The Finer Details of Increasing Direct Bookings and Generating More Revenue

Direct bookings are the best way to increase client engagement, fine-tune your targeted marketing and earn bigger profits.

We’ve already covered some of the basics when it comes to attracting more direct bookings in part one of this guide, now let’s discover how to fine-tune this process even more.

Rate Targeting Per Location

Setting your rates according to the origin of the enquiry is a good way to increase direct bookings and increase loyalty. This works well if you know that you get more business from a particular country, or you want to increase your business from a certain area.

In these cases, you can set up a specific geolocation rate for potential guests whose search query originates in the desired location.

A good internet booking engine can tell the location a customer is querying from by reading the IP address of the device they’re using. If they’re searching from a mobile phone, it uses GPS technology to pinpoint their whereabouts.

Technology such as Mediagenius can help you work out what your ROI is per geolocation, making it easier to set up appropriate rates.

Set up Direct Booking Benefits

Take the direct approach when setting up your rates. The best way to reward customers who book directly with you is by offering them an extra benefit.

This could be a free meal, a discounted excursion, or a pay-for-two-get-one-free special. The latter tactic means your guests will stay longer so you can earn more on meals or other paid services during their stay.

Other ideas to benefit your direct bookings customers include offering them free Wi-Fi or parking.

Reward Loyal Customers

Loyalty clubs are one of the most widely-used and successful marketing tactics nowadays. When you get your guests to sign up with your loyalty club, they give you access to their demographic and contact details.

This helps you improve your offering to suit their needs and give them benefits in exchange. You can email your latest specials directly to them or send them reminders when it’s time to book their usual annual holiday.

You can also send them blog posts and informative snippets to keep them titillated by activities in your area and encourage future bookings.

In return, you should give the guest some benefit, such as a free night’s accommodation on their next visit, free Wi-Fi, etc., provided they book directly on your website.

Deploy conversion optimization technology

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) means encouraging users to perform a desired action on a website.

The most important part of CRO is keeping them on your site for as long as possible. Studies show that the longer someone remains on a website, the more likely they are to spend money i.e., convert to paying customers.

Conversion optimization is edging ever closer to the realm of added convenience nowadays.

One way to add value for customers visiting your website is by displaying reviews and prices from multiple platforms on your booking page. This means customers can access the information they’re curious about in one place, without having to leave your site.

Companies like The Hotels Network offer technology that can display this type of information and keep it updated.

This provider also offers unique call outs and pop ups that match your users’ searches. For instance, this tech displays special geolocation rates when it notices visitors from the relevant country.

Harness the Latest Chatbot and Email Technology

Apart from these innovative tools offered by specific providers, you can also harness technology in a few other ways to enhance your clients’ online experiences.

A chatbot is one way to ensure your website visitors get around-the-clock attention when they visit your site. This technology can respond to common queries quickly, helping you keep visitors on your site.

You can also integrate your rate and availability feeds with your client’s email system. That way, they can search and book without leaving their email.

The more convenient you make it for clients to book directly with you, the more likely they are to do so.

Design an App for Your Accommodation Establishment

An app is the next logical progression from your responsive and intuitive website. It also ties in with your loyalty club.

Thanks to tech advances, it’s now cheaper than ever to build an app for your accommodation establishment. Users can download your app to their smartphones, giving them the ability to search and book directly from their phones anywhere, any time.

An app makes excellent sense for establishments that have a large return client base. As with email notifications, you can use your app to send push notifications about special offers directly to your clients’ smartphones.

Use FAQs Wisely

Holidaymakers and corporate travelers always have questions and Google helps them find answers quickly by displaying the most common queries on the front page of the SERPs.

When you set up an FAQ page on your site, or publish blogs centred on these common queries, you make it easy for Google to find answers to searchers queries. In this way, you increase the chances of Google choosing your site as the link for these common enquiries.

Nowadays, chatbot technology also monitors the most commonly asked questions and will automatically push the answers to these questions to Google on your behalf.

The best part about all this is that it works for voice searches as well, so tech savvy users searching via tech like Alexa can find your site easily.

Team Up With Independent Hoteliers

Independent groups of like-minded hoteliers are dedicated to helping you increase your direct bookings and boost your profits.

They do this on platforms like Destination Namibia, which showcases your property, drives traffic to your website, and encourages direct bookings.

Are You Ready to Get Started?

If you’d like more information on how to market your accommodation establishment and increase your direct bookings, browse some more of our blog articles or get in touch.

Robert Nienaber offers personalized service and marketing expertise to help maximize profits for accommodation providers and entrepreneurs across southern Africa.

Click Here To Read Part 1 Of This Article.