Webinar Recap: Using your hotel website to tap into guest emotions

Getting the most out of your website is not just about the design. If you truly want to showcase your property as the place to stay you must provide a personalized experience that engages guests and gets them excited about booking direct!

Take a quick glance at the key highlights and watch the webinar recording below to learn more.

Key Highlights

As hotel operators, it is your job to ensure that you and your staff are prepared to handle each of these emotions at any time.

• Happiness – Were guest expectations met?
• Sadness – What turns a guest off?
• Anger – Why guest leave your website.
• Fear – Why guests do not book.

​Personalization – 86% of consumers say personalization played a role in their purchase decisions.

• When and where should you use personalization?
  • During phone calls and in-person
  • Anytime someone visit your website
  • In booking abandonment campaigns
  • When targeting terms for SEO
  • Managing a guest's reservations
• What data should you use for personalization?
  • Location
  • Technology (mobile vs. desktop)
  • Traffic source
  • Time on site
  • Specific page visited
• What tools should I consider for personalization?
  • Booking abandonment campaigns
  • Dynamic content
  • Popups and overlays
  • Landing pages
  • Website chats

Engagement Tools – Over 70% of your visitors leave your website never to return.

• Popups
  • Use popups to capture them before they go. Popup best practices include (1) create a clear call to action, (2) offer an irresistible incentive, (3) have a plan for subscribers, (4) use different type of popups, and (5) add them to your booking engine.
• Booking Engine Abandonment Campaigns.
  • Hotel websites have a huge abandonment rate of 84.63%. Use abandonment technology to send targeted emails to visitors who started but did not complete their reservation.
• Live Chat
  • 41% of customers expect live chat on your website.
  • 79% of customers prefer live chats because they offer instant responses.
• Contactless Check-ins
  • Since 2020 around 70% of hotels already are or are planning to adopt contactless technology for check-in, food ordering, concierge services and more.
• A/B Testing

Social Media Tricks – 2 hours 24 minutes is the average time a person spends on social media a day.

• 3.96 billion people currently use social media worldwide.
• Average person in the US has 7.3 social media accounts in 2020.
• Use social media quizzes to gauge what your audience is thinking.
• Use retargeting campaigns to capture guest that leave your website.
• Use social media chatbots to promote social engagement.
• Respond to all comments good, bad, or indifferent.
• Start a Facebook group to create a community connection.
• Share relevant content 80% educational 20% promotional.

Interactive Maps – SightMap, by Engrain can increase website user engagement up to 60%.

• Streamline bookings with SightMap, the industry's leading interactive property map that can be added to any website. Perfect for viewing guest rooms, property amenities, meeting/event spaces, 3D tours, and videos. Showcase all your property's digital content in the context of the property itself. SightMap promotes website engagement, enhances the guest's understanding of the property, and allows for wayfinding once on the property. SightMap is optimized for mobile and desktop search and can be georeferenced to allow for seamless wayfinding via a familiar blue dot. 

Conclusion

Direct bookings are 12.5% more profitable than those generated by OTA channels. And a study by Google found that 52% of travelers will visit a hotel's brand website after seeing it on an OTA. Therefore, you MUST ensure that your website taps into the emotions of guests so you can secure their reservations.

If you need help finding and/or converting your website visitors into direct bookers, contact us today for a demo of the rezStream Suite!