At Fastrack we get approached on a weekly basis by hoteliers of all types and sizes about a common problem…..their OTA (Online Travel Agent) bookings are growing constantly each month in comparison to bookings made via their direct channel. In fact many hoteliers OTA bookings are around 50% of their total bookings. This means that one out of every two guests is costing them at least 20% commission.
Aside from the obvious hit to their RevPAR and issues maintaining a competitive ADR they were also missing out on building their most valuable asset: their guest history.
Far too many hotels and resorts rely on the OTAs for far too great of their occupancy. Even the properties succeeding with bookings via their direct channel could benefit by chipping away at their OTA percentage. Below are a couple of ways you can make an impact on your RevPar, reduce costs, grow your database, and improve guest satisfaction.
This is where you must start and I guarantee you’ll find your OTA percentage drop while occupancy grows!
Data Mining
Rome was not built in a day, nor do we suggest you cut off the OTAs all at once. What we do suggest, however, is creating a data mining strategy to ensure that when a guest checks-in from an OTA you set yourself up to have that guest book direct in the future. Start by ensuring you are capturing your guest’s contact information, primarily email, at check-in. The more data you can associate with your guests' the better. Your goal is that you never have a guest check-in and check-out still appearing as an “Expedia Booking.”
Exclusive Benefits
At the end of the day your guest is going to make the decision that is best for them; therefore, the more value you can provide to your direct bookings the better. This not only reinforces the value to your current direct bookings but also incentives your OTA bookings to make a better choice in the future. We have found the following very effective at driving direct bookings:
Post Stay Targeting
Keep in touch with your guests (OTA or direct) after their stay and prior to their next stay. We have several clients who have begun a targeted email campaign post-stay to OTA guests letting them know they can improve their experience on their next stay. These same clients are targeting their OTA guests with a special message 60 days prior to their booking anniversary to convert them to direct bookings. Both tactics have proven to be very effective at triggering OTA guests to change their behaviour and book direct. Obviously, the data mining recommendation comes into play here and we would like to reinforce the importance of getting the data while your guests are on property.
Brand Paid Search
Ah, brand PPC search. There is an ongoing debate over whether it is necessary or not. Our research, and that of countless others, have shown that brand PPC is effective and provides a return greater than just PPC or just the natural search alone. In fact, our case study of Brand PPC shows a four fold increase in revenue.
Brand PPC is critical in terms of reducing your reliance on OTAs. Why? Because a customer who is nearing the end of the booking process makes a majority of the brand searches. Allowing the OTAs to own the search results page that close to a conversion is inviting your customers to book elsewhere.
We recommend testing brand PPC if you are not already and make sure that when your customers are ready to book, you are front and centre
Compete Head to Head
Hotels looking to reclaim their direct bookings need to take the fight to the OTAs and, lucky for you, there are several tools that allow you to do just that. In 2015, Google made a major push in their Hotel Price Ads (HPA) and TripAdvisor unveiled its InstantBook program. Both of these programs allow independent hoteliers the ability to compete side by side with the OTAs.
At Fastrack we are specialists in helping hoteliers and accommodation providers of all types and sizes regain market share from OTAs and help them boost revenue. Contact us today to start discussions.
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