Nowadays the web has become a powerful search engine tool for travelers. Hence hotels must make sure that their websites transmit quality, professionalism and credibility together with a good design and comfortable look-and-feel.
One of the most important aspects for e-commerce success has to do with the way the business is presented and the services are sold. Creating a sales-focused website is not trivial but there are many important details that must be taken into account.

Attractive graphic design
For obvious reasons the most visible characteristic of a website is the design. Although is not a decisive factor in a sales-oriented website it is the first connection of the person with the brand, therefore it influences their “looking” behavior. When creating your new website make sure you have open conversations with the web designer about the preferences in colors, textures and the experiences that the property offers. And then leave it to them; they are the professionals.

Navigation and usability
Having an easy-to-use and user-friendly navigation on your website can be a decisive factor for how long your visitors will stay in your website. Bad navigation and usability can lead to visitors abandoning the website within 2 seconds thus not converting into bookings. It is important to keep the navigation of a website simple and to the point, preferably just one level of navigation with a clear menu that feature items that users recognize.  It is not recommendable to try to innovate and distinguish this area of the website from your competitors.

Photo gallery
Studies indicate that images are the second factor right behind pricing in terms of influencing the choice of property to stay in. With today’s technology, taking a good picture is easier than ever. With a good website design any picture can look good and you don’t need to spend money in a professional photo shoot. But you need to make sure your images transmit what you want to sell to your customers.

Promotions and special offers
It is important to provide incentives to website visitors so they choose your property over the competition. Creating special offers on your website can help you sell distress inventory in a way that it doesn’t cannibalize your regular sales and you can optimize your search engine ranking by offering fresh content on the website. Make sure your promotions are visible on every page of the website and promote your special offers in different social channels.

Stimulate visitors to stay on the website
Many hotel websites include links to external sites like tripadvisor.com for users looking for 3rd party information. However, once users leave the website they will be attacked with advertising of competing offers. So, it is critical that once you leverage content syndication technologies like RSS to provide the turnkey package for decision making on your website and turn that looker into a booker.

Provide real time rates and availability
Two factors are always included in the decision of travelers: price and availability. It is critical that the website displays prominently, in every page, the ability for travelers to check rates and availabilities for the travel dates. Moreover, many travelers nowadays have flexible dates and are actively bargain hunting and willing to trade off some convenience for a better price or package.
Make sure your calendar overview displays a longer-term view of the rates and availabilities so travels can choose the perfect vacation or business trip according to their needs and possibilities.

Best available rate to ensure rate parity
According to the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research, hotels that are listed on third-party distributors’ websites like online travel agents, or OTAs, can expect to capture additional direct reservations. In order to leverage the full marketing potential of distribution channels, it is extremely important for your website to offer the best available rate always.

Facilitate instant online booking
Having a website that offers instant booking is crucial to decrease the abandon rate and increase online bookings. You must make sure that your website booking engine offers and easy and quick online booking process for guests to reserve a room.

Provide trust mechanisms
Providing security and privacy to your website visitors is crucial for the success of your online business. You must guarantee visitors that their personal information will always remain private, this will provide them confidence to book a room directly on your website.

Your website is your best sales representative, therefore it is important for it to provide the proper tools to engage lookers and turn them into bookers. But keep in mind that a sales-oriented website will only generate results if it has bookable offers.

Independent Properties Turning Lookers into Bookers

By Pedro Colaco GuestCentric President and CEO

Nowadays the web has become a powerful search engine tool for travelers. Hence hotels must make sure that their websites transmit quality, professionalism and credibility together with a good design and comfortable look-and-feel. Read more

How to create a sales driven hotel website

Nowadays the web has become a powerful search engine tool for travelers. Your website is your best sales representative, therefore it is important for it to provide the proper tools to engage lookers and turn them into bookers.

By Pedro Colaco GuestCentric President and CEO

Read more

GuestCentric offers 3-month free service to hotels in the Gulf of Mexico coast line affected by the BP oil disaster. GuestCentric wants to contribute to the recovery of the region and simplify the direct communication of hotels and customers. To read the conditions

Pedro Colaco GuestCentric’s president and CEO talks about GuestCentric Systems

Enjoy!

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Stamford, CT – GuestCentric Systems, the premier Software-as-a-Service provider for the independent hotel industry, today announced it has completed a $4 million round of institutional financing led by new investor InovCapital, participated by Turismo Capital and all its major seed investors. This round of funding will be used to accelerate GuestCentric’s growth and market share worldwide and increase investment in product innovation related to e-Commerce optimization and customer intimacy for independent hotels.

“We are delighted that InovCapital decided to join the GuestCentric team. Their investment as well as the total amount raised in this financing round is the ultimate validation of the progress to date and the significant market opportunity that GuestCentric is addressing” said Pedro Colaco, President and CEO of GuestCentric.

GuestCentric is leading the way in revolutionizing the online presence of hundreds of thousands of independent hotels and is presenting a real challenge to traditional hotel software companies by providing innovative e-Commerce optimization features in an unbeatable Software-as-a-Service model. The closing of the Series A round follows GuestCentric’s highly successful product introduction in 2008 and the rapid growth of its customer base during the past six months, showing an unprecedented 100% customer success ratio of free trials performed in 2009.

The innovative GuestCentric platform comes as a response to independent hotels that want to boost revenues and save on commission costs, by capitalizing on the trend that customers seek a personalized experience and prefer booking directly with the hotel. Hence, hoteliers that relied almost solely on distribution through Online Travel Agents like Expedia are now increasingly choosing GuestCentric for a strong direct online presence, e-Commerce optimization and customer intimacy.

“GuestCentric enjoys that rare combination of an opportunity with ground breaking potential and great momentum.” said Joao Fernandes, Vice President at InovCapital. “The distribution paradigm of the multi-billion market for online hotel sales and marketing is undergoing a wave change. We believe GuestCentric is poised to become the star in this emerging market by providing unique e-Commerce optimization features and a break-through business model. We are delighted to work with GuestCentric’s team in expanding the company’s presence globally and further rounding out its product and service offerings.”

To support its efforts, GuestCentric is recruiting for multiple positions. For more information visit http://www.guestcentric.com/about-us/careers

About GuestCentric Systems

Headquartered in Stamford, CT with offices in UK and Portugal, GuestCentric Systems (http://www.guestcentric.com) is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider that revolutionizes the way independent hotel operators compete for customers. GuestCentric’s Hotel e-Commerce Optimization is a one-stop-shop solution that offers simple and cost-effective ways for hoteliers to create a professional web display, integrate direct online booking and online marketing capabilities to boost revenues, lower expenses and develop long-standing relationships with customers. GuestCentric has a growing customer base in the United States and leading tourism markets like the United Kingdom and Spain.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Karla Martinez
GuestCentric Systems
+1 (203) 989 0173
karla.martinez@guestcentric.com

This gap is revealed in all of the main aspects analyzed in this survey: website and ability to receive online reservations, presence on internet distribution systems and average occupancy rate.

The content of this report was widely publicized due to the nature of the numbers, where for instance, the GAP between independents and chains regarding having a booking engine on their website stands above the 50% mark.

In the next couple of weeks we will release the “Independent Hotels and the Online Channel”, UK and Spain Reports, so stay tuned.

• You have a website and a booking engine
• You would like to improve your online presence
• You have a website but don’t believe in online booking
• You don’t have a website

Based on this knowledge, we have created a campaign that explains what the GuestCentric platform can do to address your specific concerns. The campaign is available onour page on YouTube or you can watch the videos here. As always, we would like to have your feedback.

I have a website and a booking engine

Click here to view the embedded video.

I would like to improve my online presence

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I don’t believe in online booking

Click here to view the embedded video.

I don’t have a website

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.