There’s your Bed & Breakfast. Then, the self-serviced accommodations down the road. There’s also that retrofitted factory-hotel in the east end. And you all have one thing in common. You’re vying for the traveller’s accommodation dollars.
Back in the day, that wasn’t so bad. Heck, you have the nicest looking place in town, white-picket fence and all. But it’s different today. People are looking and booking online now more than they are visiting brick and mortar travel agencies. Walk-ins are decreasing, too. In some countries, more than half of all travel bookings are now made online. And it’s only going to go up from here. You know this. But why is it happening and what can you do to get more direct hotel bookings?
Travellers crave the control and assurance that advancements in consumer-tech provide them in their daily lives. Why should travel arrangements be any different? To find this control conveniently, they are turning to the Internet- in droves. Let’s call this transition the digital booking shift.
Nowadays, the number of occupants you enjoy increasingly corresponds to your online exposure. It should come as little surprise either. More and more travellers are consulting the Internet to find their ideal hotel. And that curb appeal that your hotel sports, white picket fence and all, needs to translate online in the form of a high-quality planning and booking experience.
View this digital booking shift as your biggest opportunity. There are numerous hotels who have yet to recognize it. If they wait too long, they’ll be left in the dust of the foot traffic of yesteryear.
Don’t join them. Instead, use these tips to differentiate yourself from them and remain the most attractive hotel in town.
You need to look legitimate
According to Hubspot, a leader in developing inbound marketing software, ‘’…content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without relevant images.’’
So, what’s relevant?
Images that clearly show your hotel exterior, interior rooms, and amenities are the most relevant. It’s best to have just a few, high-quality images of each room type instead of 10 junky ones. These images should take top priority on your hotel website and digital assets (hotel profiles, and social media accounts). And you’ll want to add these to your booking engine.
Read rest of the article at eHotelier
