Three tips for hotels to increase direct online bookings | Need-to-know

To learn more about how hotels can increase direct online bookings, read our full guide here: bit.ly/2ulM0tb
With the rise of Airbnb, online travel agencies and other third-party travel booking portals, it’s getting harder and harder for hotels to drive traffic to their own websites.
Many users now book their stays via third-party sites rather than hotels’ websites, but this leads to hotels having profits reduced due to commissions and losing out on customer information, which makes it harder to nurture that all-important customer loyalty.
So, how can you tackle this problem?
This video will look at three ways your hotel can increase direct online bookings.
Firstly, embrace storytelling with your content.
Content should be one of the main assets of your online strategy, as it allows you to connect and engage with users in an emotional way.
Make sure you have a blog on your website, as this is where you can showcase amazing travel experiences and provide tips for a holidaymaker’s trip.
You should embrace the power of videos and images too, and keep an eye out for new technologies that are emerging right now.
This is exactly what the NH Hotel Group is doing with its NH 360º Virtual Tours which allow you to discover the hotels from the inside.
Secondly, strengthen your SEO strategy.
Make sure you use structured data on your website.
There is specific structured data for hotels, which allows you to mark up information like your check-in times, number of rooms, star rating, reviews and price range.
This will allow you to make your organic results bigger and more relevant, which will give you more visibility and hopefully boost your click-through rates.
And finally, don’t underestimate the power of ad extensions.
Promotion extensions, app extensions, message extensions, call extensions and location extensions all work well here.
Ad extensions make your ad stand out from the crowd, and the extra information they provide can make a huge difference, especially when someone is looking for a hotel on the spot or in an emergency.
Can you think of any other tips on how hotels can increase direct online bookings? Let us know in the comments below!