Do the OTAs generate hotel demand? It’s time to find out.
read time: 3.5 minutes
I'll open this email with a scenario you're likely familiar with.
It's Tuesday morning.
You take your seat in the boardroom with the rest of the team.
You're there to talk about the hotel's revenue pace.
More specifically, you're there to talk about being behind pace.
One person asks, "Why are we behind $XYZ in XYZ month?"
A few people pipe up and share some possible reasons why the revenue pace is behind.
We all know the next question coming...
What are you going to do about it?
Been there?
Yep, me too.
It's the decisions that come next that are markers of a profit-oriented, long-term thinking team.
What I see mostly is the decision to default to the OTAs.
One person says, "open up the OTAs"
Another says, "give the OTAs more rooms to sell"
Another, "maybe we should enroll in one of the OTAs promotions"
Here's the thing.
The OTAs (Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, etc.) don't generate demand.
They capture demand.
What demand are they capturing?
Your demand.
Demand that you and your team have worked hard for.
You've built up that reputation rank on TripAdvisor.
You've invested in renovations and upgrades.
You've hired and trained your people.
You've dedicated countless hours.
The true drivers of hotel demand are the economic conditions and the attractiveness of a destination (the work that you and your DMO do).
Isn't it time to capture and generate some demand of your own?
Heck, yeah!
Top 3 Demand Capture Strategies
#1 - Conversion-optimized website:
Guests may look at your hotel and pricing on the OTAs, but they will eventually visit your website.
A website that draws visitors into the experience in the first 8 seconds
AND offers matched or better pricing than the OTAs
AND loyalty rewards or cash back has the best chance of grabbing the booking.
#2 - Metasearch Advertising
Stay with me here. You look at metasearch every day.
It's a fantastic way to compete with the OTAs and get prime real estate exposure on the first page.
Subscribe now to get access to the video tutorial “Metaserch Explained”
One of my clients (less than 100 rooms) has seen $25,092.82 in the last 28 days, representing 19% of their website booking revenue.
#3 - Google Ads (Search Engine Marketing)
Guests are typing your destination or city, or even your hotel into the search bar
You want to get in front of that demand with your website, and search engine marketing is a profitable way to do it.
One of the Google Ads accounts that I manage enjoyed a return on investment of $46:$1
Let's not forget...
These 3 strategies don't replace building a strong online presence for your hotel that includes SEO, content marketing, social media
However, when looking for quick activations to capture demand, these 3 are great low-cost investments with potentially high ROI.
Now, let's jump into generating demand.
2 Tips to Generate Demand (when pace is off)
#1 - Email marketing.
#2 - Social media.
Why these?
They are both warm audiences.
There is no strategy quite like inviting an audience that already knows, likes, and trusts you to return to your property through their direct inbox or social media feed.
Today in the Bookings Boost Newsletter, I give my best tips for email marketing, in this case, the promotional email, including the 3 Laws of Promotion-Based Emails in the world of Malfair Marketing.
Subscribe to the newsletter to get tips like these delivered right to your inbox.
As I sign off, remember this...
The OTAs capture demand.
You generate your demand.
Now, go out there and generate demand by obsessing about the guest and being remarkable.
I'm cheering you on!
If you're a hotelier tired of defaulting to the OTAs and want to capture and generate demand for profitable growth, reply to this email or take me up on a free 30-minute call.
But only if you want fast ROI and a sustainable growth plan.
Book a time now.
No pitch-slap promise.
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