In the dynamic world of hotel reservations, capitalizing on your website’s potential is vital for hoteliers. With 60% of visitors to Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) eventually checking out your website, the opportunity to secure commission-free direct bookings is substantial.
The key to harnessing this potential lies in your Internet Booking Engine (IBE), a tool designed to attract and convert users seamlessly. In this article, we’ll explore what makes an IBE invaluable and offer insights into choosing the perfect booking engine for your property.
What makes an Internet booking engine so precious?
Cost Savings
OTAs are marketing powerhouses, but they come at a cost. By converting website visitors into actual bookings, you can significantly reduce the commissions paid to OTAs. This not only boosts your profits but also allows you to establish a direct relationship with your guests, making upselling and future marketing more effective.
Independence
While OTAs dominate the market, savvy travelers often research and shortlist options directly on hotel websites. If you can capture and convert this traffic, you gain greater control over your bookings, brand image, and guest experience.
Driven by data
Marketing today is all about understanding your audience. How do you do this? Via data. Your booking engine is a warehouse of this data. A smart booking engine not just provides you this data, but processes it into insights so you can make informed decisions on how to capitalise on the users coming to your website and booking engine.
Choosing a booking engine
Security
You’re expecting guests to process their payments via this channel. Of critical importance is security. Also, ensure that you’re connected to all your relevant payment gateways. It is important to ensure that these payment gateways are PCI-certified as well.
Smart
Smart pricing, Promo codes … these features should be an integral component of a good booking engine in order to drive direct bookings. Knowing your user’s location, device, etc. and dynamically delivering the right deal at the right team is a more efficient way to market your property and increase direct bookings.
Driven by data
Marketing today is all about understanding your audience. How do you do this? Via data. Your booking engine is a warehouse of this data. A smart booking engine not only provides you this data, but processes it into insights so you can make informed decisions on how to capitalise on the users coming to your website and booking engine.
