"Credibility, consistency and social proof matter more than ever before"
says Leigh Myles, Regional Director for Africa, Profitroom
You've got a great property, an exceptional offering and your pool is particularly photogenic.
So why, oh why, have bookings stalled?
At WTM Africa this year, I sat on a panel titled
Trust, Safety, and Social Proof:
What Really Sways the Booking Decision in 2026?
It tackled this exact question. What came through clearly is that today's traveller is not just looking for a great deal
(or an infinity pool). They're looking for confidence: that what they see is what they'll get, that their personal information and payment details are secure, and that someone will actually be waiting for them when they arrive.
If your hotel isn't actively building that trust through your website, in your booking journey, in how you handle payments and in how you respond to reviews, then you're quickly losing ground to the competition. Depressing, but fixable.
Star ratings haven't disappeared, but let's be honest, when last did you book on stars alone? Data from TripAdvisor shows that 96% of users read reviews before booking, with at least 80% reading between six and 12 before making a decision. Unsurprisingly, recent reviews matter more to travellers because they’re looking for the most up-to-date information and (this is important) they’d rather hear from someone who checked out last Tuesday than read your property description.
Why? Today’s travellers respond to specificity. They want content (web copy, reels or reviews) that answers their questions and describes the experience in detail: the transfer that was waiting, the size of the family rooms, the exact distance to the beach, the problem that got sorted quickly.
And they want to see if your hotel responded to reviews, because a hotel that replies to a negative review tells them something important about how problems get handled. They're also increasingly sceptical of anything that looks too manufactured – glossy AI-generated imagery with zero guest photos to back it up, or reviews that all sound suspiciously similar.
At the moment, online travel agencies (OTAs) are winning the trust game. Yes, it's because of the depth of content, imagery and reviews, but it's also because they've worked hard to make their booking journey feel seamless, predictable and transparent. And that matters, because reviews might get travellers to the door, but the moment they start booking, the experience itself becomes the trust signal. One wobble at checkout and guests start second-guessing a decision they've already made.
OTAs have spent years and eye-watering budgets getting this right: secure payment processing, clear cancellation policies and verified reviews. (How eye-watering, you ask? The four biggest OTAs spent a combined US$17.8 billion on sales and marketing in 2024 alone.) Now I'm not suggesting everyone has the same budgets, but targeted investment goes a long way. If a guest lands on a beautiful website and then gets redirected to a clunky payment page, you've lost them. Every point of friction is a point where trust breaks down.
For hotels on this continent, there's another layer to the “trust” conversation. In my experience, it's not always about whether it's safe to come. Rather, it’s about whether guests feel secure and looked after from the moment they arrive.
What does that look like in practice? Your site should be answering the questions guests are already typing into search engines: how far is the hotel from the airport? Is there a reliable transfer? What's nearby and how do they access it? Knowledge builds confidence. If guests have to look elsewhere for that information, you've already created friction and frustration (and quite possibly a booking with the hotel down the road).
The good news? OTAs may be winning the trust game, but the title isn’t theirs to keep. Here’s how you can build confidence and drive direct bookings:
Most importantly, we're now living in a world where AI-powered search looks far and wide for information, and it's changing how travellers discover hotels. Today's travellers are increasingly finding properties through the likes of ChatGPT or Gemini, and these LLMs synthesise information from across the web. That means your name, address, and contact details need to match across every platform. Your reviews need to be recent, detailed, and responded to. Your property needs to be mentioned in trusted third-party sources – travel editorial, tourism guides, blogs and reels. And yes, traditional SEO and Google rankings still matter too; think of AI discovery as a powerful new tool in your toolbox. Better still, treat your website, channels and AI agents as your best salespeople: on duty around the clock and never once asking for commission.
Today, the hotels that get recommended are the ones that have given AI something accurate, authoritative and consistent to work with. Believe it or not, the trust signals that convince a human traveller? They're the same ones that get you surfaced by a machine.
Ready to boost your visibility and drive more direct bookings? To elevate your booking experience, visit https://profitroom.com/products/booking-engine/