In hospitality circles, booking abandonment is sometimes called “website abandonment” or “cart abandonment,” although they’re slightly different things.
NB: This is an article from Revinate
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Cart abandonment happens whenever a potential visitor begins the reservation process on your website but leaves before completing the booking, whereas website abandonment occurs when people browse your rooms and amenities, maybe select dates or even enter personal information, but then vanish without ever entering the booking engine.
While hotel booking abandonment shares some surface-level similarities to eCommerce cart abandonment (both involve customers leaving before completing a purchase), booking abandonment is more complex due to the following factors:
- Higher consideration period. Booking a hotel typically involves more planning and decision-making than buying a product online.
- Comparison shopping. Travelers frequently bounce between multiple property websites, review sites, and OTAs before deciding.
- Emotional investment. Choosing accommodations is deeply personal. It’s about the experience, not just the transaction.
So, how do you know when booking abandonment is actually happening? Here’s your proof:
- Analytics show high traffic to your booking page but low conversion rates
- Incomplete reservation records in your booking system
- High website abandonment rate on checkout page
- High bounce rates on your booking page
- Repeat visits by the same user without converting (they’re interested – but hesitant)
Why does hotel booking abandonment happen?
Beyond simply tracking your website abandonment rate, let’s talk about why it happens in the first place, because understanding what drives it is half the battle. And the reasons guests bail on their bookings can sometimes be way more complicated than you might think.
1. Friction in the process
Trying to book a hotel room online can sometimes feel like you’re navigating a maze. There are multiple steps to go through, and at each step in the process you lose some people. In fact, only a small percentage will stick around long enough to add their personal and payment information. That huge drop-off is your website abandonment rate in action. Here’s why: Having a clunky booking process sends the wrong message to your potential guests – that you don’t value their time.
So what’s tripping up your potential guests? It likely comes down to things like confusing navigation, slow page loading, and unclear availability. All of these variables create doubt and cause distraction during the booking process.
The fix? Focus on making your booking flow feel easy and effortless – especially on mobile. The smoother the process, the more confident your potential guests will feel in clicking “book now.”
2. Unexpected costs at checkout
You know what’s guaranteed to make someone hit the back button? Surprise fees popping up at the last second. Resort fees, taxes, parking charges – when these aren’t clearly shown upfront, you’re basically giving potential visitors a reason to shop around.
3. Lack of trust or clarity
When guests can’t easily find your cancellation policy or aren’t confident that your site is secure, they get cold feet fast. Blurry photos, missing details about amenities, or a checkout process that feels sketchy? All recipes for abandonment.
