For years, online travel agencies, such as Booking.com and Airbnb, have been the primary means of booking vacation, business travel and study stays, or just a weekend getaway. However, recently there has been an accelerated increase in the use of strategies to get more direct bookings due to their benefits.
That’s why we’ve partnered with Boostly! A training, consulting and website design company for short-term accommodations.
Mark Simpson, the founder, is an expert in the vacation rental industry and has followed its evolution very closely. Over the past five years, he has helped accommodation owners around the world to increase their direct bookings. And also sharing with them the tactics and tips he himself used to grow his business.
Direct bookings have become an important part of any vacation rental’s distribution mix. By creating greater brand loyalty and giving you direct access to your guests.
Some of the benefits you get from working with a booking engine are:
✓ Reduce distribution costs. No more channel commissions
✓ Increase your brand visibility
✓ Interact directly with your guests, without intermediaries.
✓ Offer a more personalized experience
Nevertheless, increasing direct sales once the customer has reached your website will depend on proper management and several factors. Here you can find some key aspects that can make a difference on your website:
Optimize the customer experience
The booking engine must provide payment facilities, be up to date and fit the accommodation’s image.
Improve your sales strategies
The booking engine uses Upselling and Crosselling techniques to offer more tailored offers to the customers and increase the accommodation’s profits.
Use social networks to attract direct traffic
Use social networks to attract direct traffic through discounts, promotional codes and even sweepstakes that require you to share content or become a follower.
For this reason, our booking engine is designed to the millimeter, fully integrated and synchronized with Hostify and its tools. Enjoy your own free booking website, a direct line to your customers. No third parties involved! You will have your own domain and the possibility to customize design and content.
Don’t miss out on the latest tools, techniques and tips to increase your direct bookings. Discover what you can do to improve this part of your business. We have shared some of your thoughts on current and future trends in the vacation rental industry.
