Algunas reflexiones sobre la estrategia de distribución y canales de su hotel

When engaging with online travel agencies (OTAs) in these volatile times, hoteliers must adequately understand the value and costs of all distribution channels. Any relationship weighted in favor of an OTA to the detriment of a hotel’s bottom line needs to be reviewed, and steps should be taken to maximize direct bookings.

Los hoteleros deberían explorar alternativas a las OTA

For many hoteliers, OTAs are an accepted distribution strategy due to their marketing power and high traffic. However, today’s costs for acquiring guests are high, and in some cases, OTAs may be hurting more than helping.

With up to 25 percent commission being charged on average for every OTA booking, these third-party costs directly impact the amount of revenue hotels can secure from each guest, which can, in turn, dampen profitability at a time when every euro, pound, and dollar counts. On top of that, many OTAs require a last-room-available guarantee for their channels, which results in hotels losing ultimate control over yielding inventory.

Dado el costo asociado a hacer negocios con las OTA, los hoteleros deberían explorar oportunidades para aumentar las reservas desde canales alternativos. Es importante destacar que el canal de reservas online más rentable para un hotel sigue siendo su sitio web. Pero, ¿cómo puedes maximizar las reservas directas a través de tu sitio web?

Mejore la experiencia de sus huéspedes digitales

El primer paso es aumentar el tráfico web de huéspedes potenciales y realizar conversiones. “miradores” en "reservadores". Para atraer más visitantes al sitio web y aumentar las tasas de conversión de reservas desde este canal, los hoteleros deben comprender a las personas que llegan a su sitio web. ¿Qué fechas están buscando? ¿Cuál es el propósito de su viaje? ¿Dónde buscan? La recopilación de esta información proporciona datos que pueden utilizarse para desarrollar campañas de marketing dirigidas que atraigan al tipo correcto de visitantes del sitio web: aquellos con mayores posibilidades de convertirse en invitados.

When researching a location, potential guests may visit a variety of travel websites and OTAs before deciding where to stay. Hotels need to keep their property at the top of the consumer’s mind and influence guests to book on the hotel’s website. Technology that offers tailored ads customised around visitor behaviour or website activity can help achieve an estimated 10 percent return rate on website visits, increasing direct booking opportunities. Hotels can also increase direct bookings by retargeting past visitors and directing them to their website.

Today, a more significant share of a hotel’s marketing budget is dedicated to attracting more qualified traffic to their website than ever before, but what if the actual architecture and content on your site prevent rather than enable the booking process? If a website’s booking process is not seamless and secure, guests will book elsewhere. Hoteliers need to ensure their website delivers an enhanced experience with user-friendly features that provide easy navigation and booking; otherwise, the work that went into attracting a potential guest will be for nothing.

Potential guests often visit a hotel’s website for more information on the property and to assess if the hotel will reflect the experiences they seek. Suppose the website isn’t focused on the needs of the consumer, such as explaining local attractions nearby, and having more photos, videos, and reviews than an OTA. In that case, website visitors may quickly move on to another property. Hotels may not be able to compete with OTAs on the level of website traffic they generate, but they should beat them at showcasing their own property.

Today, health policies and safety protocols are a traveller’s top concerns. Therefore, hotels should reassure their potential guests by highlighting their health and hygiene policy status on their website. Additionally, hotels have valuable insights (and data) on their past guests, which means they can send specific messaging to these individuals (e.g., promote welcome-back packages, outline the hotel’s cleaning process, and provide special offers and incentives that help generate ancillary revenue) to drive direct bookings and avoid having to rely on costly OTAs to support occupancy.

Meanwhile, independent hoteliers need to think about altering site content that appeals to any new targeted audiences. For example, promote staycation offers with various amended activities in markets limited by international travel restrictions. A hotel’s own website is the perfect channel to showcase its property’s personality and unique selling points. Hotel websites should also incorporate user-generated content from social media, such as user ratings and reviews, to reassure guests of the credibility and service standard of the hotel.

Since over half of online bookers search online reviews before making reservations, it is critical to provide online reviews as a component of website content. A hotel’s website must also be informative, multilingual, and regionally customised—enabling customers to be assured of the credibility and service standards of the hotel. Optimising their website for viewing on the go with iPads, other tablet-sized devices, and smartphone compatibility is an absolute must to meet the expectations of tech-savvy travellers ready to embark on their next experience.

No descarte por completo las OTA

Los hoteles necesitan comprender sus verdaderos costos de distribución. Having reports on the cost of guest acquisition by channel partners can help hoteliers negotiate better contracts with third-party OTAs, gaining flexibility in managing rate and availability parity. This information builds a basis for more profitable decisions in the short-term and long-term channel-value-centric decisions.

It should also be stated that OTAs are not all bad. They can introduce hotels to an audience of potential guests a property might never have a chance of reaching – especially in lower demand periods. Hoteliers who heavily invested in OTAs to secure bookings might consider using those platforms to support future business better.
Por ejemplo, para aumentar los negocios nuevos y recurrentes, los hoteleros inteligentes están permitiendo que las OTA se encarguen de la captura inicial de huéspedes y luego implementen estrategias e incentivos que garanticen que esos huéspedes reserven futuras reservas directamente con su hotel, eliminando los gastos continuos de reservas de terceros.

Pronóstico futuro: Predicciones sobre tecnología hotelera para 2026

In today’s uncertain operating environment, every euro, pound, and dollar counts. Any method to support growth in guest bookings should be explored, and every guest secured should be evaluated to determine their true worth. With costs associated with acquiring new guests through OTAs increasing, hoteliers need to rethink distribution, reconsider their most effective channels, and recharge direct bookings.