By: Robyn Adamson, Hotel Distribution Strategy Expert
The internet is a part of everyday life and now internet savvy bookers are everywhere! Now, more than ever are hotel websites important! They are an extension of the hotel experience and often the first point of contact a guest has with the hotel.
Hotel websites are used to obtain detailed information on services and experiences available during a stay. They are also the first source a booker seeks when searching for that elusive deal!
So what does your hotel website say about you? – I recently experienced an example of this first hand:
While looking for accommodation for a weekend away I went to a hotel website that was recommended to me. The price was right; hotel looked great and ticked all the boxes. However when I went to book my stay through the hotel website, one of my dates was marked with a ‘contact hotel for availability’. I duly took note and rang the hotel reservations team, I was advised that my dates were indeed available and that inventory was currently being updated for the website and to check back in an hour. I did check back in an hour, then two hours, 6 hours and so on, yet still no change. I lost faith in the hotel and booked elsewhere. This made me think, how often is this happening to other hotels? What could have been done to save this booking?
Whilst we are all aware of the pitfalls of technology, we need to be proactive in our approach; we cannot sit idly by and expect technology to be the answer to all our problems. Had the reservations consultant taken my details and followed up with me, she would have realized that perhaps their website was not working correctly.
We need to ensure that we are monitoring and managing our websites. That the experience is up to the expectation of the guest. After all, as a booker we are not invested in a website; it is easy to type a new search in Google and find another website that offers us the experience we believe we deserve.
Look at your hotel website through the eyes of a booker, try and make a reservation. Go through the steps and ask yourself, would I spend my hard earned dollars at my hotel based on the website service experience? A good booking engine will have web analytic tools – use them, look at what stage in the booking process you are losing bookers, it may be that a simple configuration change can fix this problem. In the wonderful world of web you are just one click away from being forgotten. Make an impact; provide the best Customer Service from the very first stage of the booking process!
Find out more about what MICROS can do for you! For more information contact us at info@micros.com Phone: 866.287.4736 (US and Canada)
