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InnKeepers should take a closer look at
Internet reservations.
So you say, “I already have a great web page and I
advertise it, so what are you talking about.”
What I am talking about is conversion.
Does not matter if you have 500 visitors a day when very few of them call or email
you to make a reservation. Most people that are surfing the web and finding pages
like yours are using a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
They resist finding places
using large agencies like Travelocity or Expedia. Why pay a big company to find
the best deals when Google does it for free. One popular way surfers use to find
lodging is Google Maps, simply enlarge the general area where you want to vacation
and search with a term such as lodging. Instantly all the motels, hotel, Inns, and
B&B's are shown with little flags indicating their location on the map. Now
by clicking on any of these flags you are given a link to their web site and phone
number.
But guess what? Today's want it now crowd, which makes up the majority
of web surfers, does not call you, instead they clicks on the web link. The whole
reason they are using the web in the first place is to find exactly what they want
and book it with a credit card, the one that they have already taken out of their
wallet and put beside the keyboard for quick access. After all there is a lot of
other stuff to do on the internet besides booking a room this weekend.
The alternative
is, they now have to find a phone, punch in a long string of numbers and hope someone
picks. Too many times they get a phone message. Even if someone answers the phone
right away they have to compose a question or two and maybe even use a pencil to
write down some information. It is not happening because it takes too long and they
are using a keyboard not a telephone at the moment.
When a surfer gets to your web
site he/she is not that interested in all your pretty pictures. They want a clear
property description, how much it is going to costs, and a little button that should
be extremely obvious, which says RESERVATIONS. Their fondest memories, and
the one they will sometimes brag about to their friends, are how in less than 3
minutes they found, booked, and had an email confirmation
with a great B&B.
You have about 15 seconds for your web site to get a surfers attention. The last
thing a surfer want to do is to send an email form requesting a room. They will
then have to put their credit card back in their wallet without knowing if they
even have a place to go.
Might as well use Travelocity. But wait, our web surfer
is not that person, they do not have the time or patience required to navigate all
the complicated paths that Travelocity takes them on. After all they have Google
Maps and there are plenty of websites to check out and book in under 3 minutes.
In case you have not checked on the internet lately, let me tell you just how easy
it is to satisfy your customer's desires. You can get online booking systems from
free to less than $200 a month from many sources. Just type in a key word or two
such as hospitality management or online booking software or web reservation
tools and you will be surprised by how many companies are out there selling
online reservations systems.
If you
do a little research you will find that over 50% of all reservations, in the hospitality
industry, are made over the internet and that this number is growing rapidly. Only
about 30% are made by phone. Of the 50% taken by the internet, the larger travel
agencies are loosing ground quickly to individual web sites. The split is roughly
30% for agencies and 70% for private web sites.
If this trend continues, and I cannot
think of any reason it should not continue, you will be forced to have online reservation
soon or face a lot of empty rooms. An availability chart is not enough, you must
be ready to confirm the room and take credit information on the spot or the
customer will move on to the next business who does take reservations.
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