemic so as we transition into the new normal, being able to deliver, accurate and timely information, particularly regarding opening times and restaurant bookings etc. is crucial for a business like The Langham, welcoming its customers back," said Jon Buss, Managing Director of Yext EMEA. "Having access to a platform that collates and distributes this information, allows you to reignite that engagement with your customers and understand their new needs from hospitality organisations." Jon continues.
In working with Yext, The Langham have been able to add a touch of luxury to their digital touchpoints, before customers even reach the check-in desk. Rudnik said "We have to make sure that anything that goes out through third-party sites is 100% accurate, but also representative of our brand in the same way that a physical interaction would be. Yext has given us visibility and control, allowed us to manage our reviews and provided rich content for our customers, added Rudnik.
To hear more about The Langham Hotels and Resorts success with Yext here.