Over the past few years, hoteliers have adapted to various sources to receive maximum hotel bookings. Although various studies suggest that more than 20% of hotel’s revenue is sourced from OTA’s (Online Travel Agents), bookings can come from anywhere - it could be from online travel giants such as Expedia, Trip Advisor, hotel’s own website or even the hotel’s Facebook page. Listed are few guidelines that will help hotelier’s website receive more bookings:
To enhance online visibility and increase bookings, let the visitors view exactly what they are booking. With various high definition images and instant gratification of a descriptive video displaying the best features of the property, the guest will be able to easily view the type of room they require. Additionally, visual content will enhance hotel’s visual appeal which will further draw the guest in.
It is essential that you provide a compelling room description, which will extensively describe the room and amenities offered by the hotel. The detailed room and hotel description will enable the guest to make quick and informed booking decision.
The room rate is the most important information the traveller is looking for. In the very competitive hotel industry, the best way to attract more bookings is to offer the most optimized and competitive room rates and attractive booking packages. Additionally, while describing the packages, use appealing descriptions like best room with complementary breakfast instead of simply mentioning hotel room with continental package.
Appeal to the guest by offering a few complementary add-ons like free Wi-Fi and airport pick up. At times, some travellers who are booking from OTA’s visit the hotel website to get information on the hotel. At this stage, you can even draw the guest in by providing enticing deals and packages on booking directly with the hotel.
Offer your guest a dynamic and efficient booking engine that is flexible yet simple to use. Every hotel has specific target demographics, to get the maximum output select a booking engine that offers a variety in GUI, which is alluring to your target audience. Moreover, a smooth and efficient booking experience will further enhance guest loyalty because the guest may not remember the price he paid, but rest assured he will always remember the ease and efficiency he experienced while booking with you.
As an hotelier, you have to comprehend that the modern traveller is quite tech savvy, and demand the best service on their finger tips. Therefore, it is essential that hotels provide a responsive website, which is compatible with all type of devices and a booking engine which is secure and mobile friendly.
Make sure the information you are publishing is appearing in the appropriate panel. Displaying room description under cancellation policy is not the correct way to go and will simply confuse the booker with chances of him starting to look for other options.
One of the driving forces to book a room is the easy availability of complete information such as nightly rates or hotel’s terms and conditions should be easily accessible. Transparency in hotel policies like cancellation and refund procedure helps the booker to have faith in the hotel and make the booking readily.
Since travellers can be from any part of the world it is not necessary for all of them to comprehend English language. Avoid using a lot of jargon or abbreviation while publishing description or policies. Keep the language brief and simple to understand.
According to many hotel industry experts, one should always respond to an online hotel review irrespective of it being positive or negative. This will minimize the damage and refurbish hotel’s reputation. Furthermore, hoteliers can even acquire recurring business by responding a review with supplementary discounts or packages for next stay.