![]() ![]() In this way, hotels are incentivizing customers to book direct for the optimal experience. Hotel guests cannot add their loyalty number to a reservation and enjoy the same benefits if they book through an OTA. This tangible benefit allows them to connect with their customers and underscore the value of booking directly for hotels. While those are fairly standard offerings, their app allows customers to check-in and doubles as a digital key, providing weary travelers with a quick and easy way to get into their rooms faster. The Hilton Honors program offers a number of perks, including free Wi-Fi, late check out and points toward free nights. To stand out from the competition, a strong loyalty program should address travelers' needs and create frictionless interactions through the use of smart technology. Traveling is one of life's greatest adventures, but it also comes with late nights, layovers, and sometimes stressful situations. Hotels can also provide differentiated access to pools, free breakfast, and other amenities to guests who book direct. This is particularly true for hotels, as customers cannot access loyalty program rewards or perks through an OTA booking the same way customers with airline bookings can log frequent flyer miles for a flight they booked via an OTA. Well-designed travel loyalty programs with enticing rewards not only encourage customers to book directly, but are beneficial for long-term customer retention. To nurture and grow their share of the market, hotels are capitalizing on their differentiated direct booking offerings by focusing on the things that OTAs aren't able to provide, such as access to on-site amenities and loyalty program perks. This is especially critical for hotels, as hotels pay OTAs higher fees for booking compared to airlines, whereas airlines pay the equivalent of a travel agent fee.Ĭonsidering the extra distribution power and reach, OTAs are oftentimes considered a necessary, although expensive, marketing and distribution platform. With most major OTAs charging high commission fees and the need to maintain competitive prices, hotels are increasingly looking to augment their OTA engagement strategies with programs aimed at driving direct bookings. Those OTA views and commissioned bookings are great for business, maybe even crucial, but they come at a price. Hotels also rely on the extra distribution and marketing power they get from partnering with popular online travel agencies such as Priceline and. They're able to reinforce brand awareness and they still benefit if travelers use OTAs for research before switching over to direct booking sites. When hotels collaborate effectively with OTAs, they reduce their inventories of un-booked rooms and boost revenue, especially during off-peak periods. ![]()
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