Most independent hotels do not suffer from a visibility problem. They suffer from a conversion problem. Marketing teams invest in paid search, metasearch, and brand campaigns to drive qualified traffic to the hotel website.
NB: This is an article from Guestcentric
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The property has already been selected. The dates are known. The guest has intent. And yet, on average, hotel websites convert only around 2% of visitors into bookings. (source: Hotel Online)
The remaining 98% rarely disappear. Many continue their search elsewhere and ultimately complete the same reservation on an OTA. Industry estimates suggest this could be as high as half of abandoned direct attempts – at a commission cost that directly impacts margin.
In the industry, this is referred to as “abandonment.” Commercially, it is margin leakage. The important question is not how to increase traffic. It is why so many guests hesitate at the final stage of decision-making on the hotel’s own website.
What Causes Guests to Abandon the Hotel Website?
Guests typically arrive on a hotel website with intent. They are not browsing aimlessly. They are evaluating a specific property for a specific stay. When they leave without booking, it is usually triggered by small moments of doubt rather than major friction. These moments are subtle but powerful:
- Two room types that appear similar but differ in ways that are not immediately clear
- Rate descriptions that require interpretation
- Cancellation policies that feel uncertain
- Add-ons that complicate the decision
- The lingering question of whether the best option is truly visible
At these moments, “just checking one more site” feels like a safe decision. OTAs are designed to reduce this uncertainty. They compare options, rank relevance, surface social proof, and compress complexity. They help guests decide.
Most hotel websites present information well. Fewer are designed to actively guide the decision.
The Commercial Cost of Guest Decision Friction
Even marginal improvements in conversion have meaningful financial implications.
Consider a 100-room hotel generating 35,000 website visits per month. At a 2% conversion rate, this equates to 700 bookings per month – or 8,400 direct bookings per year.
