Finding the best channel manager is the key to the success of your hotel’s distribution strategy. Online distribution is more important now than it’s ever been before and tomorrow it will be more urgent again, such is the rapidly increasing rate of today’s online environment, OTA landscape, and advancing hotel technology.
The number of ways people can book their travel is growing almost as fast as the amount of people traversing the world. It’s no secret international travel has doubled since 1995, and despite pockets of security concerns, it continues to grow.
Mostly, travel is cheaper and more accessible, but technology has arguably been the biggest influence.
An explosion of online booking options has kept apace with the developments of the Internet and other technology, like mobile devices. In the US, 50 per cent of travellers using digital means to book a trip are doing so on a mobile device.
In conjuction, online travel agents are proving one of the most popular places to make these bookings. Currently, almost half of all gross online bookings are conducted via OTAs, with the number set to increase to more than 50 per cent by 2017.
All of this culminates in a pressing need for hotels to be switched on to the strategies of adapting to the modern state of affairs. Optimising websites for mobile and search engines are high on the checklist but connecting to OTAs stands large in attracting bookings.
Without connecting to a lot of the big channels, you won’t be securing the number of guests you need, so your revenue will likely suffer.
Even this isn’t enough. To maximise bookings, hotels need to manage these channels effectively and efficiently, something that can only be done via the best channel manager. Use SiteMinder’s Channel Manager to boost revenue, raise profit, and save time.
Here are eight ways The Channel Manager will improve your online distribution:
