The rollout of vaccines and reduction in travel restrictions means that hotels are starting to see pent-up demand turn into bookings. It is important that you boost your property’s visibility on all demand channels and offer different rate plans and policies to attract varied guest segments.
We are glad to list out the top 3 trends that we have seen in our discussion with various hotels as well as channel partners like Booking.com, Agoda etc.
1. Flexible Booking Policies
With travelers looking to be able to adapt their travel plans depending on circumstances, flexibility in hotel booking policies is crucial.
A great way to stand out to potential guests is by offering flexible cancellation policies. Adding a new, more flexible policy or updating an existing policy to make it more accommodating can help you secure more bookings in times of low demand and high uncertainty.
You can offer flexible rates and policies for Booking.com and other key channels. The Flexible – 1 Day policy is a great way to attract guests to your property. This policy allows guests to cancel for free up to one day before their arrival date. If they cancel within one day of arrival, they’ll be charged the cost of the first night.
By offering guests with flexible booking policies, you can increase the chances of attracting more reservations as well as repeat guests.
2. Long Stay Rates
Reservation trends and data show that travellers are booking longer stays, given the many accrued vacation days. A high proportion of bookings are being made for seven days or more. Hence, it is important for hotels to set-up long-stay rate plans that are specifically designed to attract this customer segment.
OTAs like Booking.com has created the option for you to set weekly and monthly rates to help you take advantage of this significant rebuilding trend and get in front of bookers who are increasingly searching for long-term accommodations. These rate plans help you to be more visible to the increasing number of people who are searching for stays longer than 7 days.
Set-up long-stay rate plans to attract this customer segment for your property today.
3. Mobile Rates
The use of mobile has changed how travel is being searched and booked and by managing mobile rates for your property, you too can improve reservations coming from mobile bookers.
Over half of all bookings on Booking.com are made on mobile devices. 80% of travelers use a mobile app when researching a trip and 50% of accommodation searches and bookings are made on mobile. Mobile rates give hotels 28% more bookings from mobile traffic. Attracting these bookers can positively impact your revenue.
If you do not already have a Mobile Rate set up for Booking.com and other channels, you can easily create one. Activate mobile rates for your hotel to tap into this valuable and expanding traveler segment.
There are a host of additional solutions through which your property can benefit and attract more bookings. We are happy to share Booking.com rebuilding together initiative, where you will find insights and advice on attracting demand. It is packed with research from thousands of travellers, statistics from trusted partners like Google as well as trends from Booking.com search data.
Go ahead and start experimenting with these policies and rate plans to optimize online sales and revenue. Reach out to us for any advice or solutions on distribution connectivity, direct bookings, revenue management or to have a simple chat – https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ
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