Most hoteliers wouldn’t dream of welcoming their guests with an unpainted or out-of-date hotel façade or a shabby reception area, but many hotel websites haven’t had a refresh for years, leaving potential guests with the wrong impression even before they step foot inside the establishment.
Guests choose where they are going to stay long before they send that first enquiry. For most people research starts online and increasingly on mobile. In 2016 it’s imperative to have an up to date, well-designed and mobile-optimised website that showcases your hotel’s unique selling points.
So how can you keep your hotel’s online presence fresh and welcome your guests before they arrive with a beautiful website? Adi Zellner head of WixHotels, the world’s largest web building platform for independent hotel owners explains how to ensure that your hotel is up to scratch online and on mobile.
1. Put yourself in their shoes
Start by stepping out of the four walls and imagine you are a customer looking at your hotel for the very first time. It’s important to consider your website as your customer does. Putting yourself in your potential guests’ shoes will help to clarify what’s important and what’s not. Does your website give you all the information they need? As a guest why would you want to stay there? Understanding what your customer wants and quickly and clearly communicating how you meet these requirements is an absolute must for an engaging website.
2. Set the mood
Remember that your website sets the scene for your guests. To be effective, your homepage should immediately give a sense of what to expect during a stay at your property. Minimal and contemporary, classical or chic, country-styled or homely, the use of colours, images and video will set the mood. The great news is that new technology makes it easy to incorporate countless design tools simply by dragging and dropping so you don’t need to be a design expert, or a coder to create sweeping scenes of your gardens or deluxe galleries stocked with stunning images of your rooms. Using the latest tools, you can really help to make guests feel like their trip has already begun.
3. Tell your story
People buy from people, not companies. If you’re a small hotel owner you have a great advantage over the big hotel chains. You! Why not add a personal touch to your website? Harness the opportunity to build a personal relationship with your guests. Tell the story of how you fell in love with your hotel or share what you love most about your job. These can be the things that set your hotel apart from competitors. Remind guests that in booking an independent property, they’re also contributing to the livelihoods of some very real (and likeable!) people.
4. Be a local tour guide
Booking a hotel is just part of the holiday experience. Whilst rooms, facilities and the in-hotel experience are all important, guests will also want to know what they can do when you’re not looking after them. By showing what’s going on in your area, you are not only attracting them to your region but demonstrating your knowledge and connections to help them make the most of their stay. Include a dedicated page recommending local businesses and helpful information about the region, and ask local business to link to and recommend you. This is great for helping your website appear higher on search engines too.
5. Make it easy to book
It may sound obvious but so often great hotels can lose business because their website makes it too difficult to book. Once a potential guest is impressed, don’t lose them at the last hurdle by hiding the booking function. Every page is an opportunity to present a simple button or availability search. Make booking easy by keeping it on your site rather than directing traffic to an alternative booking engine, and use the latest booking apps available as they will be faster and more intuitive. Finally, remember to keep booking simple. Always keep your potential guests less than three clicks away from booking wherever they are on the site. Fewer clicks and an intuitive user experience will mean a higher conversion rate and a more successful hotel business.
Adi Zellner is head of WixHotels, the world’s largest web building platform for independent hotels. Using simple drag and drop tools, WixHotels has beautiful designs for every type of property. The platform also offers a commission free complete online booking engine and reservation management system that synchs across all channels.
Hotel Business has an ABC certified circulation of 7,756 (audit period 1st July 2014 – 30th June 2015)