Do your Hotel want more Direct Bookings from Social Media?
Many Hotel uses various Social Media channels to try to help drive more direct bookings. Sadly, many struggles generating more direct bookings if any.
Are you ready to discover how Social Media can reach targeted audiences and influence more direct booking for Hotels?
The Battle Ground is changing
Hotels have a battle on price among themselves, and also with online travel agencies.
Hotels and online travel agencies offer price deals all the time. And the consumer’s perception of a price deal is affected by how well the deal is presented as well as the actual discount offered.
Both the dollar and the percent amount of the deal positively influence the perception of real savings.
Consumers tend to value small bundles with high-percentage discounts.
The battle between hotels and online travel agencies often is based on price perception. And from a consumer perspective, their perceptions are that online travel agencies offer an overall better price deal.
As Hoteliers, we have to take one step backward and take a deep look at the whole battle on price.
Some research has shown that doesn’t always pay to book direct, despite what many Hotels want consumers to believe.
In 2017 Piper Jaffray surveyed 1,000 U.S. customers who reserved rooms at 86 chain hotels in the world’s largest 25 cities.
It found that online travel agencies and travel search sites had the lowest price 21% of the time, while Hotel supplier websites had it 13% of the time. In about two-thirds of the cases, room pricing was the same across distribution channels.
And in cases where Hotel prices were lower, it did not occur often enough to turn the consumer into a direct booking.
These results are just one indicator of why consumers will not begin to shift towards hotel direct as a primary booking option, despite increased marketing resources.
Several online travel agencies put a strong emphasis on turning lookers into bookers. And they put a lot of their efforts into important micro-moments where the consumer’s hearts, minds, and dollars are being won and lost.
As a result of Social Media consumers, today are leaving their digital footprints everywhere. This has opened new opportunities to meet consumer expectations and be more responsive to their need.
Top online travel agencies have today shifted their focus to communicate with the consumer in the front-end to better identify important micro-moments.
Today effective Social Media Management can help Hotels optimize the entire consumer journey with tools that identify important micro-moments.
The battleground is no longer on price but on the journey of micro-moments that compiles the experience.
Turning Direct Booking into an experience
In 2018 many in the Hotel industry started various campaigns to generate more awareness of the benefits of direct bookings.
Several of these campaigns generated a buzz, and it ignited a shift in the right direction.
That consumers are guaranteed the lowest price, have more flexibility with changes, no additional fees, exclusive deals or get special amenities are great incentives Hotels focused on for years.
And many of the direct booking campaigns focus on values from a Hotel perspective.
I know it is tempting to talk about your Hotel, but instead, you should shift to start talking about your target markets. And even better implement new uncontested markets.
Your Hotels current markets already know the benefits of direct bookings.
Today with new technology we can implement value innovation that combines Hotel and Social Media Marketing principles.
Effective Social Media Management strategies that focus on value innovation will create a leap in value for both consumers and your Hotel.
If you have a Social Media presence (and who doesn’t these days?) as a Hotel, then you’ve probably been delighted, and maybe even sometimes dismayed, about what you’ve learned about your Hotel’s customer experience process.
Maybe they’ve shared insights that you didn’t expect, or maybe they’ve pointed out things about your process that you hadn’t thought of (or learned things that made you cringe). Regardless, what you’re doing when you take in these comments are trying to gain insight into that journey for the people that you depend on.
But if that’s the only way that you analyze the customer experience, then you’re lacking in a lot of steps that could make it much more robust.
For example, what do customers feel about you the moment that they become aware of your Hotel?
And Social Media Management will help your Hotel become more successful in serving consumers expectations.
Today Hotels will earn loyalty through exclusive customer experience moments. Your Hotels Social Media Community plays a critical role when it comes to innovation, creativity and defining a new culture for your Hotel.
Remember today it is the consumers that drive the direct booking. Start paying attention to what matters to them.
Direct Booking campaigns put in place has ignited a positive process and combined with effective ongoing Social Media Management and value innovation consumers will get a new positive perspective of Hotels.
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Our Social Media Management team has refined these processes to help Hotels. Contact us today to learn more.
Join our Free Hotel Social Media Community on Facebook for more in-depth insight.
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
