Why your hotel can’t ignore mobile marketing

Mobile technology is no longer something we are simply anticipating. The development of new technologies and ideas has brought about higher expectations from your potential guests. With the increase in smartphone use and android applications, it’s evident: the mobile trend is here…and it is here to stay. This explosion of the mobile web over the last 10 years places an important burden on hoteliers to implement a mobile-ready website. Why? The growth of mobile usage among the travelling public is increasing at an astonishing rate. The statistics speak for themselves – the number of mobile subscribers will surpass 5 billion in 2010, over 70% of the population. Every day, more and more people are surfing the internet from their mobile devicefor travel related purposes. By not being a part of the mobile world, your hotel has limited exposure and will miss out on reservations. Research demonstrates that around 10% of hotel guests with mobile phones with data plans have used them to reserve rooms. Furthermore, mobile bookings are expected to exceed $1 billion in 2010. Smartphone users are technically savvy and expect to be able to interact with your hotel via their mobile devices. If your hotel does not have a “mobile ready” website,you run the risk of losing business to hotels that do provide access to their information in a convenient and easily accessible format. Your hotel must therefore develop a mobile strategy in order to keep up with these growing expectations, as well as to reap the benefits this new technology brings with it. The growth of mobile use within the travel industry means some hoteliers are left behind. How can you keep up? “You can’t literally translate the conventional website for the wireless world,” Starkov said during the European Hospitality Technology Educational Conference. “There are many limitations, primarily (which) come from usability and the inability to organize huge amounts of content on your mobile Web.” The trick is to keep it simple by getting a mobile-ready website designed and developed for viewing on mobile screens. Include only the most important information relevant to consumers on-the-go. It is vital that the functionality and navigation is clear and includes call-to-actions that give your site the best chance of converting your mobile visitor into a paying hotel guest. Presenting this information in an easy-to-read format and avoiding the use of multiple images is vital to keep your mobile audience engaged with the site. You must also consider the differences in mobile devices – some phones support Java, others don’t. Compatibility with iphone is important but make sure your website is optimised to work on any phone that has the internet. A recent EyeforTravel report states that the use of mobile in travel distribution is “unavoidable” and is “the key to success of any travel business in the future.” Whilst a standard website is vital for desktop users, a mobile website is crucial for smartphone mobile users. Mobile websites and applications are designed specifically for mobile use and are made so your guests can effectively navigate through your website. By ignoring this fundamental requirement, your hotel may be missing out on reservations. About GlobRes GlobRes provides hotel reservations and digital marketing solutions for hoteliers globally including mobile-ready websites. Why choose a GlobRes.mobi website? • Optimised to work on any phone and adapts to any screen size • Easy-to-update by anyone via a content management system (CMS) • Book via ‘click2call feature’ which allows guests to call the hotel direct from their phone • Website visitors are automatically redirected to the mobile site when they navigate to your website via a mobile device. To start with a .mobi website or ask additional questions, simply CLICK HERE and complete the short online form and one of our sales executives will contact you. Alternatively email marketing@globres.com for further advice. Follow our blog: www.bloglines.com/blog/globres Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/globres

Why you should be leveraging your hotel’s exposure on TripAdvisor

When prospective guests search for your hotel on the web, what do they see?  TripAdvisor and other social media networks are readily accessible from every search engine and make it easy for your potential guests to get an insight into your past guests’ experiences at your property.  TripAdvisor has top rankings on Google for thousands of hotels, so if your hotel has the number one spot for its name, recent reviews of your property, both positive and negative, are also in prime position.

Hotel reviews are now up all over the web and found, for example, on sites like Google Maps.  TripAdvisor has also introduced a partnership group, which gives hoteliers and travel websites the opportunity to post TripAdvisor reviews.  This group already consists of 100 content partners and 14,000 websites with a widget or badge.  No longer tucked away on TripAdvisor.com, your reviews, both positive and negative, are accessible by travelers from almost anywhere on the web.

Yet TripAdvisor is still a tool that many hoteliers are failing to use to their advantage for hotel reputation management.  With 32 million unique visitors every month, and with more than 30 million reviews on over 1 million properties, TripAdvisor wields more influence on hotel and travel choice than any other platform.

So, how do you leverage this exposure?

As TripAdvisor continues to evolve its digital visibility on the web, it endeavors to increase reservations for hotels.  One of its newer initiatives is the “business listing”, which allows hoteliers to include direct contact details on their hotel’s page on all TripAdvisor domains.  Business listings are available for an annual fee, but they do not enhance your property’s ranking on TripAdvisor.  Your property’s ranking is affected by a number of factors including quantity of reviews, actual ratings from the reviews, and whether the reviews are out of date – the more current a review,  the more positive an impact it will have on your property’s ranking.

With this ever-increasing visibility of online reviews, monitoring and managing what guests are saying about your property on TripAdvisor, is vital.  Relying on a small number of good reviews in not enough, especially if your competition is actively encouraging their guests to post reviews.  If your competitor’s guests post positive reviews, you may see their property ranked higher than yours, if it’s not already, so why not actively solicit reviews from your guests?  There are tools available on TripAdvisor to help you; sign up via “Owners’ Center” on your TripAdvisor listing and benefit from email reminders, review widgets, flyers, and custom reminder cards.  You can also actively manage your reputation from here by creating management responses.

Management responses are a critical reaction to negative reviews.  How a hotel responds to criticism can sometimes have more influence over a booking decision than the criticism itself.  A well-crafted management response can go a long way – it’s a public opportunity to apologize to the guest who posted the review and to show all prospective guests that you have remedied the issue.  It also demonstrates your commitment to improving your hotel and your guests’ experiences.

Putting all these measures in place should not detract from your most important goal – to give your guests a great experience.  By taking advantage of the unique insights you get via reviews and by applying this knowledge to improving traveler experience, you are able to achieve your objective at a completely new level.  Hoteliers must address problems travelers identify so they don’t have a negative impact on future guests’ experiences….and your reviews!

Learn more about creating an effective reputation management strategy.

About GlobRes

GlobRes is one of the few companies to offer a full online reputation management service that includes creating management responses to hotel reviews. GlobRes relieves your hotel of the pressure of finding all the mentions of your hotel on the internet and responding appropriately and effectively.

 

 

 

Why choose GlobRes as your Online Reputation Manager?

• Your dedicated account manager pro-actively monitors what guests are saying about your hotel online.
• You receive notifications of new reviews directly to your mail box from your account manager.
• We respond publicly to reviews & comments and interact on your behalf with your online community in five different languages.
• We upload images, add factual information about your hotel and upload new content to give your hotel accurate representation on the prominent hotel review sites.
• We provide you with coding to install on your website allowing you to feed your hotel’s positive reviews from TripAdvisor on to your site.

 

Editors Note: Please direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com

Online hotel reviews are at the heart of any good reputation management strategy

The explosion of consumer generated content has led to a very specific and important requirement for hoteliers to engage with online reviews, communities, and dialogue regarding their property. The days of measuring customer satisfaction via the traditional hotel comment card are long gone. Reviews are now online and there for the public to see, as are quality ratings. Moreover, research demonstrates that travellers are seeking out hotel reviews and consider the online review a vital decision-making component for their future travel plans. Trip Advisor states that over 50% of consumers will not book a hotel unless they have read reviews. Online reviews empower the consumer but for many small, family run hotels this new era of information sharing is scary. Not necessarily because they do not fare well in the review stakes, but simply because they do not understand how to effectively manage their online reputation. Traditionally, hotels are comfortable with private reviews and feedback, but the Internet has enabled public scrutiny. Many hotels have not gotten as far as devising an online reputation management strategy and more worryingly, some hotels have no clue about what (good or bad) is being said about them on the internet.

So where should you start? Resource limitation and budget constraints are common problems for smaller hotels. Investing in an automated reputation monitoring tool may therefore seem a long way off, especially if you have only recently implemented a web booking engine. You may be reluctant to pursue trends you do not view as ‘proven’ to generate revenue. But the facts cannot be ignored – credibility of reviews among consumers is high within the hotel sector and therefore has a direct impact on your revenue. Firstly you must identify what is being said about your property on the most popular review sites on the internet. Don’t expect to monitor hundreds of sites effectively – the sensible places to start are TripAdvisor, Expedia and Google. Hotels have the opportunity to respond publicly to reviews on each of these platforms. Posting management responses to reviews is a great way of demonstrating commitment to customer satisfaction and it will enable you to remedy any complaints or issues that might have a negative impact. The key is to respond quickly and politely and to follow through on any reassurances or promises. If the complaint escalates, you should encourage the customer to discuss the matter privately.

If you dig a little, you will find that there are hundreds of online reputation monitoring tools available. Be wary of paying for them as there are great tools available at no cost. There is little point in paying for a tool when applications like Google Alerts and Minggl serve the same purpose for free. The key in identifying an online reputation management service worth paying for is whether it adds value by providing you with something you don’t have the capacity for in-house i.e. professionally written management responses which are far more beneficial to the busy hotelier. Automated monitoring tools which post standard responses to reviews undermine the purpose of the exercise – ultimately to cultivate long standing relationships with previous guests, listen to their feedback, learn from their comments and keep them coming back to your hotel as often as possible. Social media websites such as Facebook can also play a vital role in online reputation management, enabling you to cultivate relationships over the web with potential guests. Ideally, there should be synergy between social media marketing and online reputation management strategies. Consistent messages should be reflected through all mediums. If you get great feedback on a review website, you should encourage that person to follow your hotel on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace or alternatively to follow your blogs. Social media pages go further than simply providing a forum for reviews; they facilitate photo-sharing, comments, conversation and are a perfect arena for subtle and effective marketing campaigns. Launching promotions specific to your social media audience is a sure fire way of acquiring more fans and followers. Whilst this does not necessarily impede any future negative reviews, it is a fantastic method of engaging positive reviewers and potential guests sourcing future travel destinations and hotels. When managing social media profiles, here are some key principles to keep in mind: • The conversation about you will go on with or without you. Make sure you’re taking part or even steering it. • Present your social media profiles as a way for people to connect with others to discuss your hotel – not solely to receive marketing messages. Encourage your fans to “tell the story”. • Promote photo-sharing to your fans. Maybe consider a photo-contest. • Get hotel staff involved in blogging, posting and interacting.

Hoteliers have sources at their finger tips to ensure happy guests are nurtured and public negative reviews are avoided. By demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction to past and potential future guests, you are giving your hotel the best possible chance of securing future reservations and evading any damage to your hotel’s reputation.

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 marketing@globres.com

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

Tweak your content and ensure website visitors convert into hotel reservations

Marketing efforts are often perceived as required solely to generate traffic and reservations to hotels. But marketing should be playing an even bigger role in terms of website content. A good website is more than just flashy designs, layouts and pictures – it has to have substance. Your website copy must sell your hotel rooms. With the high levels of competition for all hotels, consumers are able to use stricter criteria when narrowing down hotel choice. Therefore, the amount of information you give on your site and the manner in which it is put across, has a serious impact on your conversion rates. Website content is known for its significance within search engine criteria for measuring organic rankings. This is because it is in the interest of search engines to provide users with relevant, high quality results. Because there are millions of websites returned for popular keyword searches, the criteria have to contain a more thorough analysis of websites. This is another reason why content is so important.

Compelling content plays an important role in online success. Not only does it assist you in organic rankings and traffic acquisition, but it also serves to add value to your site visitors’ experience. It gives your visitors confidence in your hotel and it gets them excited about your property! The more positive an experience website visitors have on your site, the more likely they are to choose your hotel. There are always other contributing factors to getting that all important reservation – room rates, location, facilities will all still continue to hold weight, but when you have ticked all these boxes and your content lets you down, you may lose out. How do you make sure this doesn’t happen?

Analyse your current content – How many pages do you have? Are they structured appropriately? You must always avoid duplicate content – it undermines the professionalism of the site and the search engines will view this negatively when indexing your site. Is your content compelling? To make pages a pleasant read, you must ensure that sentences are not too long and they are short and imaginative. Travelers generally choose destination before hotel. Therefore, it is surprising how many hotel websites do not have a menu tab dedicated to location and the features of the location together with a map of the hotel’s precise locality. Providing your website visitors with information about the destination is a great way of demonstrating your relevance to their search for a hotel.

Dedicate a page to important information about the hotel.  Include the services, amenities and facilities on offer and detail the number of restaurants and bars the hotel has.  It should be clear whether the hotel is focused on relaxation, leisure or business. Alternatively, it may be a city centre hotel focused on sight seeing and activities. All key attributes and selling points must be readily available on this vital page of the site and communicated clearly and effectively using appropriate terminology. Devote a page to your hotel’s room types. To drive your online sales, you must show the choice available to your guests fully. If your pricing varies from room to room, you need to demonstrate the reasons for this through your pictures and descriptions. Room descriptions are of key interest, you should include information on bed types, room sizes, air conditioning and heating, wifi availability, safety deposit boxes and refrigerators as standard. The features that really sell and differentiate each room type can range from special linens, turn down services, Jacuzzis, special furniture or perhaps even chandeliers – make sure you include any features like this on this page.

Remember, if you do not provide the information, you are potentially under-selling your hotel. But at the same time, the information you do supply, needs to be well written, imaginative and accurate. Reviewing content on a weekly basis is always advisable and adding new and fresh content, encourages the search engines to return to your site and re-index its importance and value. This also keeps your regular visitors engaged with your website and demonstrates your continued commitment to your website’s online presence.

About GlobRes

GlobRes provide hotel reservations and marketing solutions for hoteliers globally. GlobRes offer 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 pleased direct all press queries to marketing@globres.com

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

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 21^st 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

 

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

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

 

SEO: Increasing your hotel’s website position on Google does not have to break the bank

The term “search engine optimisation” often strikes fear into the hearts of hoteliers and can be especially daunting for the independent hotel that has no marketing or PR department to charge these activities with. But SEO doesn’t need to be scary or costly if you break it down into segments and allocate time to each. This article will focus on 3 areas of search engine optimisation; content, link building and social media. Each plays a vital role in increasing your hotel’s website positioning in Google for your chosen keywords.

In order to understand the purpose of these activities, it is first crucial that you understand the fundamental reason the search engines reward websites with higher positions in the way they do. As an avid user of Google, I know I can rely on it. It doesn’t let me down. If I type in a keyword, Google returns relevant results for me. But Google has to do better than that – millions of websites competing for the ‘top spots’ are relevant to my search. Google’s reputation as the ‘search engine of choice’ rests firmly in the hands of measuring criteria, otherwise known as “algorithms” and if it fails, the risk is that searchers go to an alternative engine. But, how does Google choose which websites to reward with page 1 search results for a given search term?

Content

 

You must remember “content is king.” If you do not update your hotel website content regularly, you are not encouraging the search engines to keep returning to re-index your website. New content should be exciting and relevant and can be in the form of articles or press releases. I would recommend creating a page within your site, dedicated to your new content updates. Try to add new content every week. This may seem like a lot, but if time is limited, you can keep the pieces short. It is important that you write over 260 words to ensure the new content is picked up by the search engines.

You should identify the keywords you wish to increase your positions in the search engine page results for, and use these keywords as ‘anchor text’ pointing the hyperlink back to the relevant page on the website.  ‘Anchor text’ is a link label or link title and is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. A ‘hyperlink’ is a link from the text document to your website.  

If you use Microsoft Word to write your content, simply highlight the key phrase you wish to make into anchor text, right click with your mouse and hit “hyperlink”. You can then add the URL address you wish this keyword to link back to. This is called “deep linking” and ensures that those reading your content can click quickly and easily to the area of your site that interests them.

Link Building 

 

Inbound links are of utmost importance to the search engines. If you have a host of relevant links pointing back to your website, you are demonstrating the importance of your hotel’s site. If you have no inbound links, the search engines will assume your website holds no content of value. Therefore “sourcing quality”, relevant inbound links to your website, can really up the anti when it comes to your SEO campaign. Acquiring inbound links is pretty simple; the key is ensuring they are quality links. Poor quality or irrelevant inbound links can be detrimental to your SEO efforts. Therefore “black hat” SEO (unethical means of acquiring inbound links, link spamming, links farms) must be avoided.

The best way of sourcing quality link-backs is by using your content as a ‘vehicle.’ The all important anchor text within the content will form the links back to your site. So, that’s half the job done. The second half is sourcing websites relevant to your hotel to publish your content. Contact travel websites and blogs that talk about your hotel’s destination. These are ideal websites to publish your content to. By sourcing quality and relevant links, you are not only adding value to your SEO activity, but you are also widening your audience and will ensure traffic is coming to your website from new relevant sources.

Social Media

 

Social media provides new ways to connect with potential guests who you might not be able to get to otherwise. Moreover, it can spread your brand presence quickly and further than traditional PR methods. Undertaking social media activity is cost effective and enables you to meticulously pick social media sites that match your brand and audience closely. It also provides you with areas to publish your content to your target audience, thus increasing your inbound links to your site. Think of your website as a “city” and inbound links to your website are routes into your city. By creating more links from high quality and high visibility sources, you ensure there are more ways for your potential guests to find you.

Moreover, sites like blogger.com are owned by Google. Because of this, items published on blogger.com may also appear in the search results on Google when a relevant search term is entered. This again serves to increase your hotel’s online visibility, placing your hotel website at the centre of a spider’s web created by you, using only the most relevant outlets.

Making time for these SEO activities will make your hotel’s website more visible. Regularly updated content also serves to keep users returning after their first visit. If a site is never updated, there is no reason to go back and have another look – remember that! Don’t expect page 1 results overnight. With the volume of sites Google indexes for your chosen keywords, it is safe to say they are looking for positive SEO activity performed over a lengthy period of time. For newer sites, you may not see much of a change for 12 months. Remember, the design of your website can inhibit progress, A search engine-friendly and user-friendly site will enable you to increase positions quicker. Using Flash on your website isn’t always SEO suicide, but it can inhibit the search engines’ ability to index your site- if for example your textual content is imbedded in Flash.

About GlobRes

GlobRes offers hotel website design with best practice search engine optimisation incorporated. This ensures your website can be indexed effectively by the search engines. The website is free when taken with the Guest Connect Web Booking Engine.

GlobRes provides the best hotel central reservation systems and hotel Internet marketing services for hotels around the world and 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 www.globres.com