How Many of You Hoteliers Have Experienced This:
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Guests who call the hotel but then find it easier or prefer to book through a portal (e.g., Booking.com)
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Guests who cannot find the hotel’s official website and confuse it with the portal’s page
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Guests who are hesitant to provide their credit card details online
And have you ever wondered why?!
Well, the main reason is that you haven’t yet understood the importance and weight of the official website, the booking engine, and a solid web marketing strategy to achieve disintermediation.
Unlike many hotels, OTAs pay much more attention to organic and pay-per-click positioning and prioritize usability and site navigation to reassure the customer up until the moment of booking.
There are at least six simple ways to avoid being overtaken by OTAs and take a step closer to direct bookings:
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Entrust your website to a qualified web agency: To give your hotel a professional and trustworthy image, don’t delegate the task to a relative or acquaintance. Work with a tourism-specialized company that knows how to showcase your property and create a quality website capable of competing with OTAs.
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Integrate a visible and easy-to-use booking engine on every page of your website.
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Reassure guests about payment methods: Clearly explain that credit card details are only required as a guarantee and no amount will be charged until check-out. (Also, make sure to indicate SSL protection on your booking engine.)
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Optimize your hotel’s SEO so that when users search for your name, you appear first—especially ahead of portals.
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Invest in your brand name on Google Ads to ensure your ads appear before OTA ads. If you don’t target your brand, the portals will, taking your traffic and customers. To further reassure users, include “Official Site” in your ad copy.
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Make an offer they can’t refuse: When guests leave your hotel after booking via a portal, tell them that next time, booking directly with you will give them an extra discount or upgrade. Remember, there’s only one thing OTAs can’t beat you at: making irresistible special offers!
If you’ve ever lost bookings, take these six points and examine them carefully. If you haven’t implemented them yet, do so as soon as possible… new direct bookings will reward you abundantly.
