Get More Bookings With These Five Tips

Calling all hoteliers! According to Babs Harrison, the managing director of an Arizona based marketing consultancy, these five simple tips can help your website reach its fullest potential. Follow these steps to optimize your hotel’s website and gain more bookings because of it.

Tip #1: It’s all about the message. 
Keeping your prospective patrons interested in your hotel all comes down to what you have to say. Be clear, be concise and be bold. Be sure to get the big point across, without using too many words to do so. If someone feels bored or overwhelmed by how something is written, they are likely to leave your site and look elsewhere for a hotel to book. There is a delicate balance between getting your point across and doing it in a creative, engaging way.

Tip #2: Use natural looking photography.
By this, Babs simply means to avoid using over-staged photos with models who are clearly being paid to wear cheesy smiles on their faces and fake laugh their way throughout the entire photo shoot. Go with a more simple look; more laid back and casual. Yes, getting quality photos is a must, but that doesn’t mean that you have to drench each photo in salesmanship and marketing to get your vision across.

Tip #3: Use easy-to-understand, truthful language.
In other words, Babs suggests writing the way Hemingway did; refraining from using too many adjectives and adverbs. Be straightforward and truthful when writing about your hotel and what is has to offer. Getting overly descriptive can sometimes seem like you’re trying too hard, and prospective patrons are usually turned off by that.

Tip #4: A mobile-friendly website is key.
This day in age, people are constantly on their smartphones. Over the past year, mobile bookings have doubled, and those number will only continue to grow. Make sure that your website is easily viewable on a desktop as well as a cell phone!

Tip #5: Make reviews of your hotel easily accessible.
Let’s be honest…people love reading reviews before they purchase anything; whether it be a hotel room, a new pair of shoes or their next car. Always be sure to leave a sampling of positive reviews on your site so people can easily find them and make their decision from there. It also helps to show some of the not-so-good reviews as well. People who aren’t afraid to post and properly address negative reviews of their hotel show good character and a true interest in their patrons’ opinions.

These five tips are simple and effective. Hone in on each of them and transform your hotel’s website into exactly what you want it to be.

Via Babs Harrison: Five Secrets for a Website That Brings in Bookings