Despite that there is more information for guests to view online than ever before in the history of the lodging industry, the phones continue to ring in reservations offices and at the front desk. Simultaneously, hoteliers continue to increase direct bookings. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see another article on this topic, yet when I click on them the discussion is almost always on website bookings; rarely do I see a mention of voice as a distribution channel. If you are truly committed to increasing direct voice bookings, read on.
A first step that I always do with my consulting clients is to calculate the costs of making the phones ring. Granted, this is not a perfect science, but even an approximate number is eye opening.
What does it cost to make the phone ring? Depending on what type of hotel (branded verses independent), the market mix (business, leisure, bleisure, group, contract / BT), and the geographic location, immediate direct costs include:
- Direct email campaigns.
- Pay-per-click search.
- Organic SEO Optimization costs.
- Direct mail.
- Print.
- Staff to executive these.
There are so many other intangible costs too, such as the investment in the website itself as a primary driver of voice. Google research shows that mobile searches in particular are very likely to result in a “click to call.” The most recent statistics I can find show this happens 70% of the time. Granted these numbers are now 5 years old and not hotel specific, but this is certainly an indicator. If you want solid – if anecdotal – evidence, just ask your reservations agents how often they receive calls from those who are calling from a smartphone while driving or watching TV. Another intangible cost is time and money spent to optimize property information and images in OTAs and the GDS, because many OTA visitors and also travel agents end up calling. Again, when you talk to the frontline agents it is clear that the so-called “billboard effect” is not dead.
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