How Digital Marketing Campaigns can reduce fees that Hoteliers pay for OTA’s and third parties.
Dear Hotelier: Your Brand Name is at Risk!
Over the last few years, the online travel industry has been blooming and it is expected to grow even faster in the years to come. One out of 3 hotel reservations are completed online and consequently the fair share of direct bookings is ever growing.
Do you prefer sharing your profit?
Independent hotels are highly dependent on OTAs. Research has shown that more than 42% of independent hotel reservations are made online . But what’s actually worth noting is that only 24% of these reservations come directly from the hotel website. The rest 76% percent of the reservations are made through OTAs (STR, HSMAI Foundation).
Although direct bookings are constantly growing, 3rd parties dominate the hotel revenue distribution and steal from your profit by advertising their services along with your brand name.
OTAs appear on the top of the Google search results and above the official hotel websites, when travelers use specific hotel’s brand name keywords. Take for example, a search query in the UK, for a Luxury Hotel in Crete:
On the first paid results you may distinguish OTAs prominence, attracting potential customers to book through them. This may risk brand recognition as well as direct profits for your hotel brand. What is it that your customers actually see when they search for your brand? Use Google Ad preview Tool and check Now!
Undoubtedly, 3rd parties strengthen your hotel’s online visibility and increase your revenue, however when paying a commission that starts from 15% and above for each reservation, instead of paying your own booking engine commission, which is less than 3%, you obviously spend more for less, don’t you think?
Why pay so much on 3rd party fees when you can make a profit on your own?
Hotel’s Goals – Important KPIs
When measuring Hotel’s performance hoteliers mostly use the effective development of Hotel’s RevPar (revenue per available room) which is the most important KPI in the hotel industry. This means to get the most Direct Revenue while minimizing the Expenses.
How can you achieve this? Protect your Brand from your ‘frenemy’ partners – the OTAs and start saving on those commission costs while at the same time managing your guests’ booking experience.
Spend these commissions on something more profitable – Invest on PPC Campaigns!
Benefits of AdWords Campaigns
One of the top sources for driving targeted traffic on your website that results to higher ROI are derived from users that are actively searching on Google. The Pay per Click marketing strategy is a worthy Investment for hoteliers as it allows first page exposure on Google or other search engine results like Bing Ads and Yandex Advertising that consequently lead to the increase of direct sales.
When potential customers search your hotel with your brand name you will be able to compete with the OTAs and appear on the first results. Moreover, you will have the chance to stand out and advertise your hotel when customers search hotels at your location in general, having also full control of your budget as you will pay only on each click.
If you are wondering which is the most appropriate time to begin your PPC campaigns the answer is one: Right now! And when to Stop: Never! Travel Searches are an on-going process absorbing an all year-round demand.
When searching for Greece as a destination on Google, you will discover extremely high activity during off season periods such as that between the months of October and February.
UK, German and French Travelers mostly, dream of their vacation just after they have returned to their home countries (October) and start planning next year’s journey, from November to February.
Are you going to be missing from their searches? No, not again. Make sure to capture users demand at once!
It’s a Holistic Approach – Not a War
After experiencing the benefits of PPC Campaigns that lead to increased direct bookings, you don’t necessarily need to break the agreements with OTAs but review the distribution of your revenue and sustain a competitive edge. By having your property listed on 3rd parties’ extranets, you make it possible to drive more direct bookings on your hotels website (which is known as “The billboard effect”). More than 15% of your direct bookings come from people who have already visited some OTAs.
With Profit-Driven PPC marketing, Hotels can raise revenue from all extranets as there are still many travelers who book through certain OTAs.
Never forget the importance of your own website, improve its usability and make it easy to access while offering visitors an unforgettable Booking Journey Experience! By increasing the satisfaction of your guests, you become the winner in the long run. So, there is only one thing left to do.
Give Travelers a Reason to Book Direct!
Take action
At Mozaik Hospitality we already running successful performance campaigns for our clients with cost of sale less than 15%.
We can guarantee a certain Return on Investment for your Hotel. Interested?
Contact us at onlinemarketing@mozaik.com
*OTAs: Online Travel Agencies **IDSs: Internet Distribution Systems.