Digital Business Auditor
July 16, 2024
The process from searching to booking accommodation can be complex for travelers. And in a competitive market where OTAs also play a crucial role, optimizing the sales funnel or booking funnel is essential to facilitate and improve the direct booking experience for guests.
Table of Contents [ Hide ]
1 Five ways to eliminate bottlenecks in the sales funnel
1.1 Stage 1: Generate traffic in awareness
1.2 Step 2: Reduce bounces during consideration
1.3 Step 3: Facilitate ghana email list the reservation intention
1.4 Step 4: Improve booking conversion
1.5 Post-booking stage: fostering satisfaction and loyalty
2 Next Steps: Continuous Optimization of the Booking Funnel
Five ways to eliminate bottlenecks in your sales funnel
The booking funnel covers every step from when a potential guest discovers the hotel to when they complete their reservation. Therefore, it is crucial to understand and optimize each stage to improve conversion rates.
Step 1: Generate traffic to awareness
At the top of the funnel is the awareness stage, where potential guests first discover the property. For many small hotels, the main challenge is to drive traffic to their website, so how do you do that?
SEO Optimization: Make sure your site is optimized with relevant keywords and quality content, which improves your visibility in search engines.
Targeted advertising: Use Google Hotel Ads and social media campaigns to reach interested users and increase brand awareness.
Strategic Partnerships: Work with local partners or influencers to expand your reach and reach new engaged audiences.
Step 2: Reduce bounces during consideration
In the consideration stage, guests compare different options, including your property and competitors. That’s why it’s crucial to keep them engaged once they arrive at your website. What should you implement?
Website optimization: Improve loading speed, simplify navigation, and make sure you have engaging content like virtual tours and customer testimonials.
Step 3: Facilitate the booking intention
When guests show a clear interest in booking, it's essential to prevent them from abandoning the process. Booking engine abandonment is a common problem at this stage, so what you can do is:
Simplify the booking process: Reduce the number of steps and required fields in the booking form. Offer varied and transparent payment options to build trust.
Promotions and discounts: Use special offers to motivate guests to complete their reservation.
