How your hotel’s website can generate more direct bookings

A variety of studies have shown that hoteliers have recently realized that, even a variety of third-party hotels booking websites exist, the websites of their hotels could be the best channel of selling their rooms and facilities. Indeed, the main goal of every hotelier should be to generate more direct bookings via the website of the hotel since in this way he/she will be able to offer NET rates to the clients and escape the commission than any third-party channel would ask for.

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Huizingh (2000) argued that content and design, which could be measured by objective and subjective means, could determine the success of a commercial. It is true that the majority of the customers prefer to book a hotel room via OTA’s ( Online Travel Agencies) like Booking or Expedia because these platforms offer users a smooth, easy to book, experience. A fully responsive and well-designed website could attract users and make it easy for them to book through it.

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As it concerns the design of the website it should firstly offer users a personalized experience. The homepage should make users feel welcomed and attract their interest in order to continue navigating. A modern design, colorful and updated images or even a video, nicely written messages will definitely keep the customers satisfied at first sight. The presence of user generated content in the website (like customers reviews) could also generate confidence to the potential customers that visit the website. The use of a chatbot, a chat box where customers can pose their questions and get a direct answer, could be another idea to secure users’ engagement. Since technology runs fast the website of the hotel should be fully responsive by being able to adapt to all devices’ screens like mobiles, tablets or laptops.

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Websites should also have a booking engine incorporated. Direct booking engines are integrated on the hotels’ homepage and can lead to direct bookings. Every hotel should have a “Book Now” button on the homepage and a search mask which will lead to its booking engine. Of course, the prices offered via the engine should be lower than the ones of OTAs. Special banners and pop up messages should inform the user that the prices offered via the website are the lowest he/she can find online. “Price checkers” is another engine that a hotel can put on the website. Price checkers compare the prices of all the selling channels demonstrating that the website’s price is the best one.

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Evi Stavropoulou