For several months we have seen that direct sales have gained strength over intermediation, and this is reflected in the number of reservations in recent weeks, which shows the preference of travelers to book their accommodation directly from the web portal, rather than do it in an OTA or reservation channel. In general, the use of OTAS has been in greater demand in recent times only to obtain information about accommodation, up to 55% of tourists are informed on these pages and end up making the reservation in the direct accommodation portal, as well as has shown a market study carried out by Hotelsdot, after surveying 375 travelers and making a comparison of the results obtained from its Revenue Management System and Revenue Control Data.
One of the characteristics that, according to the company, represent importance for the tourist, is the confidence or security that the establishment can offer regarding a future cancellation, therefore, the design of a cancellation policy within the web portal, It will always be an advantage that will generate greater confidence and tranquility to the guest, in these changing times due to the coronavirus.
Another of the results obtained by the analysis carried out is that the tourist no longer gives so much importance to the cost of accommodation, but to other elements such as: The geographical location of the accommodation up to 33.3%, as well as the fact that the facilities are outdoors by 39.8%.
What tools can I use to generate more direct traffic?
On the other hand, it is very important to note that there have been many tools that have been designed to generate better direct sales in both hotels and vacation homes, starting with those recently granted by Google.com: Hotel Ads, a tool that previously only It was used by the large reservation companies that were bidding in the market, this is no longer the case, Google has now launched the strategy to the market of free reservation links, or “organic” results, which imply that hotels can be there for free, without necessarily having to bid. Although obviously they will have to comply with certain important aspects for this.
Another tool announced by Google has been Property Promotion Ads, this tool allows you to locate your accommodation through an ad group in one of the main Google places.
How to make international tourists interested in my accommodation?
One of the most important challenges for a tourist accommodation is to internationalize it through direct sales, since we know that competing against an OTA is not a fool’s thing, since it is a clear trend that international tourists prefer to make use of them. because it generates more confidence. This confidence is drawn by its powerful brands, as well as the best prices and offers that these usually show on their websites. However, the internationalization of your accommodation is not a challenge that you cannot meet, what you will undoubtedly need for this is to have two important elements: The first is to be technologically prepared and the second to have adaptability to each market and each client.
Here we show you 7 functionalities that you must fulfill in order to increase your international direct traffic.
1.-Adaptability of your web portal in their language: It is imperative that the page automatically detects the client’s language, so you must have a wide list of languages. Ideally, language detection should be automatic and that the guest does not have to select theirs, however, it is also an option that you have a drop-down menu in which the guest can select their language and navigate with confidence in your portal.
2.-Payment in different currencies: It is very important that when representing the payment to the guest, he can be clear about the cost in his currency, making things much easier for the tourist at the time of booking. In general, the currencies that are most reflected are the Euro, Dollar and Caribbean currencies. Also, it is important to describe to the host what the rate of change and its variability would be. This generates a lot of confidence and without a doubt represents a plus for your accommodation.
3.-Prices without taxes: One of the biggest mistakes that hotels and Vacation Rentals make is showing the price with taxes, which makes them look more expensive than an OTA or a metasearch engine. OTAS generally do not project prices with taxes, unless it is enforceable in the destination country, otherwise one of their sales strategies is to always show below the market.
4.-To Accept alternative payment methods: Today there are many existing payment methods, and the alternatives that have been generated to payment in cash, by transfer or in digital currency. Online payments from platforms such as Paypal, Amazon Pay or Sofort have increased, even payment in cryptocurrencies has had a boom lately in some economic sectors of the country, and the tourism sector would not be the exception.
5.Adapt to the local market and its habits: Let us remember that not all markets work the same, each country has its “forms”, they adjust to the customs or rhythm of life that can be had in that locality and this is reflected even in details such as the beginning of the week, which in countries like the United States, Brazil and Japan is not on Monday but on Sunday. This is an important aspect to take into account so as not to generate confusion in the reservation calendars.
6.-Segment rates by market: One reason to differentiate prices by country is to be able to use it as tactics to compete with metasearch engines, in sites where the direct channel is not as strong but OTAS are. Differentiating prices on the web portal, according to the market, helps the hotelier to attract more customers in that locality without penalizing their ADR (average daily rate).
7.-Having contactless technological tools: it is undoubtedly one of the most important characteristics today to choose an accommodation, being able to have an online or automatic Check-in has become essential for any hotel or vacation home, and project This in your web portal generates greater confidence to the international tourist when choosing one accommodation or another. From Chekin we have described some of the advantages of these tools and what they have had and will have for this summer, we will show you here.
It is important that each of the elements that we express in this article be analyzed, and that each tourist accommodation can understand if the current direct channel strategy is correct or if it can improve it for next summer.
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