Just like you, the past 18 months have been rough on your hotel and lodging partners. We know you’re doing everything you can to support them and build back the industry in your destination. One way you can do that is by using Book › Direct for your website’s lodging listings instead of a third-party online travel agency (OTA).
Powered by Simpleview and integrated into its tech stack, here are five ways that using Book › Direct can be used to support your hotel and lodging partners.
1. Book › Direct costs them nothing because it’s commission and fee-free vs. upwards of 25% through an OTA.
- With Book › Direct, your lodging partners don’t have to pay commissions or fees like they do through OTA bookings. This keeps more money in their pockets to be used for marketing, staffing, and amenities.
- Let’s say there’s a 10-room bed-and-breakfast in your destination, with rooms costing $200 per night. For example, if they were all booked through Expedia, which charges smaller hotels upward of 25% commission, that’s as much as $1,000 per weekend going to Expedia instead of your lodging partner. Why wouldn’t you want to keep that money circulating in the community?
- You’re offering real dollars-and-cents value by giving visitors a way to book directly with hotels in your destination.
2. Book › Direct gives hotel and lodging partners visibility into their target market.
- When you include real-time rates and availability on your website, you’re not only making it easier for travelers to make decisions, you’re also giving your hotel and lodging partners a front-row seat to the travel planning process. If leads leave the DMO website to an OTA, all visibility into visitor behavior is lost.
- A referral report within Book › Direct shows all the referrals each property receives and includes search dates. This makes your destination website an invaluable resource for your stakeholders in addition to potential visitors because it allows them to track visitor sentiment and booking behavior metrics.
3. Book › Direct requires less work.
- Your hotels already have enough on their plates. With Book › Direct, there is no need for extra inventory management like they have to do with an OTA.
- Since Book › Direct connects directly with their reservation engine, they only need to manage inventory in one place. Updates are instant.
4. Book › Direct promotes brand loyalty.
- Many visitors have hotel brands they book with over and over. Giving them the option to book with those brands directly from your website promotes brand loyalty and lets them use member numbers or other loyalty programs.
- Loyalty program campaigns are evolving to current trends in work and travel, and when visitors book through an OTA, they’re unable to participate in their preferred loyalty program.
5. Quality Leads
- Book › Direct produces a more qualified lead for your partners by visitors requesting intended travel dates and filtering results, showing them precisely what they’re looking for.
- Referral tracking is available in CRM Partner Portal Membership Benefit Summary.
Listing lodgings with Book › Direct on your DMO website is a major way you can add value to your lodging partners, both directly financial and through data insights, too. Offering a consolidated way for visitors to book directly with the hotel or lodging of their choosing without leaving the DMO website also gives them a more seamless experience.