“How can I get more bookings and more revenue?”
This is the question that every hotelier must answer to keep his business alive. The question is simple, but answering it can be a challenge.
The challenge becomes even greater when you’re immersed in managing the day-to-day operations of your hotel. It’s hard to see the forest for the trees, sometimes – or, for a more appropriate metaphor, it’s hard to see the battlefield when you’re busy in the trenches.
This presentation will briefly lift you out of the trenches by providing you with 18 tips that’ll help you get more bookings and boost your hotel revenue. Take a look at a map of the whole battlefield and find out where your strongest and weakest points are.
Let’s go.
6. Guest personas tell you who you're talking to
and how to focus your marketing & sales efforts.
Use your data and
knowledge to find out
your guests' goals,
needs and wants.
Find out how to talk
to them.
7. 2. Create a
Value Proposition
that Resonates with
Guests
2. Create a
Value Proposition
that Resonates with
Guests
16. have warm, inviting images
use simple, clean design
load quickly
are easy to find
have a consistent color scheme
sparkle!
Make them Sparkle
Makesureyourgallerypages:
18. According to a Google
study, visually complex
websites are seen as
lesseffectiveand
lessaestheticallypleasing.
19. Simplifying your design and site
navigation won't only make your site
faster and more attractive...
It will let guests consume information
faster, and a simple booking process
makes them much more likely to book.
How to Simplify
23. Being
overwhelmed
with dozens of
packages and
navigational
options is a
serious kind of
friction.This menu is incredibly irritating to
deal with, and overwhelms the user.
24. So limit your choices to the
essentials, and visitors will
have a much smoother
booking process
(and less of a headache!)
26. 67%
of consumers consider clear,
detailed images to be even
more important than product
info & customer reviews
27. Travelers are 150% more
engaged with listings that
have more than 20 photos
vs
properties with only a few
(TripAdvisor, 2013)
28. How do you use images the most
effectively?
The should be clear and attractive,
complement your brand image and create
emotions in those that view them.
Start Telling Stories
32. Help Me Choose
Once you're ready to start building,
you've got a choice:
ResponsiveorAdaptivedesign?
There's a strong case for both, and it
depends on your needs
37. 500%
200%
In a case study by strongview.com, increasing
relevancy in their email marketing boosted
their conversion rate by
Contentverve discovered that tweaking
their Call to Action copy raised their
conversion rate by
38. The more relevant your images,
copy and overall design are to the
kind of guests you get,
the less friction potential guests
will experience.
Thisleadstomorebookingsfor
yourhotel.
40. The Call
to Action
Most marketing campaigns focus on email
marketing, ad design, copy and images.
That's great! But there's one thing a lot of them
miss....
41. More CTA Tips
Your CTA can be the tipping point
between a bounce and a booking.
If you want them to click, it should use
actionable language, align with your
message, and be
really,reallyobvious.
43. Here's how not to list your hotel's
features:
A great spa
A safe and fun play area
A spacious conference room
44. Instead, explain how these
features translate into benefits:
We have a health gym and spa, so you can let your
hair down & unwind after a busy day.
We have a kids' play area, so you can indulge in
quality time with your significant other.
Our spacious conference room lets you hold
meetings in comfort & style, and our boards and
projectors let you communicate more effectively.
46. Switching their links to a "more
recognizable" shade of blue
boosted Bing's revenue by a cool
$80 million.
For Dmix,switching their CTA color
from red to green grew their
conversions by 34%.
47. Color psychology, used properly, can
impact your booking rate, and it's not
about manipulating guests or pseudo-
science.
Instead,usecolortoreflectyourbrand
andresonatewithyourtarget
audience.
Show me How
49. Good copy flows smoothly
when you read it.
There are no logical jumps or
awkward phrasing. It shows
your guests how you fill their
needs & overcomes their
objections.
50. Try and write with a light, original hand - don't
use cliched phrases, and keep sentences
shortandsweet.
Think of it as blend of style, tone & information.
51. If you're looking for more in-depth
advice, here's 7 steps to improve
your copy right now from
Copyblogger:
Start Telling Stories
53. Research shows that over
70%
of travel website users will
abandon their bookings.
Retargeting is a way to combat
this.
54. Retargeting happens after a guest abandons mid-booking: they
receive an email from you or see an ad with an offer from your hotel,
and remember to come back. You get a second chance to persuade.
55. Here's our best guide
on how to give
retargeting a chance -
and give yourself a
second chance:
Retargeting
57. Guests are bombarded with
ads.
Reviews, testimonials, badges
and influencers are all things
that gain trust: you're not saying
your're great, someone else is!
63. The one "expertly crafted" in
MS Paint acutally got clicked on almost
3timesasmuch.
Yes, it's ugly and probably wouldn't
be your first choice- but sometimes
our first choices are wrong.
That'swhywetest.
64. When it comes to getting more
bookings, you can't affort to just "go
with your gut."
Groundyourconceptsinrealdata
andresults,bytestingand
improvingovertime.