Long gone are the days of private complaints from guests. The birth of web 2.0 media has taken visitors’ complaints into the public forum of the internet, meaning that a hotel’s reputation is under scrutiny by all prospective guests. Guest comments and ratings are now openly accessible, yet countless hoteliers are not tracking what is being said. Published negative reviews can have a detrimental effect on your reservation levels because customers are able to apply a more thorough set of criteria and gain (what they believe to be) a truer picture of a hotel as it is based on past experiences. The 21st century traveller is savvy and far more driven to comparison shop. Review sites such as TripAdvisor provide visible quality measurements and yet a majority of hoteliers are missing out on the value these insights provide – to learn from these reviews and to respond effectively to them.
According to TripAdvisor, 57% of consumers read reviews before deciding to book a hotel. Other statistics put the total influence at around 40% to 65%. Statistics aside, with around 24 million consumers reviewing hotels on TripAdvisor alone every month, it is clear that the amount of guests relying on other people’s opinion, is growing. Though hoteliers do consider reviews to be important for their reputation, many do not monitor and track what is being said about them on the internet. But is tracking alone enough? To combat negative reviews and ensure hoteliers protect their hotel’s good name, action must be taken. For many smaller properties, the problem lies in stretched resources - without adding hotel reputation management to everyday activities. Reputation management requires a commitment of time, time to track reviews and to create management responses or, where necessary and for more escalated cases, to communicate via telephone with the said reviewer.
Understanding negative reviews is vital for successful reputation management. If time and time again the same problems rear their heads, it is vital action is taken. Often, negative reviews are rooted in the hotel simply not meeting the expectations of the traveller. Perhaps the resort is described and rated as a 4 star on the website, but it simply does not measure against other 4 star hotels and therefore causes disappointment. Reviews can be very insightful in terms of the expectations of the visitor – expectations that may have been set by the website content. Hoteliers should be prepared to be flexible and adapt according to the feedback they receive from past guests. However, only by tracking reviews and dialogues about the hotel, can the hotel achieve this.
There are hundreds of automated review management tools available on the market. These range from free tools to tools that require a monthly management fee. Paying over the odds for an automated tool is not wise, especially if you don’t have the resources available to actually “do something” about what you read. Finding an agency you can trust to manage your online reputation in its entirety, would certainly be preferable, especially since hiring a full-time person on staff would be far more expensive. If you are in the favourable position to dedicate time to reputation management, ensure you follow these vital tips to increase your success:
1. Track what is being said about your hotel online.
2. Respond publicly to the review.
Do – Thank the reviewer for their comments, apologise for any genuine negative experiences, explain the measures you are putting in place to prevent such an occurrence again, make yourself available for an offline chat should the reviewer wish to contact you.
Don’t – Be Angry, derogatory or get personal with the reviewer, do not accuse the reviewer of being a fraud (this may happen, however it is hard to prove and will not solve the issue of the review and your response being public), do not reply publicly offering a discount or complimentary stay – this could encourage abuse. If you do wish to offer this, do it offline and request that you would expect the review to be removed in return.
3. Make appropriate changes within the hotel or to the website to address issues that consistently manifest themselves through your reviews.
4. Advertise that you have fixed the problem! Add this information to the review site if appropriate.
5. Be proactive and encourage your guests to leave their positive feedback when they exit the hotel.
Ultimately, the manner in which you respond to reviews will shape your hotel’s public persona to potential guests. The fact that you are able to do this publicly creates a unique opportunity to address and resolve issues and guarantee you do not have the same problem again. This will lead to better reviews in the future, the power of which should not be underestimated.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides online reputation management services and social media management services to hotels globally.
GlobRes connects hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
On-page optimization tactics that ‘win big’ when it comes to organic rankings
Ensuring your website is search engine friendly, must be one of hoteliers’ most important online marketing considerations. Unfortunately, if this is overlooked during those vital months of website design and implementation, you could be left with a website and no organic traffic. But, all is not lost! Previously I have discussed the importance of off-page SEO techniques to increase your website presence, namely, quality link building through content production and distribution. However, there are also simple on-page tweaks you can make to your website to improve your organic rankings or, in the very least, give your website the best opportunity for indexing by the search engines.
Improving user interaction and user experience, will ultimately increase your search engine rankings. A primary concern of any search engine is the accuracy of its search results. If they send a user off to your web site, will that user be happy to land there? Will your site be relevant to his query? If so, users will happily go back to that search engine, knowing that it can direct them to useful, relevant sites. On-page optimization is a vital component of any successful SEO strategy. It encompasses everything you see on the page; unique page titles, URL structures, meta tags, image labeling, and more….
Do all your pages have unique page titles?
This may be a basic consideration, but unique and accurate page titles are the foundation on which more dynamic search engine optimisation changes are built. As new content is uploaded, page titles can be overlooked. If you have a large site, running through all pages will take time. The title tag of a page tells the search engine and the user what that section of your site is about and, more importantly, will normally be used by the search engine to populate the site’s listing information in the search engine page results (SERPs.) The title can include not only keywords but details of your geographical location – showing search engines and users that this page is relevant to their query.
When checking page titles, take the time to cast your eye over the ‘meta description’ tag. While a succinct summary won’t turbo power your rankings on Google, it will tell the search engine and user what the page is about.
Are your URL structures suitable?
An organised site is one that is easily accessible and easily readable by the search engine spiders. A logical file structure with information arranged into folders should be accompanied by a URL that uses recognisable words and that could be used to ascertain what the page is about. For example, rather than www.thisismywebsite.com/web/docs/page677890/x/0078.html, a URL such as www.thisismywebsite.com/articles/seo-site-audit.html would be far more effective. Site users and search engines would be able to make an educated guess as to the content of the page. The first example is unwieldy, which may also cause problems when targeting backlinks. The second URL can easily be copied and pasted and any missing parts, such as the second half of the title of the page, would be apparent – whereas a structure using parameters and codes, as in example 1, is not easily readable. In this instance, it would not be apparent if a section of the link had been missed when copying and pasting for a backlink.
Is your site navigation as simple as it can be?
Google’s guidelines state that, while its results are shown at page level, their spiders like to have a global overall view of where each page sits in relation to the rest of the site. So, a logical navigational structure will help the search engine build a more accurate view of your site as a whole.
Site navigation can be thought of as the layers of an onion; users peel back each layer to go from one stage to the next and travel deeper into the hotel website. Each time changes are made, don’t forget to update your sitemap (the on-site directory of pages within the site) and the XML Sitemap (the sitemap submitted to the search engines).
Is your content compelling?
Easily the most important of all on-page aspects, a site rich in compelling and unique content, will win big in the search results and with conversion rates. Is your content compelling to the search engines? This requires more in-depth keyword research as you’ll want to be sure you’re including the phrases that searchers will key in when looking for your product or service. Search trends change, so keeping an eye on keywords proving popular will help content appear relevant and up-to-date.
Keyword placement is equally important in content, so check the titles and sub-heads used on each page of information. If newly discovered keywords or phrases, that you have only recently begun to favour, are not prominently positioned on the page, it’s time to get editing. When revising and creating information for the site, look at how you have linked from one page to the other. This anchor text is just as important on-page as it is off-page. Descriptive anchor text guides search engines through a site in much the same way roadside signposts help guide a driver to their ultimate destination. What’s more, the better the anchor text is within a site, the easier it is for customers to find what they are looking for.
Have your images been overlooked?
No matter how large or small your site, you’ll have at least one or two images on show to your visitors. However, there is a lot more to including a photo on your site than simply uploading it with a relevant caption. As a file based addition, an image will have a file name and (hopefully) alt text.
File names and alt tags should be straightforward. Alt tags in particular should describe the image as accurately as possible, so visitors, unable to see the image, still get an idea of what should fill that space. In the case of an image being used as a link through to another page within the site, the filename will perform much the same function as anchor text, making keyword inclusion and relevant information essential.
While basic points, these are easy to overlook as a site develops over a period of time, It really should be checked routinely, to make sure the most is made of the limited optimization possibilities afforded by pictures.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides hotel reservations and marketing solutions for hoteliers globally. GlobRes offers hotel website design for free when purchased with hotel reservation systems. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Samantha Hasler leads the Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes www.globres.com. Please direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com
Improving user interaction and user experience, will ultimately increase your search engine rankings. A primary concern of any search engine is the accuracy of its search results. If they send a user off to your web site, will that user be happy to land there? Will your site be relevant to his query? If so, users will happily go back to that search engine, knowing that it can direct them to useful, relevant sites. On-page optimization is a vital component of any successful SEO strategy. It encompasses everything you see on the page; unique page titles, URL structures, meta tags, image labeling, and more….
Do all your pages have unique page titles?
This may be a basic consideration, but unique and accurate page titles are the foundation on which more dynamic search engine optimisation changes are built. As new content is uploaded, page titles can be overlooked. If you have a large site, running through all pages will take time. The title tag of a page tells the search engine and the user what that section of your site is about and, more importantly, will normally be used by the search engine to populate the site’s listing information in the search engine page results (SERPs.) The title can include not only keywords but details of your geographical location – showing search engines and users that this page is relevant to their query.
When checking page titles, take the time to cast your eye over the ‘meta description’ tag. While a succinct summary won’t turbo power your rankings on Google, it will tell the search engine and user what the page is about.
Are your URL structures suitable?
An organised site is one that is easily accessible and easily readable by the search engine spiders. A logical file structure with information arranged into folders should be accompanied by a URL that uses recognisable words and that could be used to ascertain what the page is about. For example, rather than www.thisismywebsite.com/web/docs/page677890/x/0078.html, a URL such as www.thisismywebsite.com/articles/seo-site-audit.html would be far more effective. Site users and search engines would be able to make an educated guess as to the content of the page. The first example is unwieldy, which may also cause problems when targeting backlinks. The second URL can easily be copied and pasted and any missing parts, such as the second half of the title of the page, would be apparent – whereas a structure using parameters and codes, as in example 1, is not easily readable. In this instance, it would not be apparent if a section of the link had been missed when copying and pasting for a backlink.
Is your site navigation as simple as it can be?
Google’s guidelines state that, while its results are shown at page level, their spiders like to have a global overall view of where each page sits in relation to the rest of the site. So, a logical navigational structure will help the search engine build a more accurate view of your site as a whole.
Site navigation can be thought of as the layers of an onion; users peel back each layer to go from one stage to the next and travel deeper into the hotel website. Each time changes are made, don’t forget to update your sitemap (the on-site directory of pages within the site) and the XML Sitemap (the sitemap submitted to the search engines).
Is your content compelling?
Easily the most important of all on-page aspects, a site rich in compelling and unique content, will win big in the search results and with conversion rates. Is your content compelling to the search engines? This requires more in-depth keyword research as you’ll want to be sure you’re including the phrases that searchers will key in when looking for your product or service. Search trends change, so keeping an eye on keywords proving popular will help content appear relevant and up-to-date.
Keyword placement is equally important in content, so check the titles and sub-heads used on each page of information. If newly discovered keywords or phrases, that you have only recently begun to favour, are not prominently positioned on the page, it’s time to get editing. When revising and creating information for the site, look at how you have linked from one page to the other. This anchor text is just as important on-page as it is off-page. Descriptive anchor text guides search engines through a site in much the same way roadside signposts help guide a driver to their ultimate destination. What’s more, the better the anchor text is within a site, the easier it is for customers to find what they are looking for.
Have your images been overlooked?
No matter how large or small your site, you’ll have at least one or two images on show to your visitors. However, there is a lot more to including a photo on your site than simply uploading it with a relevant caption. As a file based addition, an image will have a file name and (hopefully) alt text.
File names and alt tags should be straightforward. Alt tags in particular should describe the image as accurately as possible, so visitors, unable to see the image, still get an idea of what should fill that space. In the case of an image being used as a link through to another page within the site, the filename will perform much the same function as anchor text, making keyword inclusion and relevant information essential.
While basic points, these are easy to overlook as a site develops over a period of time, It really should be checked routinely, to make sure the most is made of the limited optimization possibilities afforded by pictures.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides hotel reservations and marketing solutions for hoteliers globally. GlobRes offers hotel website design for free when purchased with hotel reservation systems. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Samantha Hasler leads the Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes www.globres.com. Please direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com
Monday, September 21, 2009
Understanding your competition’s online strategy is the first step in topping it
Many hoteliers, especially those new to online marketing, advertise and market blindly but are baffled when very little is achieved. A fatal mistake that many make, is to ignore the competition and consequently focus their attention in the wrong direction. In order to be successful, it is vital to know who your hotel’s competitors are and what it is they do online. By going through this exercise, you ensure that you have a point of comparison and information that can be used to your advantage. Analysing your competition’s website presence and the online marketing tactics they use, enables you to explore your marketing strategy’s effectiveness comparatively and act upon any discoveries which, in turn, will enhance your success.
There are many competitor analysis tools available online, however these can be complex to use. Here are a few simple tips to get you started without investing in technology. A full competitor analysis based on these concepts should always be conducted prior to planning your hotel’s online strategy. This way you can incorporate your findings into your strategy and ultimately plan a much more targeted and successful approach.
1. Identify who your competitors are - Brainstorm your known competitors. If you have been in the hotel any length of time, it is highly likely that the “other” hotels are well-known to you, especially the local ones. Look up their websites and make a note of their web addresses.
2. Create keyword lists - Compile a list of keywords your clientele would use to find a hotel like yours online. Incorporate your geographical location into your list – many travelers will choose destination before hotel.
3. Search online - Using your keywords list, execute some searches on the major search engines - Google, Yahoo and MSN. The results most commonly shown to your target market, will be listed on the first page. Make a note of the web addresses of the top 10 results. Going forward, consider these your top competition, along with the local “colleagues” you already knew about.
4. Analyse offerings - Visit each of these competitors’ websites and analyse their offerings. Ensure you keep notes summarising each of their services, facilities and special offers. Determine the strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of your target market – How do your offerings compare? Are your rates higher or lower than theirs? Why? What makes you unique to them? What makes them unique to you? How can you capitalize on your unique offerings? This analysis will facilitate a clear definition of your competitive advantages.
5. Compare usability & functionality – Are your competitors’ sites easier to navigate compared to yours? Determine how each website differs to yours and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each.
6. Popularity – Determine how your competitors compare to your hotel in terms of popularity. How can you find out? By downloading the Google Tool bar you can establish their Google Page Rank. Page Ranks are rated from 1 to 10 – 10 being the best. Higher Page Ranks indicate higher quality websites receiving a lot of relevant traffic. Appropriate, fresh and keyword-rich content that is updated regularly, is also a positive factor. It adds value to the site for the user.
7. Links – Identifying what websites your competitors are linked to, helps to establish the kind of reach their sites have in the online world. Remember, in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), relevant and high quality inbound links are weighted heavily in a website’s favour by the search engines. Therefore, if you find a number of great inbound links on a competitor site (and these are also relevant to your site), you should contact the website and ask if they will link to your site too. You will find them highly interested if the link is meaningful. As such, writing a quick press release about your hotel and sending it over, typically results in getting advertising for your property as well as an inbound link to your website. To scope out your competition’s links, you can use www.freewebsubmission.com/linkpopularity.html
8. Keep records – Often, the most helpful way of keeping track of your findings, is by listing them in an electronic spreadsheet. Simply update the spreadsheet each time you gather new information and at the same time you are building a record that you can always refer to.
9. Keep up-to-date – Regularly re-visit your competition’s website to see what’s new and consequently keep important and relevant data in your spreadsheet up-to-date.
During these difficult times, it is vital that hoteliers formulate competitive intelligence, allowing them to stay one step ahead. The cost of acquiring a website visitor is ever-increasing; therefore marketing has to be evaluated from all angles. From the tools and methodology used to attract the website visitor, to the tools used to ensure your site is exactly the place where that visitor converts into a reservation. The internet provides you with a great opportunity for learning about your competition– use it!
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the Guest Connect web booking engine and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with Guest Connect web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
There are many competitor analysis tools available online, however these can be complex to use. Here are a few simple tips to get you started without investing in technology. A full competitor analysis based on these concepts should always be conducted prior to planning your hotel’s online strategy. This way you can incorporate your findings into your strategy and ultimately plan a much more targeted and successful approach.
1. Identify who your competitors are - Brainstorm your known competitors. If you have been in the hotel any length of time, it is highly likely that the “other” hotels are well-known to you, especially the local ones. Look up their websites and make a note of their web addresses.
2. Create keyword lists - Compile a list of keywords your clientele would use to find a hotel like yours online. Incorporate your geographical location into your list – many travelers will choose destination before hotel.
3. Search online - Using your keywords list, execute some searches on the major search engines - Google, Yahoo and MSN. The results most commonly shown to your target market, will be listed on the first page. Make a note of the web addresses of the top 10 results. Going forward, consider these your top competition, along with the local “colleagues” you already knew about.
4. Analyse offerings - Visit each of these competitors’ websites and analyse their offerings. Ensure you keep notes summarising each of their services, facilities and special offers. Determine the strengths and weaknesses from the perspective of your target market – How do your offerings compare? Are your rates higher or lower than theirs? Why? What makes you unique to them? What makes them unique to you? How can you capitalize on your unique offerings? This analysis will facilitate a clear definition of your competitive advantages.
5. Compare usability & functionality – Are your competitors’ sites easier to navigate compared to yours? Determine how each website differs to yours and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each.
6. Popularity – Determine how your competitors compare to your hotel in terms of popularity. How can you find out? By downloading the Google Tool bar you can establish their Google Page Rank. Page Ranks are rated from 1 to 10 – 10 being the best. Higher Page Ranks indicate higher quality websites receiving a lot of relevant traffic. Appropriate, fresh and keyword-rich content that is updated regularly, is also a positive factor. It adds value to the site for the user.
7. Links – Identifying what websites your competitors are linked to, helps to establish the kind of reach their sites have in the online world. Remember, in terms of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), relevant and high quality inbound links are weighted heavily in a website’s favour by the search engines. Therefore, if you find a number of great inbound links on a competitor site (and these are also relevant to your site), you should contact the website and ask if they will link to your site too. You will find them highly interested if the link is meaningful. As such, writing a quick press release about your hotel and sending it over, typically results in getting advertising for your property as well as an inbound link to your website. To scope out your competition’s links, you can use www.freewebsubmission.com/linkpopularity.html
8. Keep records – Often, the most helpful way of keeping track of your findings, is by listing them in an electronic spreadsheet. Simply update the spreadsheet each time you gather new information and at the same time you are building a record that you can always refer to.
9. Keep up-to-date – Regularly re-visit your competition’s website to see what’s new and consequently keep important and relevant data in your spreadsheet up-to-date.
During these difficult times, it is vital that hoteliers formulate competitive intelligence, allowing them to stay one step ahead. The cost of acquiring a website visitor is ever-increasing; therefore marketing has to be evaluated from all angles. From the tools and methodology used to attract the website visitor, to the tools used to ensure your site is exactly the place where that visitor converts into a reservation. The internet provides you with a great opportunity for learning about your competition– use it!
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the Guest Connect web booking engine and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with Guest Connect web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Hotels cannot afford to lose lucrative bookings due to online booking ignorance
It is astounding that, despite the current climate, hoteliers are still missing fundamental requirements in terms of the usability and functionality of their website and website booking engine. Even more frighteningly, many hoteliers are missing the vital ingredient that promises to increase their reservations – the capacity for instant online sales! The absence of a web booking engine on your website means that visitors experience a pre-historic process which leaves them unengaged, irresolute, on occasion confused and likely to abandon your website! With hoteliers fiercely competing for relevant website visitors and with the cost of acquiring them ever increasing, it is flummoxing that some hoteliers insist on dragging their heels, sticking with a relic booking model that will not convert traffic into the maximum number of bookings.
In a hospitality index report published recently, it was demonstrated that 40% of website visitors did not complete their booking due to navigation problems. Research also shows that the booking process can take up to 12 clicks. This does not bode well with the 21st century traveler – an effective booking process should rely on a few quick and simple steps. It has been established that the more experienced a customer is, the less likely he is to abandon a booking because he is more familiar with online booking processes. However, many of those booking online are first-time customers with no experience. To lose these customers due to a complex and lengthy process, will have a huge impact on conversion rates; therefore this type of shopper must be catered for.
Hotel websites that do have a web booking engine installed, are not exempt from high abandonment rates. I have seen web booking engines stuck behind vaguely entitled menu bars or behind two or three unnecessary pages, making it hard to find. Again, the customer is relied upon to click around the site to find the online reservations system. The web booking engine must be easily accessible. Ensuring there is an obvious link to the web booking engine, which is clearly titled on the home page, will eliminate any confusion. Moreover, having a “quick book box” on the first page will allow any potential guest to quickly and effortlessly check availability for their travel dates.
There is a plethora of web booking engines available on the market, but they are not all equal in their ability to convert “lookers” into “bookers”. The Guest Connect Booking Engine is an example of a web booking engine that has proven to deliver a significantly higher level of reservations. Furthermore, in an independent usability study among consumers Guest Connect received a score of 95 percent, higher than any other similarly tested engines. Extensive market research, hotel customer feedback and technical innovation during the launch period have ensured the Guest Connect web booking engine meets traveler’s usability needs. Key features that add value to the booking process for consumers range from multiple language capability to its consistency with the theme of the website. Installation of such a reputable web booking engine enables hoteliers to track all marketing efforts and gain a clear understanding of return on investment for specific advertising initiatives. These statistics are invaluable and easily acquired from the web booking engine data. With more and more room sales happening online, this type of quantifiable process may eventually replace traditional reservation processes, making it crucial that hoteliers come to grips with it.
Your hotel’s web booking engine plays a pivotal role in converting website traffic into reservations. Therefore, having a relic process that relies on your website visitors chasing you for booking confirmation or counting on them to click around to find your web booking engine, is going to mean you lose out on valuable bookings. Today, travelers are looking for immediate access to information, rates, policies and they want instant electronic confirmation that their booking went through. By ensuring your web booking engine meets these requirements, you are setting the foundations for a good web experience and consequently the start of a good relationship with your future and invaluable guest.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the Guest Connect web booking engine and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with Guest Connect web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
In a hospitality index report published recently, it was demonstrated that 40% of website visitors did not complete their booking due to navigation problems. Research also shows that the booking process can take up to 12 clicks. This does not bode well with the 21st century traveler – an effective booking process should rely on a few quick and simple steps. It has been established that the more experienced a customer is, the less likely he is to abandon a booking because he is more familiar with online booking processes. However, many of those booking online are first-time customers with no experience. To lose these customers due to a complex and lengthy process, will have a huge impact on conversion rates; therefore this type of shopper must be catered for.
Hotel websites that do have a web booking engine installed, are not exempt from high abandonment rates. I have seen web booking engines stuck behind vaguely entitled menu bars or behind two or three unnecessary pages, making it hard to find. Again, the customer is relied upon to click around the site to find the online reservations system. The web booking engine must be easily accessible. Ensuring there is an obvious link to the web booking engine, which is clearly titled on the home page, will eliminate any confusion. Moreover, having a “quick book box” on the first page will allow any potential guest to quickly and effortlessly check availability for their travel dates.
There is a plethora of web booking engines available on the market, but they are not all equal in their ability to convert “lookers” into “bookers”. The Guest Connect Booking Engine is an example of a web booking engine that has proven to deliver a significantly higher level of reservations. Furthermore, in an independent usability study among consumers Guest Connect received a score of 95 percent, higher than any other similarly tested engines. Extensive market research, hotel customer feedback and technical innovation during the launch period have ensured the Guest Connect web booking engine meets traveler’s usability needs. Key features that add value to the booking process for consumers range from multiple language capability to its consistency with the theme of the website. Installation of such a reputable web booking engine enables hoteliers to track all marketing efforts and gain a clear understanding of return on investment for specific advertising initiatives. These statistics are invaluable and easily acquired from the web booking engine data. With more and more room sales happening online, this type of quantifiable process may eventually replace traditional reservation processes, making it crucial that hoteliers come to grips with it.
Your hotel’s web booking engine plays a pivotal role in converting website traffic into reservations. Therefore, having a relic process that relies on your website visitors chasing you for booking confirmation or counting on them to click around to find your web booking engine, is going to mean you lose out on valuable bookings. Today, travelers are looking for immediate access to information, rates, policies and they want instant electronic confirmation that their booking went through. By ensuring your web booking engine meets these requirements, you are setting the foundations for a good web experience and consequently the start of a good relationship with your future and invaluable guest.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the Guest Connect web booking engine and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with Guest Connect web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Create an online marketing strategy for your hotel to maximize your web exposure
Whilst traditional marketing in the forms of radio, TV, print advertising and public relations can be effective for brand promotion and brand reinforcement, the direct impact on generating hotel bookings is limited and the bookings it does generate cannot be measured accurately. Alternatively, online marketing allows you to target potential guests who are actively looking for hotels like yours. Online marketing encompasses varying activities ensuring you target potential guests based on their needs and requirements matched to your hotel offerings. Instead of casting your net wide you are pin-pointing your audience guaranteeing a return on investment that is better and measurable.
Online marketing includes a range of activities that should be considered for your hotel’s marketing strategy. Every hotel is different and needs to be treated accordingly; therefore a blend of website development, search engine optimisation, social media and pay-per-click advertising should be used where appropriate.
Hotel Website Development:
Your hotel’s website is the digital image of your hotel. With most travelers turning to the internet to find suitable accommodation, your website is the first impression a potential guest will get of your hotel. Therefore its importance to drive online sales must not be underestimated - hoteliers must cast a critical eye over the website, its design & format, content, page titles, and images. From a user-friendly perspective it must be easy to navigate around, from a technical perspective it must be search engine friendly and quick to load. I see hotel websites every day that are completely aesthetically unappealing – ranging from bad colour schemes, invisible page titles, poor quality images to overly flashy with no substance. In this “digital era” this is tantamount to internet suicide. Choose your website developer carefully, hotel websites should be designed by people who understand hotels and have experience working for or with hotels. Website development can vary in cost depending on your agency choice. The return on investment anticipated for a good website redesign means that if it is required, you should invest that money. In a HeBS case study a redesigned hotel website paid for itself within 3 months in online sales.
Search Engine Optimisation:
Having a search engine friendly website is the first step towards search engine visibility. Ensuring you have a search engine friendly website means the search engines are able to index every page. It is the indexing process that determines the sites value and relevance for search terms. Therefore, you must go further than simply making your site index-able. You must proactively encourage the search engines to return to the site by updating your website with fresh and exciting content regularly. You must also create inbound links to your website from other relevant sites – if no other sites are linked to yours the search engines will register that no other sites find your website valuable or important. Distributing PR about your hotel to destination related websites and a selection of social media and travel blogs is a quick, easy and effective way to start. Hotel SEO can be managed and delivered in-house if you have the resources, but for most hoteliers handing over these activities to professionals means time is better spent elsewhere.
Social Media
Online conversations regarding your hotel continually reinforce its online presence to your target audience. Therefore the importance of tactical social media activities cannot be ignored. Hotels are finding out the hard way that conversations about them are happening online and online communities can be breeding grounds for speculation and rumours. Using social media to manage this risk and to deliver positives to counteract any negatives can be more than just effective in terms of negating any bad press, but also to build your positive “brand noise” and create “brand buzz” around your hotel’s website. Social media is personal and it’s interactive. By utilising this 21st century means of reaching a target audience hoteliers can build deeper relationships that last longer and customer loyalty is reinforced rather than a thing of the past. The Layana Resort in Thailand uses a Facebook page to keep its “fans” updated. The page attracts past and potential guests alike and allows them to share experiences and pictures. It is also the perfect arena for the hotel’s manager to advertise special offers and promotions. This online community is growing daily and is the digital alternative to “word of mouth” the power of which is endless.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising:
Developing a paid search campaign gives your hotel an instant presence in the search engine page results. Best of all you can control where your adverts are positioned on the page with your bid price per keyword. Making your adverts attractive and relevant to the search is imperative to attract the visitor. You must also ensure the landing page of the advert is the most relevant page of your website, and if you have adverts in different languages, the landing page should be the webpage in the corresponding language. For hotels with a global client base cultural search behaviours and buying patterns must be incorporated into both your website and marketing strategy. Pay-Per-Click requires budget investment. It is certainly worth establishing how much you need to be spending to get relevant traffic to your website. Google actually provides you with an online estimator where you can choose your keywords and see how much it costs. Using a professional hotel pay per click agency to plan, develop, optimise and manage your campaigns means you can let the professionals do the work and be kept updated with detailed reports and statistics.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with the web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Online marketing includes a range of activities that should be considered for your hotel’s marketing strategy. Every hotel is different and needs to be treated accordingly; therefore a blend of website development, search engine optimisation, social media and pay-per-click advertising should be used where appropriate.
Hotel Website Development:
Your hotel’s website is the digital image of your hotel. With most travelers turning to the internet to find suitable accommodation, your website is the first impression a potential guest will get of your hotel. Therefore its importance to drive online sales must not be underestimated - hoteliers must cast a critical eye over the website, its design & format, content, page titles, and images. From a user-friendly perspective it must be easy to navigate around, from a technical perspective it must be search engine friendly and quick to load. I see hotel websites every day that are completely aesthetically unappealing – ranging from bad colour schemes, invisible page titles, poor quality images to overly flashy with no substance. In this “digital era” this is tantamount to internet suicide. Choose your website developer carefully, hotel websites should be designed by people who understand hotels and have experience working for or with hotels. Website development can vary in cost depending on your agency choice. The return on investment anticipated for a good website redesign means that if it is required, you should invest that money. In a HeBS case study a redesigned hotel website paid for itself within 3 months in online sales.
Search Engine Optimisation:
Having a search engine friendly website is the first step towards search engine visibility. Ensuring you have a search engine friendly website means the search engines are able to index every page. It is the indexing process that determines the sites value and relevance for search terms. Therefore, you must go further than simply making your site index-able. You must proactively encourage the search engines to return to the site by updating your website with fresh and exciting content regularly. You must also create inbound links to your website from other relevant sites – if no other sites are linked to yours the search engines will register that no other sites find your website valuable or important. Distributing PR about your hotel to destination related websites and a selection of social media and travel blogs is a quick, easy and effective way to start. Hotel SEO can be managed and delivered in-house if you have the resources, but for most hoteliers handing over these activities to professionals means time is better spent elsewhere.
Social Media
Online conversations regarding your hotel continually reinforce its online presence to your target audience. Therefore the importance of tactical social media activities cannot be ignored. Hotels are finding out the hard way that conversations about them are happening online and online communities can be breeding grounds for speculation and rumours. Using social media to manage this risk and to deliver positives to counteract any negatives can be more than just effective in terms of negating any bad press, but also to build your positive “brand noise” and create “brand buzz” around your hotel’s website. Social media is personal and it’s interactive. By utilising this 21st century means of reaching a target audience hoteliers can build deeper relationships that last longer and customer loyalty is reinforced rather than a thing of the past. The Layana Resort in Thailand uses a Facebook page to keep its “fans” updated. The page attracts past and potential guests alike and allows them to share experiences and pictures. It is also the perfect arena for the hotel’s manager to advertise special offers and promotions. This online community is growing daily and is the digital alternative to “word of mouth” the power of which is endless.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising:
Developing a paid search campaign gives your hotel an instant presence in the search engine page results. Best of all you can control where your adverts are positioned on the page with your bid price per keyword. Making your adverts attractive and relevant to the search is imperative to attract the visitor. You must also ensure the landing page of the advert is the most relevant page of your website, and if you have adverts in different languages, the landing page should be the webpage in the corresponding language. For hotels with a global client base cultural search behaviours and buying patterns must be incorporated into both your website and marketing strategy. Pay-Per-Click requires budget investment. It is certainly worth establishing how much you need to be spending to get relevant traffic to your website. Google actually provides you with an online estimator where you can choose your keywords and see how much it costs. Using a professional hotel pay per click agency to plan, develop, optimise and manage your campaigns means you can let the professionals do the work and be kept updated with detailed reports and statistics.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. GlobRes is also offering hotel website design for free when purchased with the web booking engine.
Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Monday, August 10, 2009
Be creative and maximise your hotel’s revenue, discounting is not the answer!
While hoteliers suffer sleepless nights the debate continues as to whether they should discount prices in light of the economic climate. In reality, it has never been more important to revisit your revenue and pricing strategies. Research shows that discounting prices can have both long and short term negative effects and when one hotel discounts prices, the competition soon follows. This renders the activity purposeless and can potentially damage future profitability. This isn’t to say that Revenue Managers cannot respond to the down-turn appropriately with calculated alternatives that will ensure sustainability during these challenging times. Creative thinking and marketing is certainly key - but where should hoteliers focus their efforts?
Hotels will always approach the concept of “special offers & promotions” differently according to their budget and clientele. A hotel in Melbourne is currently offering the chance to win a SMART car if you choose to host your conference, meeting or exhibition at the hotel. This promotion is used to incentivise potential clients into booking this venue above the competition. Of course, many hotels will not have the budget to offer such a prize but this does not mean the concept wouldn’t work on a smaller scale. A spa resort in Thailand is currently offering a weather guarantee too all guests at the hotel during the rainy season. If there is a full day of rain guests are entitled to gain a full refund in credits for treatments at the hotel’s spa.
Generating ancillary revenue is a further innovative way of optimising your hotel’s profits–maximise revenue from your existing bookings rather than culling your prices in an attempt to gain more reservations. Offering local tours and activities have proven to boost revenue, this also serves to add value to your website in terms of content. Remember, guests generally choose destination before hotel. Therefore adding web page content that relates to the destination (and your relationships with it through tours and activities) will only have a positive influence on a potential guest’s choice. The new pages will also be indexed by the search engines and should enhance your overall online visibility for new search terms.
Using opaque channels is a simple way to get rid of distressed inventory and best of all you can maintain rate integrity. An opaque channel makes parts of the online sales process hidden, for example the hotel name. By using opaque channels you can offer prices that are significantly lower than published rates. Hotels can price discriminate between those customers who are sensitive to service characteristics and those who are not and profit from such discrimination. Taking a look at your customer segments can also be beneficial in establishing how to tackle discounts and special offers. Customers vary in terms of price sensitivity; there are still potential guests who do not expect discounts! Make sure you consider this fragment of potential guests.
Hoteliers must adapt revenue management and pricing strategies to take advantage of new trends in customer behaviour and distribution. For that reason, appropriate representation on GDS channels and IDS channels will increase electronic sales for suitable hotels. The number of reservations being generated through these channels is growing steadily. GDS and IDS account for 60% of online bookings so for suitable hotels, there couldn’t be a better time to invest. Hoteliers must remember the majority of potential guests are not brand loyal nor do they have a fixed booking pattern; they simply book from the hotel offering them the best deal. The unpredictability of such behavior means that hotels must maintain a presence on all possible distribution channels if they want a sizeable share of the online market.
Creative ideas, promotions and marketing are effective alternatives to discounting your prices. Maximising revenue from existing bookings and adding value to your guest’s experiences will ensure more repeat business and optimised profits.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Hotels will always approach the concept of “special offers & promotions” differently according to their budget and clientele. A hotel in Melbourne is currently offering the chance to win a SMART car if you choose to host your conference, meeting or exhibition at the hotel. This promotion is used to incentivise potential clients into booking this venue above the competition. Of course, many hotels will not have the budget to offer such a prize but this does not mean the concept wouldn’t work on a smaller scale. A spa resort in Thailand is currently offering a weather guarantee too all guests at the hotel during the rainy season. If there is a full day of rain guests are entitled to gain a full refund in credits for treatments at the hotel’s spa.
Generating ancillary revenue is a further innovative way of optimising your hotel’s profits–maximise revenue from your existing bookings rather than culling your prices in an attempt to gain more reservations. Offering local tours and activities have proven to boost revenue, this also serves to add value to your website in terms of content. Remember, guests generally choose destination before hotel. Therefore adding web page content that relates to the destination (and your relationships with it through tours and activities) will only have a positive influence on a potential guest’s choice. The new pages will also be indexed by the search engines and should enhance your overall online visibility for new search terms.
Using opaque channels is a simple way to get rid of distressed inventory and best of all you can maintain rate integrity. An opaque channel makes parts of the online sales process hidden, for example the hotel name. By using opaque channels you can offer prices that are significantly lower than published rates. Hotels can price discriminate between those customers who are sensitive to service characteristics and those who are not and profit from such discrimination. Taking a look at your customer segments can also be beneficial in establishing how to tackle discounts and special offers. Customers vary in terms of price sensitivity; there are still potential guests who do not expect discounts! Make sure you consider this fragment of potential guests.
Hoteliers must adapt revenue management and pricing strategies to take advantage of new trends in customer behaviour and distribution. For that reason, appropriate representation on GDS channels and IDS channels will increase electronic sales for suitable hotels. The number of reservations being generated through these channels is growing steadily. GDS and IDS account for 60% of online bookings so for suitable hotels, there couldn’t be a better time to invest. Hoteliers must remember the majority of potential guests are not brand loyal nor do they have a fixed booking pattern; they simply book from the hotel offering them the best deal. The unpredictability of such behavior means that hotels must maintain a presence on all possible distribution channels if they want a sizeable share of the online market.
Creative ideas, promotions and marketing are effective alternatives to discounting your prices. Maximising revenue from existing bookings and adding value to your guest’s experiences will ensure more repeat business and optimised profits.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French. Complete our online contact form for more information.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com www.globres.com
Monday, August 3, 2009
GlobRes celebrates the re-launch of new Pay Per Click management service for Hoteliers!
Paid search is the fastest way to increase your hotel’s presence across the search engines, with this in mind GlobRes has developed a suite of Pay Per Click (PPC) packages designed specifically for Hotelier’s looking to increase reservations through new channels. Undoubtedly, Hoteliers that are succeeding in the current climate are undertaking new, innovative digital marketing incentives that ensure a measurable return on investment through their central reservation system. Using these methods hotels can pinpoint where exactly a reservation originated from and strategically place more of their marketing budget there. But who has the time? Hoteliers are busy people - time should be spent with guests not staring at a computer making sense of statistics….leave this to the experts.
GlobRes PPC clients receive account management services that are second to none. Every client receives a dedicated AdWords Qualified Professional who plans, researches and develops campaigns on behalf of the hotel. The service doesn’t stop there, effective paid search marketing requires on-going management - keyword bids must be monitored to maintain positioning, conversion rates and costs must be monitored to ensure the best ROI. Advert text must be creative, targeted and revised regularly to ensure maximum exposure.
Research findings are suggesting time and time again that moving marketing budgets from offline to online advertising is the way forward for Hoteliers. Every day new hotels are embarking on the paid search journey and investing only a small amount of money on just a handful of keywords can produce great results when managed effectively. However Hoteliers must beware of the pitfalls of paid search marketing and remember a job worth doing is only worth doing well. Some of the PPC pitfalls can be costly and often hoteliers attribute a bad experience with PPC to poor account management. In truth, PPC when managed effectively can work for the majority of hotels.
Here are 3 tips for a cost effective campaign:
1. Know your hotel. Your choice of keywords must accurately reflect your hotel , if the keywords are not targeted and relevant you will end up throwing money down the drain on keywords that will never get you that all important reservation.
2. Know your audience. What are your potential customers looking for? Special offers and discounts? Luxury lodgings? Make sure you incorporate choice phrases that reflect what your guests WANT into your advert text.
3. If in doubt consult an expert…
The Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes is on hand to answer any questions you have about Google AdWords and many other search platforms including Yahoo and MSN.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides complete hotel distribution and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com
GlobRes PPC clients receive account management services that are second to none. Every client receives a dedicated AdWords Qualified Professional who plans, researches and develops campaigns on behalf of the hotel. The service doesn’t stop there, effective paid search marketing requires on-going management - keyword bids must be monitored to maintain positioning, conversion rates and costs must be monitored to ensure the best ROI. Advert text must be creative, targeted and revised regularly to ensure maximum exposure.
Research findings are suggesting time and time again that moving marketing budgets from offline to online advertising is the way forward for Hoteliers. Every day new hotels are embarking on the paid search journey and investing only a small amount of money on just a handful of keywords can produce great results when managed effectively. However Hoteliers must beware of the pitfalls of paid search marketing and remember a job worth doing is only worth doing well. Some of the PPC pitfalls can be costly and often hoteliers attribute a bad experience with PPC to poor account management. In truth, PPC when managed effectively can work for the majority of hotels.
Here are 3 tips for a cost effective campaign:
1. Know your hotel. Your choice of keywords must accurately reflect your hotel , if the keywords are not targeted and relevant you will end up throwing money down the drain on keywords that will never get you that all important reservation.
2. Know your audience. What are your potential customers looking for? Special offers and discounts? Luxury lodgings? Make sure you incorporate choice phrases that reflect what your guests WANT into your advert text.
3. If in doubt consult an expert…
The Digital Marketing Team at GlobRes is on hand to answer any questions you have about Google AdWords and many other search platforms including Yahoo and MSN.
About GlobRes
GlobRes provides complete hotel distribution and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world. Connecting hotels with their guests through increased exposure via all channels including GDS, IDS, Digital Marketing and the hotel’s own website. GlobRes operates a fully serviced support centre, offering assistance to hotels in English, Italian, German, Spanish and French.
Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to Samantha Hasler. Tel +41 41 500 0111 or email marketing@globres.com
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