11 Ways to Optimize Your Hotel Booking Engine for Maximum Direct Bookings
20% of $500 is $100. With typical OTA commission rates hovering around 20%, that reduces the value of a $500 reservation to a $400 one. So, what’s the solution?
Direct bookings to the rescue. A high-performing booking engine is an essential component of driving more affordable, direct reservations. But what does a top-tier booking engine look like?
In episode six of Matt Talks, Mews CEO, Matt Welle, explores the ins and outs of booking engines. You can watch the episode in full, including a great segment exploring some of the best booking engines out there today:
But while you’re here, let's explore the best practices for a streamlined, user-friendly booking engine that increases revenue, improves guest experiences, and helps your hotel stand out.
Key Features of an Effective Booking Engine
1. Visible, Eye-Catching ‘Book Now’ Button
Your booking button should be clear, visible across all pages, and visually distinct from the rest of your website. Use contrasting colors to make this call-to-action unmistakable. This ensures guests can always find the most crucial element on your site: the Book Now button.
2. Embedded Booking Flow
When users click ‘Book Now’, they should remain on your website, with the booking engine embedded in the site’s structure. This approach keeps your site’s URL consistent, signaling to search engines that users find your site valuable (instead of bouncing to an external link). This can positively impact SEO rankings, ultimately bringing more organic traffic.
3. Localized Language and Currency Options
Adapt to guests' language preferences based on IP tracking, translating both language and date formats to avoid confusion. In tourist-heavy locations, consider adding multiple languages to cater to diverse audiences. Check your guest nationality data to prioritize your translations; if you have loads of German guests, start with German. With modern AI tools, translations are easier than ever to implement, providing a seamless experience for international guests.
4. Concise, Informative Room Descriptions
Guests expect clear, concise information. Aim to balance detail with brevity – room descriptions should answer questions and build interest without overwhelming. AI tools can assist in crafting concise descriptions, which can also be easily translated to serve multiple audiences.
5. Streamlined Booking Process
The booking flow should be quick, efficient and able to handle various scenarios, such as booking multiple rooms with different occupancy requirements. Minimize required information on the final booking page to only the essentials (name, email, and payment details) to reduce friction and avoid lost conversions. You can capture further details at online check-in or onsite check-in.
Enhance Your Booking Engine for More Revenue Opportunities
6. Drive Traffic to Your Booking Engine
Tools like Triptease or HotelChamp can attract visitors to the booking engine by offering exclusive perks or discount codes for booking directly on your site. A simple pop-up with a ‘members-only’ discount offer can engage users and encourage conversions.
7. Simplify Rate Options
Avoid confusing guests with numerous rate choices. Airlines have popularized the idea of offering just one or two simple options, such as a nonrefundable and a flexible rate. Consider a similar approach, allowing guests a clear choice without overwhelming them. Simplified rates also boost clarity, which leads to higher conversions. Here’s why it’s time to rethink refundable hotel rates.
8. Compete with OTAs on Price
Compete with OTAs by offering exclusive discounts when guests sign up or log in on your site, creating a similar experience to the ‘members-only’ rates on OTA sites. Capture guests’ email addresses to send discount codes or offer a lower rate directly in the booking engine, driving direct bookings without breaching rate parity agreements.
Upsell Products and Services
9. Offer Add-Ons During Booking
Upselling products at the booking stage enhances the guest experience while increasing revenue per booking. From early check-in and late check-out options to local treats or activity packages, thoughtfully chosen add-ons provide value and convenience. A curated selection (four to five options) strikes the right balance – enough to appeal without cluttering the booking page.
10. Use AI for Inspiration
If inspiration for add-ons is limited, AI can help generate ideas based on your hotel’s profile and guest demographics. For instance, a hotel in Amsterdam might offer locally themed items like a branded tote bag with Dutch treats, or pre-booked experiences like a canal cruise. This customization not only personalizes the guest experience but also drives additional revenue.
Simplify Group Bookings
11. Automate Group Reservations
Managing group bookings (like weddings or conferences) can be cumbersome, often requiring manual work by reservation agents. A robust booking engine like Mews allows for customized booking portals that cater specifically to group bookings, where guests can book directly from a personalized link. This automation simplifies the process for both guests and your staff, enhancing efficiency and improving the guest experience.
Final Thoughts: Investing in the Right Booking Engine
Your hotel’s website is a powerful channel to capture direct bookings efficiently and cost-effectively. To maximize its potential, invest in a booking engine that’s easy to navigate, adaptable to various guest scenarios, and fully integrated with your website.
Mews Booking Engine provides solutions that support all these features, streamlining the booking experience from individual to group reservations. By enhancing every stage of the booking journey, a modern booking engine helps you increase conversions, elevate guest satisfaction, and improve your bottom line.
Take a tour of Mews Booking Engine
About Mews
Mews is the leading platform for the new era of hospitality. Powering over 5,500 customers across more than 85 countries, Mews Hospitality Cloud is designed to streamline operations for modern hoteliers, transform the guest experience and create more profitable businesses. Customers include BWH Hotels, Strawberry, The Social Hub and Airelles Collection. Mews was named Best PMS (2024) and listed among the Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech (2021, 2022, 2024) by Hotel Tech Report, as well as World's Best Hotel PMS Provider (2023) and World's Best Independent Hotel PMS Provider (2022, 2023, 2024) by World Travel Tech Awards. Mews won the Top 250 Golden Scaler Award in 2024, given to the fastest growing company in the Netherlands, and most recently, was awarded the Tech Hero 2024 Award at CIODAY. Mews has raised $335 million from investors including Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Kinnevik and Revaia to transform hospitality.
