You cannot sell what has no visibility!
Are you struggling to generate more direct bookings via your hotel website? One possible issue could be that your website is not (yet) optimally geared towards this.
With our short website checklist, you can check where your potential for improvement could lie and start the optimization process:
Visual appearance and user guidance
- ☑️ Images and videos arouse emotions. A website should be designed textually and visually in such a way that the uniqueness of the hotel is emphasized. However, care must be taken to ensure that these elements do not impair website performance.
- ☑️ Offers should be advertised directly on the homepage, supplemented by “call to action” buttons to encourage guests to book.
- ☑️ The booking process should be kept to a minimum. Ideally, a booking should be possible within two clicks. Is this the case on the current website?
Technical optimization and accessibility
- ☑️ The proportion of mobile hotel bookings is increasing worldwide. A website should therefore always be optimized for mobile devices, as the loading speed can have a significant impact on success. According to Google, 53% of all visitors leave a mobile website if it takes longer than three seconds to load! Simply compressing images and text or deleting unnecessary redirects can help here.
- ☑️ Accessibility is not only desirable, but also increasingly legally relevant. An accessible website is open to all users, regardless of any restrictions. This not only improves user-friendliness for a wider audience, but is also important in terms of inclusion and future legal requirements, which are focusing more and more on the barrier-free design of digital offerings. Important aspects include clear contrasts, alternative texts for images and intuitive navigation.
- ☑️ Search engine optimization (SEO) acts as a silent salesperson. If a website cannot be found, it cannot generate any sales. Relevant keywords, a good page structure and fast loading times are crucial for search engines to find the hotel and present it to potential guests.
Continuous improvement
- ☑️ A/B testing helps to fine-tune the website. By testing different headlines, button texts or image placements, you can find out what is best received by visitors. Even small adjustments can have a big impact on the conversion rate!
Conclusion
While many of the basic optimizations for a hotel website can often be implemented internally and with manageable effort, the greatest potential often lies in the details. For fine-tuning, analyzing complex data, or implementing special SEO strategies, the help of experts is often not only advisable but crucial for sustainable success. The Hotellistat team understands these challenges and is well-connected. We are happy to get you in touch with the right specialists to help you exploit the full potential of your website and generate even more direct bookings.
