As hotel owners and marketers, we all want to increase the number of direct bookings on the websites of our properties – it fills up rooms, boosts revenues and decreases reliance on middle men like online travel agencies.
However, if you find that you’re getting a lot of traffic looking at your hotel website but this isn’t translating into more reservations, then the problem might lie with the website itself and the content you’re offering. If you think this is the case, take a look at your analytics package (even if it’s just the standard Google one) and track the behavioural patterns of your visitors. Which pages have they looked at, how long did they stay and at which point did they leave? This should help you to identify potential pain points of your hotel website design . Here are three of the most common problems that can lead to reduced direct bookings and what you might be able to do about them.
1.Poor landing page coverageThe content on your hotel website should either entertain visitors or help them to solve a problem and landing pages are an easy way of doing both while also boosting your search engine optimisation with longtail keywords.Think about what type of audience your hotel caters for and then write pages specifically for them that will build engagement, increase trust and hopefully lead to more conversions. For example, if you know your property is ideal for hikers because it’s at the edge of a popular trail, write a landing page about how people can access the walk, what equipment they might need and how you offer packages specifically for walking groups.With a good collection of landing pages, guests will be able to find you easily, feel engaged and have an incentive to stay and book.
2. A high bounce rate If you find that visitors to your site are leaving very soon after arriving, it suggests your pages need an overhaul in terms of design or navigation. Replace amateur-looking photos with a set of beautiful images taken by a professional that reflect the personality of your property and ensure your content is top-notch too.Also, don’t overwhelm would-be guests with too many options, as it can lead to anxiety and them abandoning the idea of making a booking – stick to simple choices that look good on the page.Finally, take a look at page load speeds, particularly on mobile devices, as lengthy load speeds could be impacting your bounce rates.
3. No calls to action If you’re trying to convince people to book a stay with you, it’s essential to invite them to do so at regular intervals. People need that push that calls to action create, although you shouldn’t make them too salesy.
Have ‘book now’ buttons paced prominently on every page of your site and ensure they are consistent in terms of phrasing and branding. Don’t forget to ensure they show up on mobile devices too, as guests are increasingly making reservations on such devices.By keeping an eye on your statistics and fixing any issues that you see with particular pages, you should hopefully see results in the form of more conversions very soon.
