I started my journey to market hotels & restaurants back in 2015. Since then I have been fascinated with the concept of increasing revenue for my clients. In the case of a hotel, the #1 priority is to increase hotel direct bookings. With one quick Google search & you can find several articles outlining how to increase direct bookings.

While all of the tactics mentioned hold true there is 1 hack that can increase direct bookings drastically. But before I reveal the hack, let me talk a little about the customer journey.

There are various types of customers who are looking at hotels to make a booking. Some are leisure travelers, some business travelers while others can be classified as bleisure travelers. While each customer segment has its own demands, there’s 1 common thread that binds them all. How much do they need to shell out of their wallet to do a booking?

#1 hack which can help increase hotel direct bookings

Play on Price.

Let me explain in a bit more detail for a better understanding of the concept.

Let’s take an example to understand the concept of “Play on Price”.

Sam is looking to take his wife on a vacation during the holiday season. Both of them have decided on a particular destination. It’s Paris. Sam starts looking at properties on OTA applications, Google Hotel Finder along with searching on Google. He might also ask a few of his friends for recommendations if any of them had previously visited Paris.

He starts shortlisting the properties & shows them to his wife. They go through the photographs of the property. Makes a note of the location & probable proximity to the various attractions. They also start looking at the reviews.

They shortlist 3/5 properties that are in their price bracket.

Here comes the hack to dominate hotel direct bookings. Out of all the places from where Sam can book the property which platform would he choose? The one which is giving the exact same features/amenities yet costs the least. If the hotel can offer Sam the exact same things but at the lowest price, Sam books directly.

Play on Price – Win with Value

Amongst all the platforms where a room can be booked, if the direct price is the lowest, start playing on price. This does not necessarily mean that you have to be the cheapest. When someone books a room, show the value they are getting when they book directly.

It can be through a complimentary breakfast available only by booking directly. It can also be in the form of an upgraded stay if the customer books by fully paying in advance. The way in which the offer to book directly is presented can change depending upon many factors.

1 thing to keep in mind to take advantage of this hack? Make sure to have a great website that provides information about your property in the best possible manner.

Besides acquiring a customer through a direct channel helps decrease customer acquisition costs. OTA platforms would charge 15%-30% commissions for the same customer.

Just keep 1 thing in mind. Play on Price & you would not need to worry about increasing the hotel direct bookings. What happens when 2 exact things/services are available at 2 different price points? There’s a 9 out of 10 chance that the cheaper one gets sold more. It feels more value for money to the purchaser. It makes the customer feel they got a great bargain.

If you liked reading about this hack let me know what you think of it. You may want to check out this article on strategies to increase hotel direct bookings.