Dutch startup Hotelchamp gives hotels the tools they need to convert website visits into bookings.
When planning their stay, guests often visit a hotel’s website for information, but ultimately they are more likely to book via an online travel agency (OTA) like Booking.com or Expedia. This means hotels miss out on many direct bookings. Hotelchamp has already succeeded in signing up a number of major clients, including Bilderberg Hotels, Sandton Hotels and Corinthia Hotels. The company also has clients in the United States, Australia and Asia.
Guests are not just a number
With the rise of large booking sites, a third party now often stands between the hotel and its guests. ‘A lot of times hotels don’t know who they’re hosting until the guest walks through the door. That makes it hard to optimise services’, says Hotelchamp CEO Kristian Valk. ‘It’s also a disadvantage for guests, because booking sites see them as just another number and the service these sites provide is generic. If guests have a direct relationship with the hotel, it enables hotels to better cater to the guests’ specific wishes.’
Optimal conversion
Studies show that the majority of people visit a hotel’s website prior to booking but ultimately make their reservation via a booking site. Hotelchamp is focussed on converting these website visitors into direct bookers.
Hotelchamp works according to a SaaS model; its average fee is 300 euros a month. ‘Our customers are earning back three to five times these costs’, says Valk. ‘And, unlike with commission-based models, they don’t have to pay more whenever they succeed. We always offer a fixed price.’ The hotels’ earnings from direct bookings can be invested in improving services.
