There are lots of reasons why people might visit your hotel’s website and then leave without making a booking, particularly if they’re only in the daydreaming or research stages. They might realise they need more savings to head to their dream destination, or they may need to rethink dates to better fit with their commitments.
However, as a hotel owner or marketer, you don’t want them to be leaving for reasons that are more to do with your website than their own circumstances. If they’ve arrived on your site with a view to making a booking, then you need to capture them and not let them go to a competitor.If you want to ensure that would-be guests carry on clicking through with you, then it’s important to tackle website design for hotels as it can significantly affect the user experience.Here are a few factors you can take a look at.
1.Make sure you’re storytelling Although it’s important to have both text content and pictures on your hotel website, it’s no good just sticking them on anywhere and hoping they persuade would-be guests to get out their credit cards. Everything needs to work together as a coherent whole and to tell a story that has people longing to make a reservation with you. People want to feel something about their holidays and are increasingly seeking experience- driven breaks, so give them the narrative they’re after.
2.Always add some context Connected with the point above is that of providing context to everything you have on your hotel website. If you have a picture of your Jacuzzi, add some text that would convince people they want to be sitting in it ASAP. Similarly, think of your lists of amenities and how they might not be working hard enough for you. For example, it may be that you need more text to explain why they’re so good. If you talk about a kids’ club, point out that it will give parents an hour of relaxation time in your spa. With free Wi-Fi, say that it is ideal for business people who want to Skype their boss from their room after that all-important conference. Travellers need that emotional connection to what they see.
3.Don’t overwhelm people with reviews We’re all well aware these days about how important reviews are in terms of encouraging hotel bookings. Indeed, many people now wouldn’t even dream of reserving a room without finding out what their peers thought about it first. That means there should be no question as to whether or not you put reviews on your website. However, that doesn’t mean to say you need to put every single word of every piece of feedback right there as soon as browsers arrive – it’s likely to put them off.Instead, display snippets of some of the most recent in an aesthetically pleasing way and invite would-be guests to click through to a separate page if they want to view the lot.
4.Make the CTA really effective Regular calls to action are essential for hotel websites, but many accommodation providers just stick to the typical ‘book now’ invitation. To make this part even more convincing, why not consider changing the text to fit with that aspirational idea we started with? For instance, you could have ‘begin your dream holiday now’ or ‘come and stay with us this summer’. It’s a good idea to take a look at some colour psychology articles online too, as your colour scheme can have a surprisingly big impact on how people act and may just persuade them to make a reservation.
User experience is crucial when it comes to turning lookers into bookers, so ensure your would-be guests enjoy a seamless one.
