How can Hotels Increase their Direct Bookings? Similar to you, I noticed trends where Hotels started to become fiercer telling customer there is more value in Direct Bookings.
Today new technology, new media, new tools, and dedicated experience frameworks provide Hotels with an unprecedented opportunity to capture more Direct Bookings.
Driven by big players like Marriott and Hilton that invested in innovative and creative campaigns like “It Pays To Book Direct” and “Stop Clicking Around” we now see that Online Travel Agencies like Expedia admits this had an adverse impact for them.
Why this shift? And how can Hotels create a customer experience that taps into new uncontested markets?
1. It starts with Perceptions
Online Travel Agencies started out partnering with Hotels with a primary focus on win-win for all parties involved. They purchased bulk amounts of rooms or bought up excess inventory helping Hotels during off-peak periods.
Hotel paid commissions to the Online Travel Agencies and it generated effective billboard effects.
As Online Travel Agencies was able to capture larger market shares their commission rates increased, and Hotels experienced reductions in profitability.
Online travel agencies were booming in the 80s and 90s, and in 2016/17 bookings on Online Travel Agencies surpassed direct Hotel bookings.
Through the billboard effect, Online Travel Agencies started to cooperate with airlines and car rental services. And from there created unique bundles which gave the customer the ability to research and book the whole journey in one place.
Online Travel Agencies understood early on the value of content, connectivity, information, value, and experience. They were able to create unique perceptions based on price points.
Over the years Online Travel Agencies discovered the benefits of collaborating with their customers and start to build dedicated communities.
These communities help promote content that justifies the customer’s perceptions.
We have data that verify the effect of these perceptions where we see customers go to the Hotels website for research, and still end up making the booking with an Online Travel Agency.
These perceptions will not change overnight.
Creating a new positive perception takes commitment as well as consistent action on your part to develop and refine the image you want customers to see.
Perceptions will shift towards the Customer Experience. Start being proactive and take appropriate measurement and actions.
2. It’s not about the PRICE it is all about EXPERIENCE
There is really good news for Hotels today. Several studies show that by 2020, the customer experience will overtake price and products as the key brand differentiator.
The key for Hotels is to be proactive in exploring new frameworks and technologies to respond to these new unprecedented opportunities.
And one of the key components for Hotels is improving the quality of their Human-to-Human interactions.
With an emphasis on customer experience, there is a growing potential for driving retention and organic growth. This will help Hotels in a competitive and saturated market.
A shift towards the customer experience will create new uncontested market segments.
Another good news for Hotels is that this will bring back new opportunities for surprising and delighting the customer.
But there is one catch to this shift – Hotels have to act NOW! Being proactive is crucial today to stay competitive.
The opportunity is there, the technology is there, the tools are there, the frameworks are there, the question is are Hotels ready?
3. Get out and start Listening
Start from the top and ensure your Hotel team is happy and engaged. A highly happy and engaged Hotel teal will provide a level of service that customers want and expect.
Today both Hotel management and the team need to spend time with customers and understand why and how they are making their booking decisions.
Hotels will have to start to embrace new talent and skillset that understand all aspects of the new customer experience.
Customers don’t care if Hotels lose commissions to Online Travel Agencies. They care about those who listen, care, respond and act accordingly.
If Hotels don’t take time to listen to the customers, they will not know what the customer experience looks like.
Hotels have for years been sitting on the fence looking at Online Travel Agencies taking bigger chunks of the pie.
Data shows us that Hotels are very traditional and prefer business as usual. They value stability over innovation.
New technology allows brands to offer new propositions that no longer is based on price but the customer experience.
Hotels that are proactive with listening, creating a new culture, focus on new mindsets where they put new technologies in the center of their frameworks will discover the real benefits of the customer experience.
4. Surprise – Delight – Happiness – Gratitude on Autopilot
Hotels that are proactive and embrace all elements of the customer experience will experience new growth.
Customer delight is seen as a profoundly positive emotional state occurring when expectations are exceeded to a surprising degree which often leads to loyalty and commitment.
Today newer research has shown that surprise, delight, happiness, and gratitude is influenced by a community.
And the community will influence during their decision process by adding content and information in a relevant context.
As Hotels move towards adopting the customer experience it is important to understand that it will require foundations built on customer relationships.
The importance of newfound customer relationships lays in the facts that customers often find it hard to pinpoint what they expect when engaging throughout the customer experience.
And the sense of commitment the community experience in this newfound relationship will lead to loyalty and gratitude.
When customers want to interact with a Hotel, and they call a call center or open a chat window on their website, sometimes what they need is simple. It’s something that can be automated through a chatbot that can quickly understand and deliver the correct information.
Chatbots and are intuitive, automated, intelligent self-learning platforms that are compatible across devices and can be personalized for automated and contextual engagement with Hotel customers.
The benefits include time saved communicating with customers, team productivity improvements, increased channel containment rates, and elevated customer engagement.
Introducing service automation capabilities will empower customers to “do it yourself” saving time and money in training and supporting your Hotels team members.
Service automation is gaining traction. The future of customer experience is all about managed service automation integrating traditional and new technologies across channels to afford seamless customer interactions and consistently delight and surprise customers at every micro-moment.
With new effective frameworks, Hotels can design service automation to respond to any comment or feedback on their Social Media feeds.
It brings onboard new opportunities to humanize the Hotel brand and tap into new uncontested markets.
5. Hotel Experience Ambassadors saves the day
New technology and new tools alone will not save the day.
It is important to understand that Hotels will still need the Human touch to create new delightful customer experiences.
Part of creating a new culture and mindset will require Hotels to think outside the box.
Introduce Hotel Experience Ambassadors that possess skills and talent to connect and respond to customers with simple acts of kindness to leads to gratitude.
Building customer relationships and customer interactions will happing during important micro-moments. The Hotel need to present during these micro-moments.
Hotel Experience Ambassadors will engage and learn what the local community has to offer, and how you together can add value to customers.
Conclusion
As Hoteliers, we have to innovate and take proactive actions to be prepared for new shifts that come with both opportunities and challenges.
Circumstances and excuses are not a recipe for success and new growth.
Will we have to change? YES
Will we run into new roadblocks? YES
Will we make new mistakes? YES
Will we have to create a new culture? YES
Will we need to change our mindset? YES
I am sure I can add a lot of more questions here that kept Hotels from adapt to new technology.
A shift towards Customer Experience is for Hotels one of the best things that could happen now as new disruptive markets keep developing.
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And it will help identify micro-moments and recognize pain points and values utilizing Hotel Experience Ambassadors that knows where to look for them.
I have loved with all of my heart and soul serving customers, guests, and Hoteliers. As a Hotel Experience Ambassador, I gained a new passion for being a representative and messenger delivering new profound and delightful experiences.
If your Hotel wants to implement new effective success factors then now is the time to be part of a new initiative.
When your Hotel serves your community they will reward you back with serving you.
From a Hotel and Social Media Consultant’s standpoint, the Social Media Community can offer Hotels a one-stop-shop for managing their Social Media marketing such as the community infrastructure, database, listening functionality, profile management, collaboration, content marketing and management, and of course, the analytics.
A Social Media Community will help your Hotel to grow smarter and faster when you focus on the value proposition and collaborate in effective ways.
If your Hotel need help to put it all together then make sure to let us know.
With the right team behind your Social Media efforts, it can become cost-effective and generate a new revenue stream for your Hotel.
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Our Social Media Management team has refined these processes to help Hotels. Contact us today to learn more.
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Try something new it will magnetize your Hotel!
Be flexible and identify new ways to make guests happy.
As guest behavior and pattern continues to evolve, expectations will continue to rise. Navigating these changes can be challenging. Learn more about how we can help your Hotel.
About the author
Are Morch is the founder and owner of Are Morch – Hotel Marketing Coach. Get more from Are on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Pinterest | Instagram| Podcast
