4 REASONS YOUR HOTEL WEBSITE IS COSTING YOU BOOKINGS – AND HOW TO WIN BACK THOSE LOST RESERVATIONS

Jul 10 2017|Categories: Hotel Booking Engine

Your hotel website can make or break your ability to secure bookings. Much like ecommerce sites have to worry about abandoned carts costing them sales, your hotel site has the power to make or break your RevPar records.

Not every visitor to your site will be ready to make a booking there and then of course but, for those that are, it’s essential that you do everything in your power to win that business, both while on the site and if they happen to abandon their booking mid-reservation for some reason. Here are four top reasons why your website could be causing you to lose out – and solutions to  implement to help you win back those lost bookings!

  • Your Website Isn’t Mobile Friendly

A mobile-friendly website is no longer a luxury, but an absolute must for businesses who hope to future-proof themselves against the changing online landscape. Mobile search is growing, and so you avoid getting mobile-ready at your peril.

The Solution: Invest in a mobile-friendly, responsive design which works for all possible screen sizes. This will help to limit your lost bookings via mobile and tablet and help to future-proof your website.

  • You Are Losing Bookings to OTAs

Online travel agents can be an incredibly beneficial tool when marketing your hotel and securing bookings, but it’s important to ensure your own website doesn’t miss out on attracting clicks and making bookings either. OTAs tend to charge a percentage per reservation, meaning you lose out on all-important revenue with each booking which is gained via this method versus your own web presence.

The Solution: Put as much effort into ensuring your website presents your brand in the best possible light as you can. Take note of the professionalism of the OTAs you secure bookings from – and apply similar principles to your own website. Use as many channels as possible to promote your offers and be proactive about making your owned media channels the most informative, entertaining and value-add they can be.

  • Your Checkout Isn’t Optimised

Your hotel booking engine should be quick, simple and efficient. If it falls at any single one of these hurdles, you risk losing bookings through a lack of customer trust. Remember, when making a booking your prospects are being asked to input sensitive financial information, and they won’t do this lightly.

The Solutions: Ensuring the directions of your booking engine for hotels are clearly signposted and any next steps are visible will help to reduce lost bookings. Keep it straightforward, and ensure the booking engine is fully integrated with your website’s overarching design. Use remarketing and set up automated emails to entice customers back to your site if they do abandon a reservation at any point.

  • You’re Not Projecting Sufficient Value

A key reason why your website isn’t generating bookings could quite simply be that you are not providing enough value to your prospects. The complaint could be that your pricing structure is too complex, or that your website doesn’t accurately explain why your hotel is a great place to stay.

The Solution: Consider how you price your offering, and how this compares to your competitors. Ensure your copy and images provide a favourable but accurate depiction of the experience your customers will have when they make a booking.