Ms. Nagy

Social Media & PR

OTA Marketing Tips & Tricks: Five tips to make your online marketing more effective

By Jennifer Nagy, President, jlnpr

From banking, to shopping, to booking travel, today’s consumers are becoming more and more comfortable with using the internet in every aspect of day-to-day life. By the end of 2012, travelers will book one-third of the world’s travel sales online, according to a new report from PhoCusWright, so if your property isn’t effectively reaching consumers where they are researching and purchasing travel – online – then you are missing out on valuable bookings and leaving money on the table.

In case you’re not convinced, let’s take a look at some stats:

• By 2013, the number of travelers directly researching and booking part of their trip online will have grown by a relatively modest 16%, according to Forrester Research.
• According to iPerceptions' Hospitality Industry Report Q2 2009, only 60% of would-be bookers actually completed a reservation during the course of their visits to hospitality websites. Forty percent of would-be online hotel bookers click away without completing a transaction.

Pretty convincing, right? Good.

A very important but often ignored fact is that effective OTA listings are more than just a way to secure online bookings; hotels should be recognizing the marketing potential of OTA listings as a way to increase the visibility of your property with potential guests. In most cases, your property’s OTA listing offers the first impression to your guests so it is important that it accurately portrays your property and entices guests to book.

Create an emotional connection with potential guests

Today, while price is a very important factor in encouraging consumers to book, it is equally important to create an emotional reaction to your property in potential guests. So what do I mean by “create an emotional connection with potential guests?”

When consumers are searching for a hotel for their upcoming trip – no matter whether it is a business or leisure trip – they often book with the property that makes them feel that staying here will enhance their overall travel experience. Using the info and visuals included in your OTA listing, evoke emotions in potential customers by making them feel like they have to stay at your property: “I really want to experience this, I really want to visit that place.”

One of the most effective ways to create the emotional connection with potential guests is to use beautiful images, highlighting all of the amazing views, amenities and experiences that your property has to offer. This is an easy way to ensure that travelers can visualize themselves enjoying their vacation at your property.

Content

Of course, an OTA listing will not be effective if the content doesn’t properly communicate what your property is offering to potential guests. Are you offering a vacation package or just the room night? Is parking or breakfast included as part of the daily room rate or will that be an additional cost? Are there any other fees added on top of the daily rate, and if so, when will they be applied? What amenities will the guest be able to enjoy while staying at your property?

In general, your OTA listing should include the following information:

• List of all things included in the room – i.e. TV, VCR or DVD player, A/C, coffee maker, safe, etc.
• List of on-site amenities (that are included for free) – i.e. parking, breakfast, pool, gym, etc.
• List of on-site amenities (that are available for purchase) – i.e. spa packages, room service and other on-site meal facilities, etc.
• A list of additional fees that will be charged on top of the room rate – i.e. resort fees, gratuities, etc. - and when they will be applied
• Your hotel’s cancellation policy
• A list of loyalty programs accepted or discounts available (i.e. AAA, senior’s discount, etc.)
• If possible, include a few customer reviews or a link to reviews of your property
• Your direct contact info, including your social media sites, in case potential customers have additional questions
• Complete address and a map of your location
• If possible, include a list of the distances from your property to the most popular tourist sites in your destination

After putting together a comprehensive listing, double and triple-check that it is grammatically correct and that there are no spelling mistakes. Even a small typo can turn some travelers off of booking your property so make sure that you’re not giving them any reason to continue their search.

Images

Since most guests who book online don’t physically see the property beforehand, your images will most often be the basis upon which they make their decision. As I mentioned previously, the images in your OTA listings are one of the best ways for a hotel to create an emotional connection with potential guests. To ensure that you are giving your customers a complete mental picture of your property, you should include clear photos of the following:

• Rooms – include at least one shot of the main living area and one of the bathroom
• Amenities – include at least one shot of each amenity available on your property, including pool, gym, spa, restaurants, shops, business center, etc.
• At least one shot of the lobby
• An exterior shot of the hotel

The quality of the photos is a very important consideration as well. Even if you can’t afford to have professional photographs taken, ensure that your images are focused, bright and properly illustrate your amenities. Small, grainy photos will not portray a professional image to potential guests so make sure that your photos are at least 150 dpi to ensure that the image quality is sufficient for most online sites. It is also quick and inexpensive to find beautiful, professional pictures of your destination through stock websites like www.istockphoto.com or www.gettyimages.com so use all of the tools available to you to draw customers in and create that emotional connection that will sell your property.

Finally, when it comes to photos, more is definitely more, so if you have them, include multiple shots of the best parts of your property to emphasize these elements to travelers.

Videos

Videos offer hotels the ability to take the emotional connection created by photos one step further. They are a fantastic way to give a potential customer a tour of your property’s amenities and can easily depict the experience that potential guests will have if they choose to book their stay with you.

An added bonus - because consumers often perceive it to be more difficult to edit or change a video than an image, travelers are often more likely to believe the truthfulness of your listing when you include a video tour of your property.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth

Today’s online shoppers place a great deal of importance in a property’s reviews from previous guests. Because online reviews are so easily accessible online, it is very important that your OTA listing gives an accurate portrayal of your property. Never include images or info that will mislead consumers; that is the quickest way to disappoint your guests and generate negative online reviews.

Beyond just telling the truth, it is important to maintain the accuracy of your listing on an ongoing basis. If you are making repairs on your gym, you should mention that in your listing, or at the very least, remove it from your list of amenities and property images. If a consumer books a stay at your property because of your on-site gym and finds that it isn’t in working order, you will have lost any chance of securing the customer as a repeat customer – and will probably get a negative review as well.

In short, the OTA listing is as much a marketing tool as it is a sales tool and hoteliers need to place a greater emphasis on ensuring that their listing is delivering the right message to potential guests. By following these tips, travelers will have a better first impression of your property and will be more likely to book with you instead of the competition.

Jennifer Nagy, President at jlnpr, is a public relations pro with a passion for the hospitality industry. Jennifer’s work with high-profile national and international clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors has focused on crafting coherent messaging and creating wide-scale media exposure with the end result of creating new business opportunities and increasing revenues. Ms. Nagy is widely recognized as an expert in hotel and hospitality marketing by her ongoing columns in leading industry publications Ms. Nagy can be contacted at jenn@jlnpr.com Extended Bio...

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