It’s no secret that Online Travel Agent (OTAs) platforms have become very popular in recent years. That popularity has enabled them to charge large fees and exercise significant influence over the tourism market.
Direct booking systems on websites allow property owners to earn a lot more from their property by avoiding these fees. As the developers of Palomar Reservations, we know direct booking systems are a path to earning a lot more, through a more sustainable economic mechanism. And we want our clients to profit as much as possible from the systems we build for them.
Having a direct booking system is obviously the first step in this path, but to get the most profit out of a system like Palomar Reservations, it is helpful to understand why OTAs have become so popular, and what can be done to encourage guests to book direct. Alongside developing Palomar Reservations, we have researched people’s behaviour in this industry to help our clients, and we found guests mainly use OTAs for one of two reasons:
- Convenience – there are lots of properties in one place on a single platform
- Price – people think they can get the cheapest price on an OTA
Let’s look at these individually and see how to address them
Convenience
While OTAs do have a lot of properties in one place, one of the most popular platforms in the world, that millions of people use every day, allows you to advertise your business’ website completely free. That platform is Google Maps, and tourism and rental property businesses are thriving on it.
Your presence on Google Maps is managed with your Google Business Profile. You can list your website on your profile, alongside other platforms that list your property. Savvy Google Maps users know they can check the price across several platforms, including booking direct. At Atelier Palomar, we manage our Palomar Reservations client’s Google Business Profile for them.
Furthermore AI is changing the way people search the web. Many people will ask an AI about places to stay in an area and AIs will happily pull in lots of websites to show users. We build your website so AIs find it friendly to read and display results from.
Price
This is undoubtedly the single biggest factor that determines how people book their stays. It is also one of the factors that property owners have direct control over. As the aphorism goes, “people vote with their wallets”.
To take advantage of this, offering the best rates on your property through a system like Palomar Reservations, will encourage guests to book direct. If you do the maths on the profits that Palomar Reservations can save you, this is no economic enigma. The difference in savings can be huge, easily enabling better rates when guests book direct. Those savvy Google Maps users will also see this.
But that’s not all…
There are many people who prefer to book direct. The economic pitfalls of the centralization of markets in a few platforms are not an arcane phenomenon. Conscientious shoppers want to spend their money the right way, even if it costs them more. They just need the mechanisms in place to exercise their choices, and Palomar Reservations enables them to make those choices.
Repeat customers also value loyalty and relationships over short term convenience. If you get a lot of repeat customers to your property, asking them to book direct just once is enough. Their repeat business through a system like Palomar Reservations, can yield significantly more income than through an OTA.
Even simple gestures can make a big difference, a free pastry or cappuccino in the morning for guests who book direct, can be the hospitality that guests love and appreciate.
Palomar Reservations then…
Palomar Reservations can be a massive boon for your profits, but as much as we would like it to be, it’s not a silver bullet. Having the mechanisms in place to earn more is the right first move, but it also needs to be supported by appropriate strategies, such as a good Google Business Profile and encouraging guests to book direct. At Atelier Palomar we work alongside our clients to employ those strategies and help them get the most out of our system Palomar Reservations.
If you have a rental property and want to see how much more you might be able to earn, we want to help. Get in touch with with the contact form at the bottom of the page here.