Imagine this: A traveler is looking for the perfect place to stay. They land on your hotel’s website, explore your offerings but before they can book, they switch to an OTA and reserve their room there instead. You’ve lost the direct booking.
NB: This is an article from SHR
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Unfortunately, this scenario plays out daily, across thousands of hotels, costing you revenue and control over your guest relationships.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
A new study by h2c reveals that the core problem is often technology – outdated systems, fragmented tools and a lack of personalization. These invisible chains are holding your hotel back.
Let’s explore how you can break free, take back control of your direct bookings and grow your revenue.
The Invisible Chain: How Legacy Systems Are Dragging You Down
At first glance, everything might seem fine. Guests are booking, you’re filling rooms and revenue is coming in. But, what you don’t see is how much potential revenue you’re leaving on the table due to your reliance on OTAs and the limitations of your tech stack.
The problem? Legacy systems.
Old, disjointed systems create friction at every step of the guest’s journey. From confusing booking engines to poor website performance, each outdated touchpoint creates opportunities for guests to bounce. They get frustrated, search elsewhere and turn to OTAs. Every time a guest switches to an OTA, you lose control over the guest relationship, and your profit margin shrinks.
The key to solving this? Modernizing your tech stack.
Personalization: The Power of Tailored Guest Experiences
You’ve heard it a million times: personalization is key. But what does that really mean for hotels?
Personalization goes beyond greeting your guests by name. It’s about delivering the right message, at the right time, to the right person. And it starts the moment a guest lands on your website. If your site looks the same to every visitor, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity.
The h2c study highlighted personalization as a top factor in driving direct bookings. Hotels that implement personalized website experiences see higher engagement, higher conversion rates and ultimately, more direct bookings. Guests who feel recognized and catered to are more likely to book directly with you.
Take your booking engine, for example. Is it offering personalized upsells? Is it using real-time data to understand your guest’s preferences? If not, you’re losing out on significant revenue opportunities.
The OTA Dependency: Balancing the Scales
Let’s face it – OTAs are essential. They bring visibility, provide convenience, and offer a massive reach that most hotels can’t achieve on their own. But, they come at a cost. You pay commissions, and worse, you lose control of the guest relationship.
It’s all about balance.
You need OTAs, but you don’t want to rely on them for the bulk of your bookings. The h2c study shows that too many hotels are still heavily dependent on OTAs, which cuts into profit margins. Instead, the focus should be on shifting more business to direct channels while using OTAs as a supplement, not a crutch.
The best way to balance the scales? Invest in your own digital marketing efforts. Ensure your hotel is visible where guests are searching – on Google, on social media and on metasearch engines. But once they land on your website, your booking engine needs to do the heavy lifting. That’s where the guest experience becomes critical.
