What are hotel direct bookings?
Direct bookings happen when a guest reserves a room directly with your hotel - whether that's through your website, by phone, email or as a walk-in. Online direct bookings are typically powered by a hotel booking engine that is integrated into your website, giving guests a smooth, secure and user-friendly booking experience.
The real challenge lies in convincing guests to book through your hotel website rather than an OTA. Below, we'll explore effective strategies that make a meaningful impact.
Differences between OTAs and direct bookings
Both Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) and direct bookings have their pros and cons. Successful hotels often combine both channels to boost occupancy and revenue, with a focus on increasing direct bookings to positively impact their bottom line.
The two models differ significantly. OTAs charge commission fees, while direct bookings allow hotels to keep the full revenue. With direct bookings, hotels can manage guest relationships directly, tailoring marketing efforts to specific guest segments.
OTAs offer guests the convenience of comparing options, but direct bookings, once a guest is interested, often provide better rates and a more personalized experience throughout the booking journey.
Benefits of direct bookings for hotels
Direct bookings offer numerous advantages for hotels, from increasing revenue to fostering stronger relationships with guests.
Higher profit margins
All hoteliers know that profit margins are often sacrificed to hefty commission fees from metasearch sites and OTAs. By taking away the middleman, you can keep profit margins high - and instead of giving away your revenue to third parties - offer better prices to your guests.
Complete control over the guest experience
When guests book through third parties, you have no control over the communication they receive, and you can't control the guest relationship in any way. Direct bookings allow you to take charge, ensuring consistent, personalized messaging across all stages - from booking confirmation and pre-arrival communication to in-stay updates and post-stay follow-ups. This end-to-end connection helps create a memorable and seamless guest experience.
Enhanced upselling opportunities
With direct bookings, communication isn't just clearer - it also opens up opportunities for upselling. By integrating upsells into the booking process, you can smoothly encourage guests to add services like room upgrades, parking or special packages. When upselling is seamlessly woven into the booking journey, it feels natural for guests, making it easier to drive additional revenue and enhance their overall experience.
Stronger guest loyalty and more repeat bookings
When guests book directly, fostering loyalty becomes easier. You can encourage them to join your loyalty program and capture all the necessary details to personalize future communications, increasing the chances of repeat bookings and building a lasting connection with your brand.
Better data and personalization
Direct bookings provide valuable first-party data for market segmentation, personalized marketing and tailored upsells. This way you can identify patterns in different segments and send tailored offers based on past stays or interests. The more information you have about the guests, the more targeted upsells, special offers and add-ons you can suggest.
Stronger brand control and reputation management
Owning your booking channel means owning your story without character limits or OTA interference. This means you can nurture a direct relationship with guests right from the first click to post-stay communication - the whole email marketing journey and marketing campaigns are in your hands.
You can build trust and proactively manage your online presence, leading to high-quality reviews, which ultimately drive more bookings based on guest satisfaction. Hotel reputation management is essential when it comes to direct bookings.
Benefits of direct bookings for hotel guests
We've covered the advantages for hotels, but now it's time to look at what guests get out of it:
- Best available rate: Guests don't have to pay hidden fees to OTAs and are instead getting the lowest price available
- More flexible cancellation policies: Hotels can often offer better terms than OTAs
- Ability to choose exact room type: Guests can select their preferred views, room layouts or amenities, and once on-site the property can cater to the requests more easily
- Direct communication: By booking directly, guests have more personalized assistance from the hotel team, and they can get quicker responses
- Loyalty perks: Guests can get more exclusive discounts, points or complimentary upgrades
Common direct booking challenges and how to overcome them
There are many challenges when it comes to driving direct bookings, but there are also some key solutions to overcome them. Let's take a look.
OTA market dominance and visibility
With OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia, which have huge marketing budgets, it's hard to compete for visibility in search engines. These OTAs also offer a great user experience, are trustworthy brands and have loyalty programs that allow users to earn points when booking on their sites. This can make it challenging for hotels to attract direct bookings.
Solution:
Investing in SEO to help your brand rank higher organically is a strong start, but also consider SEM (search engine marketing) to boost your brand's visibility. While competing directly with OTAs and metasearch giants may be tough, the higher you position in search results, the better. Focus on improving your local search results through your Google Business Profile, and don't overlook social media - it can be a powerful tool to enhance your brand's presence and visibility.
Limited marketing budgets
Visibility is closely tied to budget. OTAs and metasearch giants have substantial marketing funds, making it difficult for hotels to compete for visibility and reach.
Solution:
Optimize your SEO strategy by focusing on long-tail keywords. By creating content around specific, less competitive keywords, you can attract organic traffic without competing directly with OTAs. Targeting niche audiences also lets you concentrate your budget on reaching a smaller, more defined group likely to book directly.
Consider implementing a referral program that rewards loyalty members for each new guest they refer who books directly. You can also partner with influencers, bloggers and local guides to promote your hotel to their audiences, creating a compound effect that helps drive visibility and bookings.
Trust and brand recognition gap
OTAs and metasearch engines have invested heavily in branding, making it challenging for individual hotels to be perceived as equally trustworthy. They also offer the convenience of comparing prices and hotels in one place, which can attract guests.
Solution:
Build trust on your website by showcasing certifications, partnerships, awards and customer reviews prominently. Ensure that your booking experience is mobile-friendly and easy to use to reduce the likelihood of website abandonment. The smoother the booking process, the more likely guests are to complete their reservation and consider booking directly in the future.
Rate parity constraints
Pricing is a complex but critical decision for hotels. While rate parity maintains consistency across channels, it can reduce the incentive for guests to book directly.
Solution:
Encourage direct bookings by offering perks such as free upgrades, exclusive discounts, special amenities or early check-in for guests who book on your site. A best price guarantee can also be effective, though additional perks can further differentiate your site and make booking directly more attractive, especially if you're already maintaining rate parity.
12 strategies to increase hotel direct bookings
Now, the million-dollar question, how can your hotel increase direct bookings?
1. Optimize your website for conversions
A seamless website experience is essential for converting visitors into bookings. Ensure your site loads quickly and is optimized for both mobile and desktop, making it easy for guests to book at any time. A smooth, intuitive booking process with an integrated booking engine can make booking a room hassle-free and encourage direct reservations.
2. Use chatbots for instant support
Chatbots reduce abandonment by answering questions 24/7. If you detect a potential guest is about to abandon your website, a pop-up can be a good way to retarget them, telling them help is on the way. This is a great system to implement on your direct channel because when guests get the answers they're looking for, they're more likely to complete their booking as more and more people become less inclined to actually pick up a phone.
3. Leverage content marketing and SEO
Content marketing and SEO, when done right, is one of the most effective ways to drive direct bookings. By creating engaging blog posts based on keywords your audience is searching for, you increase your visibility and draw in organic traffic. With content tailored to relevant keywords, your blog or website becomes a consistent resource, boosting the chances of turning visits into bookings over time. It's a long-term strategy that pays off by building trust and keeping your property top of mind.
4. Create a strong social media presence
Social media, whether through paid ads or organic posts, offers a powerful channel to promote direct bookings. Through engaging posts, exclusive offers and targeted campaigns, you can inspire direct bookings while showcasing your brand's unique appeal. Social media keeps your property visible, connecting with past, present and future guests to stay front-of-mind and build a loyal following.
5. Offer exclusive perks
Creating exclusive offers for guests who book directly can be a great incentive. Special packages, discounts or unique perks like free breakfast, early check-in or room upgrades encourage guests to choose direct booking. You can also leverage seasonal offers around local events, holidays or low seasons to boost direct bookings and stand out from competitors.
6. Practice reputation management
Managing your online reputation is key for attracting direct bookings, as positive reviews build trust and credibility. By showcasing strong reviews, you boost confidence among potential guests who may be new to your brand. It's also crucial to respond to all reviews - positive and negative - showing guests that you care about their experience. The more you demonstrate commitment to excellence, the more likely guests are to book directly.
7. Launch a loyalty program
Loyalty programs can inspire repeat direct bookings by rewarding guests for their loyalty. Consider offering points, special discounts or even free nights for every night they book directly. Building a lasting relationship with guests increases the likelihood of them returning and choosing to book directly in the future.
8. Use best price guarantees strategically
Offering a best price guarantee is a strong way to encourage direct bookings. By promising to match any lower price guests find elsewhere, you instill confidence that they're getting the best deal by booking with you. This assurance shows guests that you value their business and want to provide the most value.
9. Master pre-arrival and post-stay communication
Capture OTA guest emails during their stay and send follow-ups using effective calls-to-action to encourage future direct bookings. Use the full communication journey - pre-stay, in-stay and post-stay - to strengthen your relationship and gather guest reviews.
You can then use these testimonials and social proof to encourage other potential guests to book directly with you.
10. Leverage dynamic upselling to boost revenue
Offer tailored upgrades and add-ons based on guest preferences - like room upgrades, late checkout and package deals - to increase revenue per booking and elevate the guest experience.
11. Build local partnerships for unique packages
Partner with restaurants, attractions and tour operators to create unique packages - like tasting menus, tours, adventure experiences and more - available only through direct booking.
12. Use retargeting to convert abandoned bookings
Retarget website visitors who didn't complete their reservation through ads on social media and search platforms. Limited-time perks like discounts or upgrades can encourage them to finalize their booking.
How to balance OTAs and direct bookings effectively
- Use OTAs for broad visibility
- Retarget OTA guests to book direct next time
- Track channel profitability
- Use OTAs strategically during low-demand seasons
- Highlight exclusive perks for direct bookings
- Invest in marketing for direct channels
- Utilize local SEO for hotels
Key technologies to support your direct booking strategy
With so many technologies available, it can be challenging to identify which tools are essential for your direct booking strategy. Below are some key tools to consider.
Property management system and booking engine
The integration between your hotel PMS and hotel booking engine is essential for seamless direct bookings and real-time availability.
A PMS like Mews automates confirmations, hotel payment processing and room assignments, reducing admin and improving the guest journey from start to finish. It also offers:
Seamless direct bookings
With an integrated ecosystem, room inventory and rates remain aligned, ensuring a frictionless direct booking process.
Guest data collection
Capture data from your website and direct channels so that you can personalize marketing, loyalty programs and tailor upsells. The more data you have, the more you can leverage it to turn opportunities into direct sales.
Operational efficiency through automation
Automation reduces manual workloads and the risk of human error. This frees your team to focus on high-value tasks - like service, upselling and creating memorable moments - which directly support repeat direct bookings.
Simplified upselling
With Mews, you can offer add-ons like breakfast, parking or late check-out during the booking experience, allowing you to capture revenue that often gets lost when a guest books via an OTA.
Channel manager
A channel manager is essential for promoting direct bookings and synchronizing availability and rates to avoid overbookings. This tool helps you manage bookings across multiple channels and increase exposure while maintaining consistency.
Chatbots
Chatbots provide instant responses to potential guests, helping to reduce website abandonment by keeping visitors engaged. Set your chatbot to send automated messages if the chat goes idle or if the guest navigates away, ensuring they receive prompt attention throughout the booking process.
Analytics tools
A direct booking strategy is incomplete without analytics tools to monitor guest behavior on your website. By analyzing user interactions, you can identify areas to improve and optimize conversion rates.
Secure payment processing
A secure, integrated payment gateway is essential for handling online payments smoothly. This allows guests to pay at the time of booking, reducing friction and ensuring a safe, trustworthy transaction, which is a crucial part of the direct booking experience.
Key metrics for hotel direct booking performance
- Direct booking ratio: Direct bookings / total bookings × 100. This will measure the percentage of direct bookings versus OTAs or other third-party bookings.
- Website conversion rate: Bookings / website visitors × 100. This helps tell you the efficacy of your website.
- Cost per acquisition (CPA): Total marketing spend / number of direct bookings. This enables you to evaluate the efficiency of marketing campaigns.
- Guest lifetime value (LTV): Average spend per stay × average number of stays per guest. This metric will help you understand the long-term revenue value of a guest who booked directly.
- Revenue per available guest (RevPAG): Total revenue from guest / number of guests. This helps track revenue per guest and includes upsells and ancillary services.
- Repeat stay rate: Returning guests / total guests × 100. This measures how effective your retention strategies are for direct bookers.
Conclusion
This guide has explored the many ways hotels can increasing direct bookings, from overcoming common challenges to leveraging technology and refining your marketing approach. By maintaining a balanced channel mix and prioritizing direct bookings, your hotel can boost profits, strengthen loyalty and deliver a more consistent, personalized guest experience.
While competing with OTAs and metasearch platforms can be challenging, a holistic strategy - from competitive pricing and SEO to trust-building and communication - will help you build stronger guest relationships, improve loyalty and increase long-term profitability.
Download our guide How to Diversify Hotel Revenue
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