Peak season is the best! You, as a hotelier, enjoy high demand and an influx of guests. It’s not even difficult to achieve full hotel occupancy. However, you know that this is soon going to change – it does every year. After the peak or high season will come the mid or shoulder season, and eventually the low or off season. And, you’ll have to struggle with attracting guests and reaching maximum hotel occupancy. This is the harsh reality and the most distinctive feature of the global hospitality industry – every hotelier has to deal with seasonality every year. Seasonality…

When you’re trying to attract new guests to your property, it can be enticing to use price as an incentive. After all, competing on price often feels like such a natural path to follow. But competing on price alone is a risky proposition. Thus, to ensure a maximum and sustainable competitive edge, other factors should be taken into consideration and should be adapted in parallel with your pricing. Why focusing only on price is risky: Here, we discuss why competing on price alone, is not a good strategy for hotels who want to win loyal, long-lasting guests. You might lose…

Hoteliers around the world have unlimited options these days when it comes to distribution channels. While direct bookings are perceived to be the most profitable bookings, the benefit and scope of indirect bookings can’t be undermined. A mix of direct as well as indirect bookings will help you drive a diverse stream of revenue and reach a variety of customers in a fast-paced hospitality environment. Thus, while creating your online distribution strategy, you need to create a healthy and optimal distribution mix. In order to diversify your distribution landscape, you might like to consider OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), hotel metasearch…

This is the second article in our series ‘Metasearch for Hoteliers’ that will help you understand how to make the most of metasearch and win direct bookings by running successful metasearch campaigns. In the first article of this series, we discussed what metasearch is and how important it is in today’s digital world for hotels to have a competitive edge. In this article, let’s focus on direct bookings and metasearch as a distribution channel. Here we answer the questions people often ask when planning to start a metasearch campaign: “What are the benefits of direct bookings?” OTAs can be an…

This is the first article in our series ‘Metasearch for Hoteliers’ that will help you understand what metasearch is and its importance in today’s competitive hospitality landscape. If you wish to learn how to win direct bookings by running successful metasearch campaigns, please go to the second article of this series. We live in a digital world. This means that today’s traveler is also digital, who looks and books hotels online. In its report, 5 Big Ideas to Master Digital in Hospitality, Accenture observes, “Digital technologies constantly push the boundaries of guest expectations. Only the savviest players can win the battle…

Running a bed and breakfast (B&B) is a lifestyle choice for many that also comes with a promise of a fruitful career. You can make good amount of money by renting rooms in your property and doing household chores, like cleaning, making beds, and preparing breakfast. It guarantees a lot of fun and adventure as you get to meet new people from around the world right under your roof. Cherry on top – you don’t have to commute daily to work. But everything’s not all roses in this wonderful world of running a B&B. Its management demands a lot of…

Direct hotel bookings matter greatly to every hotel and accommodation provider. Not only do these help hoteliers achieve a healthy distribution mix between OTA bookings and direct bookings and have better control over their distribution costs, but these also provide something much more valuable than money – data. And, data is the most valuable asset in today’s digital world. Having access to the contact information and other precious data of the guests like preferences can help hotels build guest relationships and elevate guest experiences. Due to so many benefits of direct bookings for the hoteliers, chances are you are already…

The majority of independent properties are losing out on a lot of business for one very simple reason: their hotel websites are poorly designed. They’re not optimized. They’re not converting interested travelers into confirmed guests. From small bed and breakfasts to swanky boutique chains, few seem to have really mastered the art of the hotel website — which is a shame, since it’s the most important part of their direct conversion funnel. There are some hotels, however, that have found the secret to designing beautiful hotel websites that drive direct bookings. So that you can improve the look and function…

Summer is coming, and with it longer days and warmer weather. For those in the hotel business, it’s also bringing the chance to welcome more guests. And if you are in the business, you’ll know how important it is to have your hotel running at high occupancy all summer long, taking advantage of peak-season tourism spikes for as long as you can. Which makes summer marketing crucial to every hotel — especially those dependent upon high-season business. The good news is that with a few simple tweaks to its current hotel operational and marketing activities, a hotel can greatly enhance…

Staying competitive means embracing these high-priority digital tools and channels.