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Koh Samui - February 2009
Online for recovery
Property Report Thailand
By: Jules Kay
Tough times require
creative measures. On Koh Samui, as in other resort
destinations around the region, the pressures of the slump
are beginning to take their toll. A normally frenetic high
season has thus far been characterized by fewer enquiries
and reduced investment activity across the board. With
tourism down, real estate agents report limited
transactions as people hold off on discretionary purchases
and caution rules the market. Staff lay-offs and cutbacks
abound, and despite continued project development in many
parts of the island, the sense of urgency is fading as
developers focus on damage limitation in order to protect
their cash flow.
Yet despite the many gloom and doom scenarios, a sense of
optimism survives. Koh Samui remains one of the most
popular destinations in Asia, and the general prognosis is
that the slowdown is temporary. Looking to the future, a
number of property sales and rental firms have already
begun channeling their resources creatively in order to
better position themselves when the market rebounds. One
of the most noticeable results of this vision is a
significant increase in the island´s online presence. A
web-frenzy is taking place on Samui, along with a
diversification of approach to web-based marketing that
sees local businesses attempting to reach more clients in
the short-term and at the same time establish a greater
brand image for the future.
Tools of the trade
Whether looking for a hotel, holiday villa or second home,
tourists and investors now have a range of tools literally
at their fingertips to help them make informed choices.
Google is generally the first step in the search for
satisfaction, which has prompted many companies to look at
how their web presence impacts on the bottom line. The
smart money is now increasingly being invested into
intelligent redesign, search engine optimization and
social media, all of which affect the way potential
customers arrive at a site. "When looking for a
destination online, most people follow a similar pattern,"
says Mark Currie from Deckchair Asia, one of the island´s
creative web specialists. "They Google™ it first, then
check what other people say about it on sites like Trip
Advisor™ and travel blogs, compare prices via the online
agents and finally, see what it actually looks like on You
Tube™."
Such approaches to virtual travel and vacation investments
are changing the way companies market their properties.
It´s no longer simply a question of designing an "all
singing, all dancing" website, but rather a question of
making sure the products and services offered can be
easily found, while also targeting specific client groups
through a range of different online media. "It´s quite an
involved process," explained Currie, "both technically,
and in terms of the content needed. The most successful
firms are those with clear web strategy that they
implement on an ongoing basis. It´s not about tricks and
software, you have to be committed and constantly maintain
your status to keep up with the competition."
One Samui company that has taken the lead when it comes to
online marketing is Samui Villas and Homes, the island´s
largest villa sales and rentals agency. The company´s
website is actually a series of independent sites, each
focusing on a different product range with refined options
such as "Signature Collection Villas", "Boutique Villas",
as well as events-based products like "Signature Weddings"
that extend the range of options for potential customers.
The site is content driven, with a huge database of
photographs, villa descriptions and services. In addition,
the company spends time and money maintaining and
monitoring their web presence and continually adding new
features. "The work we do online has a direct impact on
our business," said Marc Ribail, Cheif Operating Officer.
"But the web is not only about gaining more exposure. It´s
also a tool for promoting Samui as a destination, creating
a clear brand identity and actually giving customers
practical information and support in order to make their
choices easier." Visual
Cues
Although information is king online, and quality
content is one of the keys to successful web optimization,
words can only carry so much meaning. Images often sell a
destination and its properties. For this reason,
photography and film have both become an essential part of
the e-marketing process for agents and developers on Samui.
Techniques such as stitching create seamless panoramic
images that draw people in, while videos and montages add
even more detail, allowing potential clients to literally
walk through a property without leaving their desk.
Architectural renderings have also become more
sophisticated, with designers creating near perfect
representations of the properties yet to be completed.
Gone are the days of sketches and stick people, Samui´s
off-plan property deals are often closed on the basis of a
computer-generated image.
Perhaps the most significant web development to influence
tourism and therefore the Thai resort property market in
recent months has been the advent of online video sharing
through sites like You Tube™. A simple search yields
literally hundreds of clips about the island and some
agents are turning this to their advantage, either linking
You Tube™ videos to their website, or in some cases,
actually making their own films. The latter is a feature
on newcomer Halcyon Samui Properties´ site. "We have made
videos of most of our properties, which load on to our
website," explained the company´s MD, Robert Honey. "It´s
important to give clients an honest, complete picture
rather than fob them off with a few sea views. Online
videos allow people to really get into the property and
have a proper look around."
Honesty is certainly a differentiator when it comes to
cyberspace. With online social networking now widely
accepted as the global ´word of mouth´, recommendations
through sites like Facebook™ and My Space™ may soon have a
significant influence on resort markets. Second home
owners and their rental guests like to upload their
holiday photos to these sites, as well as to image banks
like Flikr™ and iweb™. This means reality marketing is
gradually replacing the kind of stereotypical gloss that
used to blend one paradise destination with the next. The
era of the virtual vacation has arrived and on resort
islands like Samui, those with the skills and knowledge to
exploit it stand to benefit during a time of relative
crisis.
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