HeBS Digital announced that it has been awarded Outstanding Achievement in Website Development by the Interactive Media Awards™ for its meta search marketing technology platform, the HeBS Digital MetaSearch Gateway. 

Judging consisted of an extensive range of criteria, including technology innovation, design, usability, standards compliance and content. In order to win this award level, the technology had to meet strict guidelines in each area.

HeBS Digital's proprietary MetaSearch Gateway is a marketing enablement technology, allowing any hotel, resort or casino to participate in the new meta search and cost-per-click (CPC) programs such as Google Hotel Finder, Bing Hotel Price Ads, TripAdvisor Meta Search, Kayak.com, Trivago Meta Search, WeGo.com, etc. The technology interfaces with the meta search algorithms of these CPC programs and enables, runs, manages, tracks, and reports on any property's meta search marketing campaigns on all of the meta search sites, creating a a one-stop shop meta search marketing platform for hoteliers.

HeBS Digital, Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital, said, "Meta search is exploding due to robust consumer demand. The value proposition to travel consumers is undeniable: by adding real-time availability and pricing and enabling rate shopping, travel planners are now provided with everything they need to research and book their hotel stay.

Hoteliers must add meta search marketing to their core marketing budgets, next to such fundamental initiatives such as SEO, SEM, online media and retargeting, email marketing, etc. Not only does meta search marketing help hoteliers compete against the OTAs and shift share from the OTAs to the direct online channel, it generates cost-effective incremental bookings at great ROAS levels. We created the technology so that hoteliers could take advantage of this growing direct online channel revenue opportunity."

As a marketing format, meta search marketing is a complex advertising format. Real-time room availability and pricing constitute a small part of the complexity of this new "hybrid" advertising model. The most complex part is the technology needed to manage ad spend (budget) per property on a daily and monthly basis, real-time bid management, conversion and ROAS tracking, campaign monitoring and ongoing optimizations and reporting on the property level. By being part of meta search marketing on websites like Google or TripAdvisor, hoteliers are leveling the playing field with the OTAs and giving their past guests or referrals from past guests the chance to book directly with the hotel.

In addition, meta search marketing generates incremental revenues and produces excellent ROAS (return-on-ad-spend). HeBS Digital's hotel client portfolio has been enjoying robust ROAS rates of 800%-2000% on both the TripAdvisor Meta Search and Google Hotel Finder meta search programs.