Why doesn’t your Booking Engine generate reservations? Find it out!
Have you installed a booking engine with all the best features on the website of your hotel, b&b or apartments, but you are not receiving reservations? It can often happen that the booking system does not generate the expected revenue. Let’s see why.
The requirements for receiving direct bookings
The first requirement to increase direct bookings is to have numerous visits. Obviously, the more visits, the greater the conversions. The essential question to ask is then: how to get more visits?
In online searches, site indexing (ie positioning in Google searches) plays a fundamental role. In the case of an accommodation facility, however, the situation is a bit more complex.
For example, if a hotel in London wanted to increase traffic on its site, it is practically impossible for it to be able to position itself on the first page of Google with the search for “Hotel in London”. In the first positions there are always the main portals, metasearch such as TripAdvisor and trivago, as well as the Google map with hotel ads. At the most he will be able to work on the research linked to his name with specific digital marketing techniques.
Therefore, a property’s site must be set up well. This means fast to load, user and mobile-friendly and with attractive graphics. But it is not only the internal characteristics of the site that guarantee the presence of users.
A solution to increase the visibility, and therefore the traffic, to your site, is to take advantage of the portals on the first page of Google.
Invest in metasearch
Investing some budget in metasearch campaigns can be a great help in increasing site visits. A Fornova study for EyeForTravel showed that 94% of travelers use metasearch when booking hotels. Of these, 73% do it regularly.
It is therefore necessary to be present on metasearch searches by showing excellent reviews and photos and setting up effective sales campaigns. Each metasearch offers different opportunities based on the type of structure and the results you want to obtain.
Once you have good visibility on the online portals, you have to move on to the next step, that is to convince the user to click on your site and turn the visit into a reservation.
Any hotelier can do it by following two parallel paths: by presenting an impeccable reputation and by offering efficient technology.
Look after your online reputation
To convince a traveler to visit and book on your site, it is essential to have a great online reputation. This is achieved through positive reviews on metasearch like Google, Tripadvisor, trivago and OTAs. In addition, in addition to encouraging good reviews, it is also essential to respond to any negative comments to demonstrate the interest and care of your guests in all circumstances.
However, a property’s image and reputation are not built only through positive reviews. Hoteliers must treat all information relating to their hotels, b&bs or apartments in detail. So photos, descriptions and promotions must be consistent with your image and presented in a homogeneous way. To learn more about the reputation of the brand in the hotel sector, read here.
Only if you are able to win the trust of your guests with an impeccable reputation will you be able to convince them to click the link to your site and to prefer a direct booking. Maybe by taking advantage of a promotion or an extra discount. But trust is also crucial at the moment of the final click. It is here that the customer confirms the reservation by providing his personal data and is willing to pay.
The importance of the Booking Engine in generating direct bookings
Finally, after bringing the visitor to your site, you need to ensure an excellent browsing and shopping experience to make sure he becomes a customer. We have emphasized that the website must respect certain quality characteristics, but the final decision to book is inevitably influenced by the booking engine.
This means that it is essential to have software:
- mobile-friendly
- totally customizable
- easily usable by the user
- integrated with different payment systems
- in compliance with safety regulations
- that handles multiple languages and currencies.
The main purpose of the booking engine is in fact to ensure that a customer who has arrived on the site does not leave. In other words, it must convert travelers’ visits into bookings thanks to the trust it transmits and by offering a comfortable and “frictionless” shopping experience.
Conclusions: how to make you Booking Engine generate reservations
To sum up, we can say that to increase direct bookings it is first of all necessary to increase visits to the site, i.e. traffic. Without visits it will be unlikely to receive requests from guests.
We have seen that it is difficult for a hotel to appear in the first pages of Google with a very general search such as “Hotel in London” or in New York. It therefore becomes essential to better manage the presence on metasearch and OTAs. This can be done through ad hoc paid campaigns and using the tools offered by each portal.
Once you have obtained online visibility, you need to know how to win the trust of potential guests and convince them to click on the link to the site. Presence on the various online channels must therefore always be accompanied by an excellent reputation. Both by attracting positive reviews and by responding to negative ones. As well as through reviews, guests’ trust must be won by taking care of all content, such as images, descriptions and promotions.
Finally, to convince the customer to book on the site, it is necessary to ensure a fast, easy to use, safe and well integrated booking system.
If your hotel or group of apartments is able to win the trust of potential guests thanks to an excellent reputation and a quality booking engine, there will be no shortage of direct bookings.
For any information on the RoomCloud booking engine, contact us at sales.roomcloud@tecnes.com sales.roomcloud@tecnes.com
