According to a conference, HSMAI's Digital Strategy for Travel Marketing & Distribution which took place in Las Vegas, some experts have defined new strategies for hotels to limit the OTA habit:
- Hotels should have an attractive and dynamic website in order to encourage people to a purchase.
- Get affiliate programs: post ads on websites which are linking to the hotel: location, activities...
- Thanks to the affiliate programs, customers are directed to a bookable page of the hotel
- Spend money in the Price Per Click
- Create a sensational video and post it on youtube
I totally agree with these strategies, I think that hotels have the resources to attract customers on its websites without spending a lot money. Managers have to be innovative and take more risks.
It's true that customers may be more enclined to book a hotel if they have heard about it beforehand: the fact to see advertisment for a hotel on several internet supports and the possibility to book through affiliate sites shows that it is pretty dynamic and most of all, it made the effort to reach the customer, instead of letting the customer come to it. It would not be so if it just appeared on OTAs.
RépondreSupprimerGood comments on taking risks..Net efforts are not expensive, just takes time and some courage.
RépondreSupprimerNeed to use text links - not see the http.
Hoteliers can limit the role of the OTAs even if it's true that beeing visible on different website show that you are active.
RépondreSupprimerThe web marketing war has started!
SEO or SEM? I think that hoteliers need to use both. There are so many tools which can bring your traffic without spending a $!