Would you book a room in your own hotel?

Every hotel manager wants to have the biggest occupancy possible, yet achieving the goal is very hard, indeed. And what is even worse, all of these mad efforts happen to give miserable fruit at times. Then comes the nerve-wracking stress, working till late at night, our worst nightmares seem to fulfil and the question starts bumping in your heads – what should I do to make them choose me? The answer is simple. We do travel as well, don’t we?

Let’s pretend we are ordinary travellers looking for some nice accommodation and check if our hotel offers everything we need. Would you book a room in your own hotel? Well, yes… but… Exactly, there is this mysterious „but” which we must explain. So, here it comes!

Try to book a room in your hotel

Our hotel is located e.g. in London. So, as a potential guest, what should I start my search with?

Where do we look for accommodation?

Source: Think with Google

Most probably we will start with entering a phrase into the general searching engine, like for instance „accommodation in London, hotel in London, etc".How many of the results on the very first page will we really notice? Usually the four paid positions come as the most visible ones because they are on top (AdWords). Below there are these “regular” results which attract much less attention. So, is my hotel on top or not? If it’s London, then we see it. 

Searching result for the phrase “hotel London”

Source: Google.pl

What do I feel after having visited my website?

Once having chosen their destination, Customers visit the websites of hotels which seem to answer their needs. So ask yourself a few questions now. Is the page clear and legible? Is it interesting for me? 

For an accommodation object the key factor is showing its main advantages on the very first page. The longer our Guests stay on the website, the closer they are to the supposed booking or any other conversion. 

Try to scroll your page on the smartphone or other mobile devices, too. Is it responsive? Is the text well located? Doesn’t it merge? Are the pictures of a good resolution? With every single day passing by more and more people use their smartphone rather than their PCs to look for accommodation, so don’t forget about this target group as well, for they are extremely vital to you. 

Source: Think with Google

Can I book a chosen offer smoothly?

Once having gone through the website, our potential Guest starts looking for offers. And what they see is of a crucial importance. So, tell us what you feel when scrolling the page. Do you feel like you’re drowning? Are these offers interesting and visually attractive (name, description, photos)? Do you have a choice? Can you book something more than just the basic option? Does the hotel offer a package you have never encountered elsewhere before? More about this topic in this article by Karolina Dziedzic: Presented effectively – sold profitably – how to present your offer better.

Next, our potential Guest wants to know they are making the right choice. Is this hotel really that unique? Does the reality match the description? So, you are beginning to look for reviews written by the Guests who already know this place. According to TripAdvisor, 80% of users read the comments before they make the final decision. True reviews can boost the website’s power with additional 25% more clicks / direct entries. It would be perfect if we could publish them right on the website because if our potential Guests need to leave the page in order to look for reviews somewhere else, they may never come back. Why? They will simply book a room on a page which already has the reviews. The final step before the reservation is the booking itself. Is it a quick and smooth process? Or do you have to go though many subpages and enter your data there? The booking system should be clear and the booking should last no longer than 3 minutes. 

Alright, we have come to the end, our search is over. 

Would you make a booking in your hotel or not?

To sum up, what are the elements of your purchase decision? 

1. Can you see the website in the Web/searching results? The widely understood AdWords campaigns play the key role here. The greater visibility, they greater probability that your hotel will be noticed;
2. Aesthetics of the target website. Have you highlighted your advantages? Is the text clear and interesting? Are the photos nice? And finally, is it a mobile-friendly website? If yes, the Guests shall stay with you;
3. Are the offers comprehensible and unique? For more details, go back to the article by Karolina Dziedzic “Presented effectively – sold profitably – how to present your offer better”;
4. Is the hotel credible? True reviews often encourage people to buy offers;
5. Can you make a quick booking? The booking system should be user-friendly. Entering lots of data on many subpages really puts your Guests off. 

Keeping your finger on the pulse of time and controlling the Internet really pays off. That’s the main medium of accommodation bookings now and we – the Profitroom – are here to help you find your place in this maze.

Izabela Jaśkowiak, Account Manager w Profitroom