Imagine you’re trying to book a stay at a hotel and the website keeps showing you irrelevant deals and promotions, frustrating right?
NB: This is an article from The Hotels Network, one of our Expert Partners
For example, do you really think a couple searching for their ideal honeymoon stay wants to see a family package? Probably not, and most likely they will leave your website to look elsewhere for a more relevant offer.
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In today’s digital world, website personalization is no longer a trend, but an expectation. Consumers want to have a one-of-a-kind online experience, tailored to their tastes and likings. Think of the user experience offered by Netflix and Spotify. These online platforms have developed advanced technology to ensure their content is hyper-relevant based on the preferences of each user.
As a hotelier, you can also use the latest technology on your hotel website to be able to offer visitors a truly personalized online experience. In this article, we’ll show you how by walking you through five tried-and-tested website personalization tactics to help your direct bookings soar in 2022.
1. Engage with Visitors Coming from Facebook
It’s no secret that social media is one of the most effective channels to grab the attention of potential guests but it’s often difficult to convert these lookers into bookers. So why not try to better leverage this traffic? When a visitor lands on your hotel website coming from your social media channels, make sure you provide a personalized experience to gently nudge them towards a direct booking.
A warmly worded welcome with an exclusive discount for Facebook visitors has proven to be a particularly effective message. Don’t be afraid to play around with these messages, keep testing new ideas, and see what works for you. Plus, this could be applied to any of your social media channels and online campaigns you’ve got on the go, so let that imagination flow!
2. Reward and Recognize Returning Visitors
Generally speaking, potential guests will visit your website several times before booking a stay. It’s therefore important to provide a unique experience on each website visit to offer customers what they are looking for in a way that converts.
The initial visit is usually for discovery, the perfect moment to grab the visitor’s attention, and keep it! During this first stage, you should effectively communicate your hotel’s unique selling points – if you’ve got an amazing spa or a terrace with the best views of the city, highlight them at this first point of contact.
And for those who are returning to your website, offer them a little something special to nudge them towards a direct booking. And while we’ve all seen it before, the offer countdown clock really does work. A little sense of urgency can go a long way in terms of driving users down the booking funnel.
3. Tailor your Website Messages to Each User Profile
The information that a hotel keeps on their membership database is incredibly valuable. Not only does it provide information on a member’s demographics, but often their preferences as well. By tailoring the messaging of your website based on that information, you’ll be able to elevate and personalize your booking experience for returning guests, significantly increasing the likelihood of more direct bookings.
Picture this: a visitor arriving on your website, logging in, and seeing an exclusive deal applicable for Gold members, exclusively targeted towards those guests who have used the golf course during a previous stay. The offer is a weekend package that includes a free golf lesson and discounted rates for hiring clubs. Highly tempting!
Using today’s technology, it is not only possible but simple to do just that. Powered by The Hotels Network, CRM Targeting enables hotel brands to apply advanced targeting rules based on user profile data. Discover how you can combine this powerful tool with THN’s behavioral targeting to create a totally personalized website experience.
4. Upsell Personalized Packages Based on Specific Searches
Upselling is something we should all be very familiar with, and is a great opportunity to increase your hotel’s average booking value. In today’s world, guests expect more than just a stay. They crave meaningful experiences that foster connections to people and places. So why not offer them that?
Create exclusive packages that include some of the most unique offerings your property has and tailor them to specific booking dates, lengths of stay, and even the number of travelers if you’ve got a larger group on the books. Perhaps your hotel has a fabulous restaurant, which has a well-known chef. What about offering your weekend guests private lessons to cook meals in your kitchen, with a hotel night included. Tempting, huh?
These attractive activities and initiatives can really grab the attention of potential guests and boost your occupancy levels. What’s more, by ensuring your messages are displayed when the search matches the established criteria, you’ll ensure you show the right offer to the right visitor at the right time.
5. Maximize Revenue Using Predictive Personalization
The concept of improving the user experience and increasing hotel revenue simultaneously by leveraging technology is known as Predictive Personalization. It’s a two-step process that incorporates machine learning to better understand user behavior followed by the automated presentation of personalized content and offers for that specific individual.
Taking this approach enables you to dynamically display the most relevant offers based on each user’s likelihood to book. You can bid farewell to unnecessary discounts for high-intent users and say hello to higher conversion rates for those that need an extra push to finalize that booking.
So there you have it, five highly effective ways to personalize the website experience to ensure you maximize conversions on your hotel website. With these tactics, making sure you get the right offer in front of the right audience at the right time couldn’t be easier. What’s more, by implementing them in creative and unique ways that suit your brand and client base, you will be able to engage more visitors and convince them that your property is the ideal choice for their next stay.
