- Strong influence of online reviews on travelers : they pay attention to the bad reviews, to hotels with no reviews, they visit many websites ==> good online reputation results in better performances.
- Importance to engage with the client loyalty, to increase direct bookings
- Importance of the Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and the two main groups Expedia and Priceline but their commission is high.
- Their is a significant increase of the intermediaries such as Kayak or Trivago.
What solutions for hoteliers?
- Work on direct booking : lower rates one the hotel website than on the distribution channels, or put the same rate but with exclusive added value such the breakfast included for example.
- Invest on mobile apps because all the OTAs have one and there are more and more mobile users so it's crucial to use each and every tool to be visible
- Be visible online by having parnerships with many distribution websites and not only the most well-known and experiment new bookings methods like through social media
- Work on the guest service, make it personal and offer a memorable stay.
- Work on the e-reputation, analyse the bad comments and learn from your mistakes, respond to all bad and good comments
Case study : OPUS Hotel
The goal is to increase the direct bookings. How this hotel did that ?
- Build a relation of trust and confidence with the customer
- Examples: Triptease which compares OTA rates and Guestfolio with a 10% discount if customers book directly
- Build a stronger relation with tools such as Checkmate
- Build to loyalty to make the guest come back
- ReviewPro: new tool to collect customer data, enhance the reactivity of the hoteliers.
TIPS:
- Keep it easy and simple
- Pay attention to what your guest says
- Don't focus on rooms sales
- Treat everyone like a VIP
Ines ZARGOUNI & Idir BOUALIA
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