Many hotels use online travel agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com these days as a way of increasing their presence online and getting their brand name exposed to potential guests. This is particularly applicable for smaller properties, whose owners don’t have the marketing budgets to compete with huge chains.
However, everyone knows that the ultimate aim for those with rooms to fill is to get people to book direct via the hotel’s own website. This cuts out the middle man and the associated commission and also allows the hotel to build a better relationship with their guests because they can find out more about them.But how can you claw back some of your customers from the OTAs and persuade them to come right to you? Here are a few of our top tips.
1.Be aesthetically pleasing Would-be guests might stop off on your website several times during their planning journey, whether they’re just daydreaming or they’re ready to book, so you want to ensure you’re projecting the right image at all times. Pictures are a vital part of this, as they allow people to see in their mind’s eye what it might be like to stay with you – and that’s why the OTAs are so careful to always prominently display great photographs alongside their text. You need to do the same, so overhaul your old or potentially unflattering snapshots and replace them with professional-looking photos that accurately reflect the personality of your hotel. If you pride yourself on luxury, show your glorious infinity pool and super-cool bar, not an uninspiring shot of the lobby. Good pictures will make people linger longer on your website – and could prompt them to get their credit cards out.
2. Offer your glowing reviews You will obviously be talking your facilities and great location up in the content on your website, but many travellers are unsure about names they don’t recognise and so go to OTAs for the testimonials.You can replicate this and substantiate the claims you make by publishing past guest reviews prominently on your pages. Ensure you ask reviewers for their names (or an appropriate alias), as this adds credibility, and always put the most recent ones first so people know they’re still relevant. It’s fair to take only the good ones for your front pages, but do print the not-so-good pieces of feedback too if you have a reviews page further in – alongside your timely and helpful responses.Remember to limit the number of characters reviewers can use, as this keeps your site looking tidy and prevents the essays that some internet users tend to leave given free rein.
3. Chase lost leads with remarketing You’ll never manage to convert everyone who looks at your website into a paying hotel guest; your offerings might not fit in with what they want or they may just be browsing in their lunch hour, for example. However, you can chase up any leads you think might eventually come to something with remarketing. This is the process by which interested parties are shown your hotel ad again after they have left your page or are emailed with a gentle reminder of your presence and a renewed offer to book. Amazon and high street stores like Clarks are great at this, so it’s worth a try. Emails are likely to offer you the best chance of a return on your investment, particularly if you offer an incentive such as a coupon code, but you’ll be missing a trick if you don’t include social media in your remarketing efforts too, as it catches people in their downtime when they might be most receptive.
4.Have a great Online Booking Engine One of the main reasons why travellers go to the OTAs is their trustworthiness – people know their money is safe if they enter their credit card details and that they are choosing a reputable hotel from the listings.If you are to compete, you need to ensure your own hotel booking system is as secure – and that means investing in an excellent booking engine. It should look the same as the rest of your site in terms of branding so as not to worry would-be guests and it should offer a variety of payment options, preferably including Paypal. You can also add text to reassure users about security, which should leave them with no qualms about booking direct.
5.Keep choices limited It might sound advantageous to provide your guests with plenty of choice, but the opposite can actually be true. If you’re offering a lengthy list of booking options, it can cause a paralysis of indecision known as the paradox of choice – and can lead to abandonment and people not making a reservation at all. For instance, say you’re a keen crafter and you need adhesive. If you go online and you’re faced with scores of products that invite you to choose between dries clear, repositionable, wet, dry, for vellum, for heavy cardstock only, small glue dots, large dots and goodness knows what else, you might ditch the idea and go to the supermarket for a bog-standard glue stick instead.The same is true for hotels – offer multiple room types, different rates, package options and add-ons and you might stress people out and send them straight to the OTAs. Keep it simple, tailor their options to them and keep add-ons (sensible ones) for the last stage in the process.
You might be surprised what a big difference these simple things can make to your direct bookings and the conversions that come from your website – and that might help you reduce the money you’re spending with the OTAs.
