Best Practices

Ready for Recovery?

Your Direct Booking Action Plan
Personalize. Engage. Convert.

As travel and hospitality continue to be impacted

globally, hotel brands are having to search for creative
ways to win back their fair share of direct bookings.

That's why we've put together this guide. Based on our

experience working with thousands of hotel clients
worldwide, we've compiled a whole host of tips and
practical examples that can be used as inspiration.

It’s all about how to reshape the online guest

experience within today's context and boost direct
booking conversions to support your hotel brand’s
recovery until the end of the year and beyond.
Strategies & Tactics

In this guide, we will be exploring tried and tested

techniques that help to grow your direct booking
channel. We’ll be focusing on the following areas:

• Reassuring your website visitors

• Seasonal messages and timely offers
• Hyper-targeted content that resonates
with guests
• Personalization strategies for mobile
• Direct booking quick wins
Message Formats That Perfectly Fit Your Website Design
Before looking at real examples from our hotel clients, let’s introduce the different message formats. To ensure that
marketing messages on your website are aligned with your brand identity, the choice of format used is key. Within
The Hotels Network platform, you can choose from a wide variety of completely customizable display types that
cater perfectly to the look and feel of your website.

Smart Notes Layers Inliners Exit Intent

Nudge users towards a Create a personal and Seduce users with subtle Persuade abandoning
booking with in-web engaging user messages without visitors to stay on your
notifications experience interrupting the UX website
Reassuring Your Website
Visitors
Communicate Hygiene & Social Distancing Measures

Safety first
Though travel restrictions are easing,
visitors may still be concerned about
their well-being during their stay and
whether or not hotels are taking the
right steps to keep guests safe.
In this example, the hotel clearly
communicates the various preventative
measures being taken at the property,
as well as a web exclusive offer around
flexible payment terms.
Draw Attention to Your À La Carte Breakfast Service

Adapting to the new

normal
In today’s scenario, some guests may not
feel comfortable with buffets.
Let them know that you no longer offer
buffet breakfasts, but instead offer the
more premium option of enjoying an à la
carte breakfast service from your
exclusive restaurant.
Offer Guests a Serological Test During Their Stay

Inspiring confidence
In this new reality, hotel health and
safety protocols have become a central
focus for the majority of future guests.
Why not bolster guest confidence by
providing them with a serological test
during their stay?
Highlight Your Flexible Cancellation Policy

Flexible rates
In today’s context, there is still a
need to remain flexible for travelers.
It may be sensible to continue
waiving cancellation fees or offering
more flexible rebooking policies to
reassure guests and remove any
hesitation they may have. It’s all
about finding ways to allow guests
to book ahead worry-free.
Within the Booking Engine, Promote the Benefits of Booking Direct

Exclusive perks
Today more than ever, you’ll want
to capture as many direct bookings
as possible. Ensure visitors know of
all the exclusive benefits they could
enjoy by booking directly.
This Layer example within the
booking engine grabs the attention
of users and helps to keep them
engaged.
Showcase Your Positive Reviews

Guest reviews
If you have great reviews, why
not showcase them directly on
your website?
Display a Reviews Summary to
let visitors see what other
guests love about your brand.
If you have positive reviews on
external sources such as
TripAdvisor, now is the perfect
time to share them!
Make Sure There Are No Doubts or Unsolved Questions

Need help?
Offering a top-notch service is
what drives guest satisfaction.
Ensure you deliver on service right
from the start by making it easy for
guests to reach out to you in case
of doubts. Let them drop you their
email if they are too shy to call!
Seasonal Messages
& Timely Offers
Create End of Summer Exclusive Offers

Eye-catching messages
Grab the attention of your visitors
with messages and formats that
stand out, always remembering to
align them with your overall brand
strategy.
In this example, the hotel is aiming to
capture bookings from visitors who
refuse to say goodbye to summer.
Using bright colors and a relaxed
tone, the offer makes visitors feel as
if summer was still here!
Promote Packages to Overcome Post-vacation Syndrome

Autumn specials
Create attractive packages to help
visitors get over the back-to-work
blues.
Adding extras such as complimentary
parking, restaurant offers or use of
additional facilities deliver more value
to your offer. It’s all about getting
creative!
Tempt Visitors with an Attractive Reopening Offer

See you soon!

Celebrate the reopening of your
business with your visitors. Take
advantage of your unique selling
points to create tempting
packages that spark their interest.
This Layer showcases a hard-to-
beat offer: free cancelation, no
deposit required, free breakfast…
and all in a perfect location!
Could it get any better?
Shout Out About Your Offers Before Users Leave Your Website

Exit Intent
Triggered automatically, this Exit
Intent helps to grab the attention of
users who are about to leave your
website without making a
reservation.

By highlighting an exclusive autumn

package and adding a direct link to
the offer, the property is able to
secure some additional bookings
from users who would otherwise
have left without converting.
Market Your Hotel This Halloween

Spooky discounts
Halloween is almost upon us once
again, giving hoteliers the opportunity
to use this much-loved holiday to their
advantage.
Promote exclusive Halloween deals,
keeping in mind how influential the
graphic element can be. Here, the
hotel has designed an Inliner so it
looks like native content but with a
relevant image to catch the attention
of users.
Take Advantage of Special Dates with Flash Sales
Black Friday Sale
Our Black Friday discounts are
only here for a few more hours.
Grab yourself a great rate while
the sale is still on!
Black Friday deals
With Black Friday just around the
corner, visitors will be expecting to
see exclusive discounts.
If you decide to launch strategic
Black Friday deals, make sure the
right people know about them.
Showcase limited time offers on a
Welcome Layer and include a
Countdown Clock to encourage
visitors to book soon if they don’t
want to miss out on discounts.
Highly Targeted Content that
Resonates with Guests
Optimize Personalization Using Advanced Targeting Options
Timing: Date range / Day of the Week / Release: Early bird / Last-minute /
Time of Day Custom release

User location: Country / State / City Length of stay: Based on a minimum or

where the user is located maximum number of nights

Traffic source: TripAdvisor, Google, Booking value; Within a specific price

Instagram, custom domain… range (minimum / maximum amount)

Loyalty: Differentiate between logged Availability: When sold-out, send users

members and non-members to a sister hotel located nearby

Retargeting: For users who visited your Device: Display only for mobile or
website in the past 30 days. desktop or all devices

Booking search dates: For stays within a Custom targeting: Build your own based
specific date range on variables in the URL
Advocate the Concept of Staycations

Staycations
With border restrictions remaining
unpredictable, many travelers prefer
local or regional destinations, from
where they know they will be able to
return home easily.
This makes it the perfect time to
promote staycation offers. Use geo-
targeting rules to show personalized
messages to website visitors searching
from your local market or city.

Local visitors
Target Irresistible Early Bird Offers Specifically to Locals

Offers for residents

Start mapping out your demand for
the upcoming months with early
bird campaign offers.
Spark interest for domestic travelers
by letting them know what special
benefits they can enjoy by booking
in advance with you.

Local visitors
>60 days before
check-in date
Capture Last Minute Bookings

Spontaneity
Given the market uncertainty, many
guests do not want to book stays too far
in advance.
With this in mind, strategically assemble
offers to capture bookings from visitors
looking for last minute deals. Apply
targeting rules to ensure the offer is only
shown to relevant users.

1 week prior to
search date
1-2 adults
Encourage Visitors to Stay a Little Longer

Shoulder nights
Encourage longer stays instead of
Saturday night stand-alone
bookings. Boost average booking
value by targeting visitors planning
to stay several nights and showing
them a tempting offer. How does a
20% discount sound for bookings of
3 nights or more?

3 nights min
Highlight Perks Relevant to Families

Custom targeting
Showcase relevant perks to encourage
reservations among specific audiences.
Target your messages based on any
URL parameters you wish: a specific
campaign, booking information… the
options are limitless!
Here we see a Smart Note triggered
when the visitor is searching for a stay
1 child, aged <5 with 1 child aged 4.
Nudge Visitors Who Need an Extra Incentive to Book

Targeting low-intent users

A low-intent user has a low probability of
booking. These visitors often need an extra
X
motivation to book, and so displaying a
Special offer relevant discount can be highly effective.
only for YOU!
With Oraculo Convert, our Predictive
Take a break from the city. Enjoy
Personalization tool, you can automatically
a 15% off and get FREE parking, detect low-intent visitors and deliver them
FREE Wi-Fi and FREE the most suitable offer.
cancellation before 4pm on the
day prior to the arrival. Valid only What’s more, you will make substantial
today!
savings on promotional costs by only
I DEFINITELY WANT THIS! showing discounts when you really need to.
Want to find out more? Read our case study
with Hastings Hotels explaining how the
brand used Oraculo Convert to reduce
promotional costs by 48%.

Low-intent users
Segment Users Based on Guest Profile Information

NOURISH YOURSELF WITH A RELAXING

GETAWAY

CRM targeting Book a 3-night stay and get 20% OFF

With CRM Targeting, you can target on our Private Yoga Classes.
your messages and offers based on
key values stored in your Data Layer. Disconnect and relax this autumn at
any of our properties with this
You can segment users by loyalty incredible treat!
member level, age, interests, average
booking value… or whatever Start planning
information you have saved.
What’s more, you can even combine
it with any other THN Targeting
Option.

Search date: Oct Interests: Spa

1 adult, 0 kids Membership: Gold

Personalization Strategies for
Mobile
Personalize the Mobile Experience

Mobile first
With more and more travelers searching and booking
on their phones, it’s a good time to optimize your
website messaging for these users and display
messages just for them.

Inliners work particularly well as a message format on

mobile since they are integrated seamlessly within the
site, looking like native content and without
overloading the UX. Can you guess where the Inliner
is in this example?

Pssst! Read our recent blog post, with more examples

of hotels personalizing the website experience for
their mobile visitors.
Craft Mobile Exclusive Offers

A special treat
Aware of the spike of mobile usage for travel
research, have you considered creating
mobile exclusive offers?
In this example, the brand has set an
exclusive 10% off just for mobile users. By
making it clear that the offer is only visible
from mobile devices, they are able to
generate instant bookings.
Create a Sense of Excitement Around Reopening

Countdown clock
Let your reopening excitement shine
through in your messaging!

If your property has had to close, show a

clock counting down the seconds until
the reopening to create a sense of
anticipation among visitors.

This tool is also fantastic to create a

sense of urgency, so consider using it for
some of your “limited time only” offers.
Capture Email Addresses from Mobile Visitors

On-going engagement
Several studies point out that mobile
devices tend to be used for travel
research and desktops for booking.
Make sure to stay connected with
mobile visitors who are not ready to
book just yet by allowing them to sign
up to your newsletter. As soon as you
start collecting emails, you can launch
marketing email campaigns towards this
audience. Welcome onboard mobile
subscribers!
Fight Against Price Disparities

Price match on mobile

Fight real-time price disparities
and encourage direct bookings
from mobile devices.
Whenever a price disparity is
detected, show your visitors an
offer to match it. With just one
click on the special offer link, the
discount is automatically applied
to combat the lower rate.
Direct Booking Quick wins
Use Price Comparison & Price Match to Guarantee Rate Parity

Price match on desktop

Price match can be equally effective on
desktop as on mobile.
Boost guest confidence in booking
directly by showcasing a Price
Comparison tool that guarantees
you’re offering the best available rate.
If OTAs are undercutting your rates,
activate a “Price Match” option to fight
real-time disparities. Apply targeting
rules to decide what offer to display:
when, to whom and how much.
Sell Hotel Vouchers to Generate Immediate Revenue

Buy now. Stay later.

Many travelers are yearning to escape
from lockdowns, but are not yet
confident to book due to market
uncertainty.
Showcasing attractive Hotel Voucher
offers could be a good option to
encourage impulse purchases.
Vouchers help remove any
hesitations guests may have due to
uncertainty around booking dates.
Sounds interesting? Discover how
you can benefit from our Hotel
Vouchers today.
Be “Something Different”

Coffee time!
What can your hotel offer that others
can’t? Offer visitors the little extras that
may just make the difference.
Here, the property is reshaping its
strategy and taking advantage of its
distinctive restaurant. By offering the
option to purchase the property’s
organic coffee, guests can enjoy their
favorite drinks from the comfort of
their own home.
Offer Rooms as Short-term Apartment Rentals

New opportunities
Truth be told, you most probably
won’t achieve full occupancy by the
end of this year; so now’s the perfect
time to reinvent your strategy and
give your rooms a second purpose.
Does your property have spacious,
urban rooms with kitchenettes?
Consider offering them as short-term
rentals!
Grow Your Marketing Database

Targeting
visitors from
Instagram
Targeted Email Capture
Encourage more visitors to sign up
to your newsletter or loyalty club by
leveraging targeting rules to make
the message relevant.
Depending on your objectives, apply
Displayed as
powerful tactics such as 1-click an Exit
promocodes or an Exit Intent Intent
message with an exclusive discount
for subscribing to your newsletter.
Want to find out how to optimize
your hotel’s Email Capture? Check
out our recent blog post.

1-click promocode
applying discount
automatically
Partner With Iconic Local Attractions to Tempt Guests

Exclusive deals
Local attractions and activities can be
a great way to entice travelers to visit
your destination.
Consider partnering with an iconic
attraction and launch a campaign with
an exclusive offer for your guests. It
could just be the extra nudge a user
needs to book a stay with you,
especially if you can guarantee a
reduced rate or a certain timeslot with
no waiting in line.
Conduct A/B Testing to Maximize Conversion Rates

Test. Analyze. Optimize.

Our platform makes it easy for you to launch integrated campaigns with multiple messages and optimize
performance using multivariate or A/B tests. Build simple experiments in minutes, such as testing two
different CTAs, and use the insights to roll out the winning version.
 ü Adapt your website communications to the current
situation and leverage personalization techniques.

ü Continue to reassure visitors about health & safety

measures as well as flexible cancellation policies.

ü Be creative in terms of special offers. Think about packages

for fall season, hotel reopening, special dates etc.

ü The domestic market is still crucial. Use geo-targeting to

promote staycations and relevant services to locals.

Key Takeaways
ü Make crystal clear the benefits of booking direct. Limit
lowering rates – focus on offering relevant perks instead.

ü Display hyper-relevant content by tailoring the message

and offer for individual users or specific user groups.

ü Adapt your messaging to grab the attention of mobile users

and encourage them to book immediately.

ü Implement quick wins to boost your direct bookings today. 6

About The Hotels Network

The Hotels Network is an innovative technology company working with

over 5,000 hotels around the globe. Boasting an international team of
specialists, we offer clients a hotel tech ecosystem to boost website
conversions and ADR. By adding a layer of tools to the hotel website,
brands can improve the user experience for guests and grow their direct
booking channel.

In addition to price comparison, reviews summary and a full suite of

personalization options, our latest product innovation, Oraculo, is the
world’s first predictive algorithm for hotels. Oraculo harnesses machine
learning techniques to predict the behavior of visitors to the hotel
website and then automatically personalizes both the message and the
offer for each user.

Our mission is to improve the booking experience and strengthen the

relationship between hotel brands and their guests.

Contact us today to find out more.

 thehotelsnetwork.com

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