Unlock new revenue streams by avoiding 3 common mistakes hotels make with OTAs. Maximize growth with smarter strategies!
Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) can be extremely useful channels for hotels. They allow you to tap into entirely new streams of revenue, and these platforms often attract enormous amounts of traffic — far bigger than almost any hotel can generate on its own.
Sites like Booking.com and Expedia, as well as India-specific platforms like Yatra and MakeMyTrip, can be a game-changer for your distribution strategy and drive entirely new levels of growth.
However, it’s important to use these tools right. Many hotels make mistakes using these channels, which stops them from getting the best possible results and may even leave them feeling frustrated and wasting money.
Let’s take a look at three of the most common mistakes hotels make with OTAs so you can avoid them.
KEEPING YOUR RATES THE SAME
A good OTA strategy requires fluidity. You need to be prepared to change your rates in accordance with fluctuations in supply and demand, seasonal changes, and your own occupancy rates. Keeping the same, static rates across all your OTA listings can harm your strategy and result in fewer bookings.
NOT HAVING ANY PRESENCE AT ALL
It may seem obvious, but many hotels simply don’t use OTAs at all. This mistake is especially common with smaller, independent properties that rely on word-of-mouth and other more traditional marketing methods.
But listing your hotel on OTAs can result in tons of bookings over time and seriously grow the profile of your business. Don’t limit yourself to the big names, consider local OTAs based in your country or region.
DOUBLE BOOKINGS AND OVERBOOKINGS
When your rooms are advertised across a wide range of channels, there is a risk that you’ll end up filling the same room twice. This can result in awkward conversations at check-in and potentially having to turn guests away — a disaster for your reputation.
The good news is that this is easy to avoid with the right channel management tool. By automating the process of managing your bookings, you can massively reduce the risk of double bookings and overbookings — taking advantage of a wider range of distribution channels without running your staff into the ground.
MASTER OTAs WITH HOTEL-SOIDER
Hotel-Spider’s channel manager and central reservation system are both designed to help you get more out of your OTA strategy. These tools help you build your presence across all the relevant platforms, optimize your listings and rates, and make the booking and check-in process as seamless and secure as possible.
Schedule a demo with us to learn more.
