Technology holds the key to success in battle for bookings with OTAS
/By Phelim Pekaar, CEO P3 Hotel Software
Sometimes the challenge of building direct booking revenue can seem insurmountable for hotels. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are the undisputed kings of the global travel booking industry – their dominance built on the back of superior technology, strong user experience, seemingly limitless resources, and the perception that they have the best room prices.
Yet, if the COVID19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is the importance of embracing technology – such as online check-in and check-out – to provide solutions to problems. Hoteliers who wish to compete with OTAs for a larger slice of the bookings pie need to arm themselves with the tools to drive direct bookings. They need to marry specific integrated tech solutions to traditional values of hotel customer service and bring the offline experience online for potential guests.
FOMO vs LOYALTY
OTA sales tactics are anathema to the concept of traditional customer service. Their algorithms are quick to pile on the pressure on potential travellers, confronting them with hard-sell messages like, ‘book before it’s gone’ and ‘limited hotels in this location’. Some engines, too, display real-time page views or the number of rooms left, particularly when availability is low.
The drip-feed of such messages are designed to elicit a fear of missing out (FOMO), to instil a sense of panic and persuade you to act impulsively. This strategy can be as effective as it is manipulative, but hotels should be wary of mimicking it because of the potential damage to reputation and ability to build loyalty.
So how and where do hotels compete?
RATE MATCHING
Rate parity is the foundation for competing with OTAs, but a surprising number of hotels fail to overcome this vital first challenge – and if a hotel can’t match rates for their own rooms, they’ll never truly be in the race at all.
A direct booking engine channel should always offer the best possible rate options, including mobile, geolocation discounts, and blended rate functionality to ensure guests are offered the best price for multiple nights on a single booking and to maintain rate parity with OTAs. Such functionality has been available for some time, but the problem has always been integration and providing customers with a seamless journey through their purchase.
SECURE PAYMENTS
This is particularly apparent when it comes to payments; too many hotel booking engines don’t have direct payment integration and being taken offsite to a separate payments page is a red flag in terms of trust and credibility for many customers.
The banking world has already decided that the days of unsecured payments are ending, so now is the time to act. Facilitating integrated authenticated secure payments provides reassurance for hotels and customers alike, while providing hotels with immediate cashflow and removing the risk of chargebacks.
CREATING TRUST
Creating trust is vital in the early stages of the customer journey, and OTAs appeal to travellers because they allow people to compare hotel options throughout the world. The fact that their websites are reliable and easy to navigate also creates trust – there is confidence that the system works and that booking transactions are handled securely.
To engender the same level of trust, your booking engine must deliver an excellent user journey. Visual consistency as part of a strong brand experience will lead to greater guest loyalty, but it must be seamlessly integrated – only solutions which keep the user in the same page, domain name and sub-domain will provide the level of reassurance that allows you to compete with OTAs.
MAKE IT PERSONAL
OTAs use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate an experience personalised to each customer – showing the most relevant hotels, rather than just listing them by price, and highlighting relevant nearby services and experiences based on information provided by the customer.
Until recently, competing with OTAs in this area wasn’t feasible, but that is changing. My own company, P3 Hotel Software, is now rolling out an AI solution that is integrated with our own booking engine which analyses guest data gathered by booking engines and uses it to provide personalized booking experiences for customers in the same way that OTAs do.
AI-powered hotel booking engines also improve revenue management and operational efficiency, while providing hoteliers with valuable data insights needed to successfully implement dynamic pricing models.
Hotels can outperform OTAs on personalisation and build customer loyalty in other areas, too. Booking engine software can enhance loyalty programs by displaying available rewards when a guest is booking another stay, and tailoring promotional offerings for restaurants, spas, parking, and other property amenities. Indeed, when a booking engine is integrated with a hotel’s central reservation system, it can provide guests with the ability to book these amenities directly.
SERVICE NOT FOMO
With the tools to compete on rates, payments, trust, loyalty and personalisation, the importance and value of customer service becomes a clearer win for hotels when taking on OTAs and driving direct booking revenue.
In an industry that prides itself on service, there are long-term benefits in embracing software solutions which offer reassurance to potential guests, rather than relying on aggressive sales tactics.
P3’s innovative booking engine provides functionality which allows hotels to establish trust, foster loyalty, and offer a more personalised experience in the critical first stages of the customer journey – leading to a higher conversion rate and increased direct bookings.
ABOUT P3
P3 Hotel Software has over 20 years’ experience providing customised booking solutions for large independent hotels and hotel groups. P3’s solutions cover all stages of the online guest journey and integrate seamlessly with Oracle’s market-leading OPERA hotel reservations and management system.
Core products of custom booking engine and online check-in/check-out facilitate a smooth booking process for customers and an enhanced guest experience, with friction points in hotels removed.
P3 also provides hotels with Self-Serve Kiosks to automate check-in and check-out processes; connection to the world’s leading Metasearch engines; Corporate Booking tool; Loyalty program and Gift Voucher solutions; responsive Web Design and CMS.
