What should a good booking engine meet? You will receive more direct online hotel bookings with a well-thought-out booking engine. Responsive, fast and powerful. Read the tips!
Gepubliceerd op 02-06-2020
A good booking engine helps you gain more direct bookings through your own website. You do not pay commission, and above all, you have more control. Where external booking platforms offer narrow options, your website provides ample persuasion. An enjoyable booking process is thus essential to enable your guests to reserve easily and swiftly through your website. We provide tips for an optimal booking engine with results!
Personally, I advocate for the so-called 'one-page checkout.' So a single page where fields must be entered and the booking can be completed from the same page.
If you do have multiple steps, clearly show these steps and where the guest is. Preferably restrict the number of steps and possibly indicate a time estimate.
A progress bar for your booking engine gives your guest insight into the booking process on your website.
In our own booking engine and increasingly in other systems, we first ask for the email address on the booking page. If a booking isn’t completed, we can contact this person via email (automatically or not). Without the booking being finalized with the definitive button, the entered details are automatically saved in the database.
Make sure to manage this method of storage well in your privacy conditions.
Hotels often use remarketing to try to lure unfinished bookings through external sites to be completed. The costs of remarketing are often limited while potentially convincing your visitor to revisit your website. Typically, only about 2% will book directly. Remarketing can be very effective.
Show clearly how guests can pay. Direct online payment for a booking or perhaps payment afterwards? It can be demonstrated with logos of well-known online payment brands. Also, a time estimate for the booking process can assist in speeding guests into the process. Once people feel that booking takes long and has too many steps, they quickly back out.
Convince guests with a list of arguments to use your booking engine.
Walk through the page and eliminate anything that might distract. For instance, the menu or excessive imagery. Prefer a page that appears somewhat empty rather than overstuffed booking pages with an overwhelming number of options and choices. A button allowing reservation cancellation and returning to the website may be the only link leading outside the booking process.
Ask for only what is absolutely necessary to process the booking. Other details can be better left until after booking or during an online check-in.
In recent years, the percentage of mobile usage has grown enormously. While at the beginning of 2015 about one-third of all website visitors used mobile devices, this has now risen to more than half!
Ensure your booking engine operates perfectly on all devices; phones, tablets, and laptops/desktops.
A responsive booking engine is a requirement for optimal convenience for more than half of your visitors.
The loading time of your website and the checkout of your hotel website are critical elements, particularly on mobile. Always aim to present a page in less than 3 seconds. If you can’t achieve this, discuss it with your web developer or software provider. Especially with mobile use, guests expect to receive pages quickly. Research has shown that a relatively high percentage abandons slow websites.
Curious about the benefits of a contemporary booking engine that aligns with trends and technology? Sign up today for a free account with MyTourist and experience first-hand how a good booking engine optimizes the experience of your guests on your website and improves your conversion.