tap ota conversion secrets for direct hotel bookings

Tap OTA secrets to increase direct bookings

Webinar

5 November 2015

Your hosts

Kevin May Senior Editor & Moderator Tnooz

Gene Quinn CEO & Producer Tnooz

Your presenters

Gautam Lulla President Travel Tripper

Scott Yankton Strategic Consultant

Poll no. 1 Where are you located?

Poll no. 2 Which industry segment do you represent?

© 2015 TRAVEL TRIPPER | 6

®

+

WEBINAR:

Tap OTA secrets to increase direct bookings

November 5, 2015

Poll no. 3

For hoteliers, what percentage of bookings come through your direct channel?


Don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Sound revenue strategy is all about balance between distribution channels

OTAs play an important role in getting business, but hotels are becoming increasingly over-reliant on them

The lesson: strengthen your direct channel


The art of conversion

One of the biggest reasons behind OTA success in recent years: mastering conversion.

OTA investment in e-commerce R&D $650 million in technology 1,500 A/B tests per year

How can hotels compete? Learn from the “frenemy” — use what the OTAs have invested millions to learn to improve our own hotel websites.

Poll no. 4 Whatisyourpreferredmethodofbooking

hotels?


The Road to Conversion

“There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them.” —Ralph Marston


The keys to conversion

1.  Usability and user experience How easy is it to find the info needed?

2.  Social proof How do we show that other travelers like this hotel?

3.  Fast and easy checkout How can we make the buying decision as fast and easy as possible for the traveler?


Usability & User Experience

The website must answer the most important user questions efficiently and logically:

What does the property look like?

What types of rooms are available?

What amenities are available?

What is the price? Is it within budget?

Can I cancel with no fees?


Social Proof

Social proof is about listening to what others say to remove risk from their own decision. They do this through:

Reviews from other travelers

Customer testimonials

Awards

Evidence that others are booking


Social Proof


Fast and easy checkout

K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple & Swift

Clear calls to action

Only ask for information that you need; tell users why you need the information you collect

Minimize the clicks and pages within the booking process

Assure customers that checkout is safe

Sense of urgency prompts


Best Rate Guarantee

Poll no. 5 After deciding on a hotel, how many sites do you

typically check for prices before booking?


CASE STUDY:

Stratosphere Hotel


Case Study: Stratosphere Hotel

Background 2,400+ room hotel and casino in Las Vegas 3.5-star hotel with low average nightly rate High-volume business with high competition

The Problem Website underperforming on direct bookings Over-reliance on OTAs for revenue


Before…

Rooms, amenities, and special offers all across different pages

Booking widget on main site not integrated with booking engine—must input dates twice

Special offers and packages not well integrated into booking engine


Before…

Booking engine not user-friendly

Imagery non-existent or too small

Special offers and rate packages not easy to find

Rates are not automatically updated when you change dates

Call to action not clear


After.

Better integration between website and booking engine

Large imagery showing hotel details

Social proof widgets

Inputting stay criteria is easy and clear


After.

Room details and amenities clear and easy to read

Cancellation policy and rates listed prominently

Clear call to action with BOOK NOW button

Two-step booking: click, click, book


Urgency prompts


Revisiting Best Rate Guarantee

Most Best Rate Guarantees don’t work

Policies are complicated with too many forms to submit

24-48 turnaround time on submitted claims

Manpower required to verify claims and price matching

Usually only taken advantage of by deal hunters

Poll no. 6 HowmanyBestRateGuaranteeclaimsdoes

yourhotelreceiveinonemonth?


The Solution

Automated Best Rate Guarantee

Automatically check other sites for prices

Automatically price match when lower prices found


Automated Best Rate Guarantee

For Consumers Complete price transparency Trust and assurance of lowest price possible No need to submit BRG claim

For Hotels Automatic price-matching* — no processing claims Automatic alerts when prices are out of parity Improvement of conversion rates

*patented feature


The OTAs think it’s a good idea…


Case Study: The Results

Within four months of launching:

24% increase in revenue

20% increase in direct bookings

2x increase in conversion rate


Recap: Lessons learned

Hotels: Your direct channel is your most profitable channel

If you haven’t optimized your website for conversion, you’re leaving money on the table.

OTAs might have the bigger marketing budgets, but hotels do get their fair share of traffic. So once you get someone on the site, close the deal.

When it comes to conversion, keep things simple—get the room booked as easily and quickly as possible.

Technology can be a great equalizer in helping hotels compete more effectively with OTAs.


DISCUSSION:

The realities of today’s digital travel marketplace

Thank you!

Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

Replay and presentation will be available on www.tnooz.com

tap ota conversion secrets for direct hotel bookings

Business