So, you’ve opted in to receive bookings from a number of different online travel websites. This will definitely boost your occupancy, but now you need to make sure your property stands out against the competition. You need to think of your online properties profile on their site as your shop window where you can influence guests to book your accommodation over your competition.
The best way to do this is by understanding what exactly the online travel websites favour when it comes to listing your property on their site. We recently analysed the properties that follow the simple steps below compared to the ones that don’t. We discovered they have 8 times more revenue and 5 times more room nights booked via online travel websites from the online travel websites.
- You need at least 20 high definition photos of your property.
- You should have four photos of each room type including a bathroom.
- Make sure you keep the photos relevant – arty photos add no value to the guests search.
- Show photos of everything including rooms, building, common areas, breakfast room and facilities.
- If you have a sea view, show a photo to capture attention rather than words.
- Remember to have high definition images so they look great on any screen size.
When you are taking your photo’s it is important to consider the following:
- You should take your photos in the day time when there is good natural light.
- It is important that you can’t see any people in the pictures, for example in a mirror’s reflection.
- Ensure that the rooms are clean and tidy; maybe take them just after the cleaner or maid has been?
- Double check that all windows and mirror are cleaned.
- Play with your cameras settings, for example if you’re in a room that has little natural light, you should open the ISO.
- A standard camera can hold hundreds of images so take lots of photos and use your best 20, experiment with different angles and settings.
Not only do you need good images, you also need the right words! But what information is going to get you noticed? You have on average 3.4 seconds to capture a guest’s attention, so how can you showcase your rooms in that time?
- Showcase your higher quality rooms by calling them ‘executive,’ ‘superior’ or ‘luxury.’
- Show the location of your rooms by calling them ‘sea view,’ ‘garden view,’ ‘ground floor’ or ‘balcony.’
- Know what adds value to a room, is it location, positioning, view, size or facilities – this will increase the value of the room.
Show off your unique selling points:
- Meal Options: what breakfast and dinner options do you serve?
- Facilities: do you have a bar, restaurant or parking?
- Things to see: what places are there to visit nearby?
- Things to try: maybe you have local crafts or foods to sample?
- Things to do: are there sports events, shows or gigs in the local area?
- Things to buy: any nearby shopping available?
- Where to go: local restaurants and pubs are a great addition here.
- The story: here is a great chance for the guest to understand you a little better. For example: If your B&B’s building has an interesting history, a unique location or some other interesting snippet!
The important thing to remember is that on an online travel website listing, you only have a short amount of time to impress and influence the guest before they move onto another property listing. By keeping your information sharp, informative and to the point, having great high quality images and listing all your facilities and amenities, your potential guests will have no reason to look elsewhere.
eviivo suite can connect you to over 150 online travel websites with just one click. You can then manage all of your information such as bookings, rate setting, images and descriptions all in one place. To see how eviivo can help your business click here.