We all know that OTAs help in getting Bookings for hotels. But what about direct bookings? There is no disagreement that OTA services are extremely beneficial and is driving hotel’s occupancy rate, but you can get more hotel guests and increase your revenues by putting forth an effort towards attracting Direct Bookings. It’s entirely possible to do so without violating your OTA agreements, and direct bookings will help you:
• Enhance your brand image
• Build a base of loyal customers
• Reduce the commissions you pay to OTAs

There are a variety of ways to increase direct bookings while working in parallel with your OTAs. Here are 5 of them:

1. Offer special discounts and loyalty programs to a targeted audience

OTA agreements prevent hotels from offering cheaper deals publicly, but they say nothing about offering deals and discounts to selected set of customers. For instance, offer your Facebook fans a discount code that they can use for future bookings via a designated landing page. If the deal is not open for all, you are perfectly within your rights to do this. Also loyalty programs, allows you to offer special deals in order to keep them coming back and booking with your hotel again.

2. Website that is captivating

To gain good traction in direct bookings, having a good website becomes essential as part of your hotel marketing strategy. Having user friendly interface with right communication is ideal to attract more guests. Always remember a company is often judged by the level of its communications. Booking page must be simple or else you will find visitors “bouncing” away to more user-friendly sites. Not only this, payment methods should be included that are widely used by your target audience and be integrated with a reputable online payment solution.

3. Digital Marketing Efforts

Get your hotel’s site and brand out there in front of your target audience by employing effective digital marketing techniques such as SEO, PPC, and writing blog posts.

Search Engine Optimization

Quality content is one of the most fundamental parts of SEO. Google bases rank partly on the relevance and quality of content for the users, so write for your potential guests, and your rank in the SERPs will follow. You should also focus on the following:

Meta tags and descriptions
Title tags
H2 tags
Keyword usage
Internal and external links
Read more about SEO tips for hotels in this blog post.

PPC

PPC means “pay-per-click”. You can set up PPC campaigns in Google Adwords. Basically, you create ads and bid on the keyword you want the ad to appear for. If your advert is clicked, you pay for that click. In the simplest terms, the higher your bid, the more likely your ad is to appear and get clicked.

Blog

Your blog is an excellent place to publish new, fresh content on a regular basis. Not only is this a way to provide your audience with useful and insightful posts to read, but it is great for SEO, as well. Optimize your blog posts for search engines with relevant keywords and internal links to drive more organic traffic to your website.

4. Use your Front Desk as a Point of Contact

In addition to your website, use your front desk to full advantage. When your concierge has face-to-face interaction with customers, he/she should give them a reason to use your website instead of an OTA for future bookings – like a 10 percent discount off their next stay if they sign up for your loyalty program and book directly from your website.

5. Participate in Conversations on Review Sites

Review sites give you an opportunity to draw customers to your own site, rather than to an OTA to book.

Respond positively to every comment users post – good or bad. It is important to engage with your guests and show them that you care and appreciate their feedback. When potential guests see your professional and positive attitude towards guest feedback, they will be more comfortable booking with your hotel.

You can also use guest reviews as a place for offering incentives for direct bookings. For example, if someone comments on how nice your spa was, you could respond by thanking the customer for their feedback and informing them (and everyone who reads the comment thread) of a new spa package you’re currently offering with bookings through your website. You could take it one step further and add an extra incentive, like the first 5 bookings get a special gift, too.

Increasing your hotel’s number of direct bookings is as easy as 1, 2, 3 (4, 5). With these effective methods, you can gain a much higher rate of direct bookings while still enjoying the essential services offered by OTAs, and watch your revenues significantly increase.