In August we published an extensive guide and infographic to help hotels selecting the right distribution solutions according to their specific needs.
The guide was an unexpected success and it made us realize how difficult it must be for hoteliers today to choose their partners wisely, as travel has become a very complex and crowded ecosystem over the last few years.
In this article, we explore the ten key distribution solutions every hotel needs in order to stay competitive and properly market its products.
#1: Official Website
Getting a proper hotel website is, still, the best thing you can do to improve your marketing strategy. When we use the adjective “proper” we refer to websites that are designed to primarily to convert.
It is a widely accepted myth that hotel websites should be as informative as possible and show every minute aspect of the property, but the truth is that the main objective of a hotel website is simply to transform visitors into guests.
That’s why choosing the right agency is crucial: a fully customized website is likely the best choice for big properties, while small budget hotels can opt for pre-designed inexpensive themes.
Whatever the choice, it’s important to look for some key factors: ease of use of CMS, emotional impact fo the design, source code optimized for SEO and frictionless mobile design user experience.
#2: Booking Engine
When choosing a booking engine, keep in mind that it is where the real action (read: transaction) is, so UX is the most important factor.
The booking path should be as frictionless as possible and that the “Look and Feel” of the booking engine has to be consistent with the website design.
Page load time is another key factor as, according to several studies, hotels lose up to 20% of potential conversion for any second the booking engine takes to load.
