Reflections on how to improve direct booking
As the season draws to a close, we pause for a moment to reflect on how well we have done our homework to increase direct sales. It is clear that the challenge of obtaining bookings directly on the hotel's website is sometimes complicated for the hotelier.
Reaching a conclusion is complex but it is clear that the efforts are worthwhile and it is worth working in this line to curb the high commissions that marketers take, whether they are OTAs, external agencies or marketplaces.
The power of trust
Although we know that it is difficult to compete with the number of options they present and their omnipresent marketing, the tendency to avoid intermediaries by seeking the confidence and security that comes from speaking directly with the interlocutor, plays in the hotelier's favour.
Direct communication wins out over the option of dealing with a depersonalised and generalist platform. It is not possible to compete on equal terms with a giant, but it is possible to overshadow it and stand up to it with the resources available to the hotelier. Direct communication, proximity and trust are the keys.
But how do we promote communication?
For a hotel to be able to communicate directly with its clients, it must have the following tools:
- Anup-to-date, attractivewebsite, with good usability, professional photographs, descriptions and texts that seduce the future guest; in short, a hotel website designed by professionals and optimised for mobiles.
- Integrated booking engine to be able to convert this web channel into the main sales channel. Its design must be focused on conversion and must include up-selling, cross-selling, discounts and payment automation functionalities. In addition, it is a plus if it allows integration with CRM and meta-search engines. One of the main objectives of the hotelier should be to convert the booking engine of your website into your main source of income.
The customer doesn't just come to your website
In order to attract customers to the hotel's website and get them to book on the booking engine, they must have arrived there. It is time to invest in marketing.
At this point, a wide range of possibilities opens up that will require economic investment, time dedication and, whenever possible, an expert technological partner to advise us.
What to bear in mind in hotel marketing:
- Know your clients well, use the data you have about them. Information is power.
- Build loyalty, establish a relationship of trust and they will return to your hotel. Even a happy customer can become a prescriber by recommending your hotel to their friends.
- Work on your brand, branding through a blog, inbound marketing, story telling and social media is essential.
- Invest part of your budget in Google Ads, Google Hotel Ads and Facebook Ads; you will undoubtedly improve your direct bookings. IMPORTANT, the budget should be adjusted as it will have an impact on the direct booking spend and should not exceed the OTA's commissions.
The importance of Revenue Management:
At this point, what your hotel is missing to improve direct revenue is a good revenue management strategy , which implies having technological tools and, more importantly, an experienced revenue manager to carry it out.
The road is not easy but direct booking is here to stay, you just need to have the necessary technological tools and continue working on building trust with customers, so that this increase is maintained and increases from now on.
At GuestPro we advise you on your marketing strategy and we offer you the service of revenue management with a specialised team with extensive experience, especially in the holiday hotel sector.
