| Selling room inventory is a multi-channel endeavor as | | | | simulate growth in sales and profitability. Wrong! Yes, a |
| people's reservation patterns differ. Some like to make | | | | sale is a sale but how much profit you get from that |
| reservations through travel agents while others like to | | | | sale differs drastically. A direct sale equals to total |
| call and book. Today, majority of people like the | | | | profit. An indirect sale is total amount minus the high |
| convenience of making room reservations on the | | | | commissions charged by 3rd party intermediaries. This |
| internet. The reason for this preference is | | | | will eat into your profit margins. |
| 'transparency' of the internet. When a person books | | | | 4. Retain Competitive Edge: The internet has made the |
| online, he or she has the option of comparing hotel | | | | Hospitality Industry transparent. Guests no longer have |
| amenities and price before booking. This comparison is | | | | to spend hours calling up each individual hotel to learn |
| not only between the many hotels online competing for | | | | what packages are available and at what price. They |
| market share, it also between the many 3rd party | | | | can simply go online and compare packages and |
| travel websites and the hotel's own website. So, | | | | prices at click of a button. This ease in the reservation |
| unless, you want to become your own competition, | | | | process has made guest more 'Price Conscious' and |
| you need to display the best rates/deals on your | | | | has made Price a key component in sales. If your |
| website. | | | | intermediary is offering your rooms at a lower room |
| If that alone doesn't convince you that displaying the | | | | rate, you can bet your profit that the guest will book |
| best room rates on your website is essential, here are | | | | with said intermediary. |
| 5 more reasons: | | | | 5. The Pavlov Effect: As children, we are taught to |
| 1. Understand Guests' Mindset: Whether a person is | | | | say 'excuse me' if we burp, 'god bless you' when |
| purchasing a TV or making a reservation at a hotel, his | | | | someone sneezes, stand when a lady leaves the table |
| will buy or book with the dealer offering him the get | | | | and more. By the time we become adults, this training |
| the best possible product for the lowest possible price. | | | | conditioning is ingrained. If you begin conditioning your |
| If you do not offer the best room rates on your own | | | | guests now to expect the best rates on your hotel |
| hotel website, then in addition to competing with nearby | | | | website, in the future, if they are travelling to your |
| hotels, you will also end up competing with your own | | | | location, they head directly to your hotel website to |
| distributors i.e. 3rd party travel websites. | | | | make reservations. So, start conditioning guests by |
| 2. Limit Commissions Paid: Every time you pay a | | | | consistently displaying the best rates/deals on your |
| commission, you reduce your overall profits. While it is | | | | hotel website. |
| not possible to eliminate paying commissions, you can | | | | By adopting a Direct-to-Guest online business model, |
| reduce the amount of commission payable by offering | | | | you can dramatically boost conversion rates on your |
| the best price/deal on your hotel website. So, what are | | | | hotel website, reduce your dependence on 3rd party |
| you waiting for? Increase your direct-to-consumer | | | | travel intermediaries and retain your competitive edge |
| online sales and limit the amount spend on paying | | | | that can help sustain you through low periods. |
| commissions to your 3rd party intermediaries. | | | | Once the visitor on your website is convinced that |
| 3. Growth, Sales & 3rd party intermediaries: Many of | | | | your hotel perfectly suits his needs, you need to close |
| you might think that offering the same packages or | | | | the booking quickly. |
| prices on all distribution channels is the best way to | | | | |