How Booking.com's visibility booster torpedos your direct booking strategy
With both “free room upgrade” and “free breakfast” add-ons, you are allowing Booking.com to undercut you and all other OTAs
Competition for incremental demand is strong, pushing the price to get it very high. OTAs defend their own interests and offer many visibility boosters options so that hotels can decide whether to participate or not. None of them are mandatory. However, many hotels skip the rigorous analysis to quantify the revenue incrementally and possible undesired side effects.
Key takeaways
- Booking.com highlights the programs’ benefits with irresistible messages such as “boost your property”, “attract high-value guests”, “drive more bookings” or even “increase occupancy”. What hotel on earth does not want all that?
- Superior room types represent from 25% to 70% of all bookings depending on the hotel. The same with reservations with breakfast that vary from 10% to 80%. Have you quantified how many guests did not book with your direct channel and chose Booking.com because of this price difference?
- Targeting frequent travelers and making them loyal to you (instead of to OTAs) should be in your loyalty roadmap. And offering something unique when they book directly such as exclusive room upgrade options is a great way.
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