Online travel agencies, otherwise known as OTAs, are the biggest players in the travel market right now for obvious reasons. The rapid decline of high street travel agents and the constant rise in internet use are just two of the reasons, not to mention the world’s love of getting the best deals for the best price. Online travel agencies can really help your profits if utilised correctly – here are three of the biggest benefits of listing your
Occupancy
Travellers are more inclined to book somewhere if they can see it is popular with others. Human nature dictates that we want what we can’t have, so filling all the hotel rooms could show a sign of exclusivity, therefore as soon as a room becomes available, people will be more willing to snap it up under the premise that they will do so before someone beats them to it.
Sites like Secret Escapes and Booking.com, for example, pride themselves on giving the customer the best rooms at the best prices. As a result, they have huge numbers of users – and advertising your rooms to this large user base almost guarantees more bookings. Even if you’re not getting the full price of the room, you’re at least getting something, and increasing your occupancy.
Awareness
Having your hotel on an OTA is going to well and truly put your hotel on the map! There may be cheaper hotels, there may be hotels with more stars, and there may even be hotels with better reviews and more satisfied customers – it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Every traveller is looking for something different, so having your hotel as an option is a great place to start. OTAs make this possible, as without them it could be easy for your hotel to get lost in the wilderness of all the others of its kind. It might not tick everyone’s boxes for whatever reason, but you can bet that someone will find it to be the best hotel they’ve ever stayed in. And since most OTAs have huge review sections, you can bet that the word will spread and lots more visitors will come flocking.
Healthy competition
Your hotel may be in the best location or it might have the best reputation thanks to other existing chains. This would have been perfect about twenty years ago, but these days it isn’t enough. There are most likely tens of hotels in the surrounding area that tourists could go to, therefore having them available should ignite your fire and promote healthy competition. If the hotel next door has two for one cocktails on Wednesdays, you need to go one step further to put you in the lead. Where would we be without a little healthy competition to keep everyone on their toes?
Profits will soar if you keep these three simple facts in mind. Don’t be afraid of selling a room at a fraction of the desired price, and don’t be afraid of a little competition.
Occupancy
Travellers are more inclined to book somewhere if they can see it is popular with others. Human nature dictates that we want what we can’t have, so filling all the hotel rooms could show a sign of exclusivity, therefore as soon as a room becomes available, people will be more willing to snap it up under the premise that they will do so before someone beats them to it.
Sites like Secret Escapes and Booking.com, for example, pride themselves on giving the customer the best rooms at the best prices. As a result, they have huge numbers of users – and advertising your rooms to this large user base almost guarantees more bookings. Even if you’re not getting the full price of the room, you’re at least getting something, and increasing your occupancy.
Awareness
Having your hotel on an OTA is going to well and truly put your hotel on the map! There may be cheaper hotels, there may be hotels with more stars, and there may even be hotels with better reviews and more satisfied customers – it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Every traveller is looking for something different, so having your hotel as an option is a great place to start. OTAs make this possible, as without them it could be easy for your hotel to get lost in the wilderness of all the others of its kind. It might not tick everyone’s boxes for whatever reason, but you can bet that someone will find it to be the best hotel they’ve ever stayed in. And since most OTAs have huge review sections, you can bet that the word will spread and lots more visitors will come flocking.
Healthy competition
Your hotel may be in the best location or it might have the best reputation thanks to other existing chains. This would have been perfect about twenty years ago, but these days it isn’t enough. There are most likely tens of hotels in the surrounding area that tourists could go to, therefore having them available should ignite your fire and promote healthy competition. If the hotel next door has two for one cocktails on Wednesdays, you need to go one step further to put you in the lead. Where would we be without a little healthy competition to keep everyone on their toes?
Profits will soar if you keep these three simple facts in mind. Don’t be afraid of selling a room at a fraction of the desired price, and don’t be afraid of a little competition.