Let’s be clear: hotel metasearch isn’t your average digital marketing outlet. A property’s price listing competes against a multitude of online travel agents (OTAs) and wholesalers*.
Compared to other channels, metasearch doesn’t offer hoteliers endless possibilities to differentiate themselves from their competition. Nor are there many levers to be pulled and switches to be flicked to satisfy the hopes and dreams of the average digital marketer.
On top of that, success on metasearch channel is mostly dependent on both brand name recognition and the effectiveness of other digital marketing efforts (if available) in generating brand search demand.
Despite some limitations of metasearch, it’s an absolute mistake to disregard this channel. In fact, it can be one of a hotel’s most profitable marketing initiatives. So, why is metasearch such an important channel and why do so many hoteliers miss out on it?
The importance of metasearch
Let’s face it, most marketers don’t give metasearch enough care and attention. This is not unusual in the ever-growing world of digital advertising, where marketing agencies strapped for resources tend to understaff their paid media departments.
Furthermore, an increasing amount of marketing opportunities and media budgets lead marketing strategists to experience data exhaust. Naturally, some of the advertising channels get the preferred treatment, while others are put on the back burner. This is where meta-search usually finds itself.
If a hotel pursues multiple digital marketing channels (as it should), the ability to correctly integrate metasearch into this mix is crucial. For example, paid search initiatives can heavily benefit from innovations such as Real-Time Ads. However, when it comes to metasearch, finding the right strategy can be quite difficult.
The market never sleeps and major contributors of online travel are leading the conversation and influencing consumer behaviors. Thus, it’s imperative to stay away from the well-known management philosophy of ‘set and forget’ as this approach will get marketers as far as their hands can throw (not very far).
Despite the dominance of OTAs, there is positive news for hoteliers. In 2019, a dropoff in combined annual revenue from Expedia, Booking.com, and subsidiaries opens up new opportunities for independent hotels and hotel groups. Chances will increase for hotels to earn that top spot one meta sites for attractive bids and a lower CPC (cost-per-click) to appear in front of potential guests.
Metasearch within your digital marketing mix
Google, TripAdvisor, Kayak, and Trivago are arguably the 4 biggest meta-search players within the hospitality industry and are hoteliers’ go-to channels when listing their direct booking engine rates on the associated pricing feeds.
