Direct booking. Direct booking of flights and hotels. Self-booking is an option, but not for everyone

How to book a hotel online and what is it for? Booking hotels is an important condition for a safe trip if you decide to travel on your own. Due to the fact that progress does not stand still, it has become possible to independently plan your trip, purchase a ticket and make a hotel reservation. All of this is now available online.

To do this, you can use the following methods:

• explore the most popular sites and take advantage of one of their offers;
• type in the search engine hotels in the desired city;
• ask friends where they rested, and book a place in the same hotel.

And here - I wrote about the advantages and disadvantages of low-cost airlines and charters.

How and where to book a hotel online. Online booking

Undoubtedly, the Internet is a true assistant in this matter. But since there are a huge number of resources offering hotel reservations, it is better to familiarize yourself with the different offers. This will save on costs as different sites may offer different placement amounts. In my opinion, Booking is the most popular hotel booking site, and Trivago will help you compare prices for the same hotel on different sites.

You can also go to the official website of the hotel and book a room there, however, this may affect the cost of the service. It is better to use assistant sites, because hotels provide discount systems for them.

How to book a hotel on your own?

So what's the best way to make it happen? The following tips may help.

What you need to know before getting a hotel reservation

First you need to decide on the quality of the hotel, for this you need to clarify how many stars it has. Also an important factor is how far the hotel is from the airport (about buying tickets -), whether it is located in the center and what is the distance to the sea. Read tips for finding housing abroad here -.

Making a choice in favor of a hotel, you should find out how the food system is carried out, whether breakfast, lunch and dinner are free. You need to find out what services will be provided free of charge.

When traveling by car, you need to check that the hotel will be able to provide a parking space.

The most important thing is to study the reviews, while you do not need to draw conclusions based on a couple of reviews. You need to get as much information and location as possible before making a booking.

Watch the video on how to book a hotel on Booking.com.

Prices from tour operators are dynamic. Some tour operators change prices online, others - several times a week. Or someone else can buy the tour. With us you will have time to book a tour at the lowest price. Online payment allows you to book a tour before the price has increased. It's fast and convenient - you can pay for the tour on the website or directly in the mobile application.

After payment, the tour operator confirms the tour. And a few days before the start of the trip, we send you all the necessary documents for the tour by e-mail: tickets, hotel voucher, transfer and insurance. It remains only to print. We will remind you about the departure time by SMS. We also issue visas or provide documents for independent processing at the visa centers.

Questions before or after your trip? Ask them to our managers through any convenient messenger. Tourist support is available around the clock.

Liked the tour, but not satisfied with the price?

Track the price using special tools on our website and mobile applications. Service "Turhanter" allows you to subscribe to a direction or hotel. As soon as the price drops or rises, you will receive an email and a push notification on your smartphone.

If you have a certain budget for a trip, but do not know when and to which country to go, you can choose a direction using the Low Price Calendar. In addition, when the issuance of tours is opened, under the search bar, a Schedule of prices for tours according to the specified parameters appears (currently available for flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg).

In the offices of travel agencies, you will buy a tour at the price that the manager will announce to you. And here you can find the best price yourself. And immediately book the tour you like!

Hotels around the world are increasingly relying on direct bookings.

First of all, this is the choice of large chains, like Marriott, Hilton or IHG. However, the advice given in this material can be followed by any hoteliers. Here are 20 tips for building a direct booking strategy.
1. First step

Talk to your online marketing company and make sure they have a clear strategy in place. Make sure you are in charge. Remember that it's important to know more about quality conversions than visitors. Ask key questions - for example, how much do you pay for CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)? What keywords do they buy? What is the conversion? Don't hand over full control to your marketers and don't run away from them. Make sure everything is under control, even simple changes can make a big difference.
2. Erase the excess. Do you have offers to book directly on your site?

Your web designer can easily add them for you and they will work. This is another example of how you can handle text smartly.

Examples of good deals: best price guarantee / booking without commission / access to exclusive packages / free service / chance to get a deluxe room, etc. etc. etc. Remember that more than 80% of people who find your site online will immediately see these offers in the main place: front and center.
3. Get emotional

We know that most purchases were not made out of necessity, but out of an emotional impulse. So what do you offer your clients?
Please…please stop using acronyms like B&B or DBB for your hotel. Make everything calmer and more accessible. Stop yelling at people and start empathizing. Even standard hotel services, such as a room with free breakfast, can be served as "guest and breakfast" or even "all-inclusive breakfast".

It is no longer enough to claim "best prices", this is most often misleading and this is clearly not your option.
4. Now sell it

Get back to your emotions and ask yourself what makes you want somewhere to stay. Why not think about a restful sleep, your guest can spend the night in a comfortable new bed. Or maybe they want to start the day with a delicious cooked-to-order breakfast made with local ingredients. Well, is that better?
5. Are these the best prices?

Before presenting your best prices to customers, think about whether they are the best. Most hotels now have "Best Online Booking Rates" although it would be more useful to change them to "Best Direct Booking Rates". When booking direct, you can rent rooms at a discount that will be less than the commission that you would pay to intermediaries. And that's a good deal.

You have another option - to keep on the site the numbers reserved for "direct" customers. These can be "classic" rooms or junior suites. Don't talk about them to online agencies.
6. Operate with the same rules of the game

We all know the "seller panic" methods that are used so often by online agencies. "Hurry! Only one room left! There are already 5 people looking at this room!"... the list is endless.

But what really matters to us hoteliers is the message about free cancellation, price fixing when booking, and most importantly, the message that no upfront payment is required.

So if we allow online agencies to have such flexible booking conditions (cancellation policy, no deposit on booking), why can't we offer our "direct" guests the same?

Now ask yourself again why a guest should pay you even a trifle in the form of five bucks when booking directly, if booking a room with intermediaries, he will do it for free?

If your own booking engine is still taking commissions, change that and change it today.
7. Hint

We all know that we should communicate the benefits of direct booking wherever possible. So be it! This should be the main and center! But… sometimes you have to be more subtle.

If your hotel Wi-Fi is password protected, change the password to a simple "BookDirect". Add direct booking reminders to your digital signature, to your website, to all your offline promotional material.
8. Pretend you are a guest

Ask your non-hospitality friends, family, and acquaintances to browse your site. Ask them to find specific information and see how they interact with your site.
Is the site too wordy? Is the strategic "quick booking" button in a convenient and prominent place? If you have scrolling on your site, it is already too difficult for the guest. "leaves.

Remember that your site should be a revenue generator first, and only then provide information.

Make sure your site has strong calls to action. Change the "Check Availability" button to "Book Now".
9. Reward guest loyalty

We'll talk more about this a little later, but still…why don't you place your site in a smarter way? A lot of sites now have "liteboxes", ie small square tiles that show your special offers or link to brochures.

Why not use this tile to reward a potential guest? Seductive text like "Get access to exceptional prices" or "Join our privileged club!" will definitely help. Your designer will help you add a landing page to capture emails that may be related to "exclusive pricing" or "group discounts".
10. Mmmmm…. Why not ask our guests?

If guests come to us from online agencies, ask them why?
Why not identify each guest who booked through an intermediary and ask them 3-4 simple questions? Reward them for their answers with a free drink or a late check out.

Then rate the answers. We are sure it will tell a lot of interesting things about our online marketing or web design. We must use any information about our guests to segment them, communicate with them, and most importantly, understand their behavior. If we don't, shame on us all!
11. Learn from the "big guys"!

One way or another, we pay attention to how "business sharks" work. Why don't we adopt their ideas?
Why don't we unite under the slogan of a consortium of local hoteliers? (Perhaps we will be supported by industry organizations!) And make your own TV commercial! Not so pretentious and expensive, but still ...

Don't forget that we still have a large percentage of local guests. Therefore, united, all this can work for us.
12. Rewards and loyalty programs

All of these promotional campaigns are aimed at getting people to sign up for hotel loyalty programs so that hotels can segment and create specific and unique customer experiences from their database, as well as offer rewards and incentives. So why can't we do the same?

The folks at Choice Hotels are publicly claiming memberships to their "preferred clubs" have increased by 63% since the start of the campaign. Why can't independent hotels encourage guest loyalty as well?
13. Communication with the client

With all the talk about rewarding guests, urging them to stay with us, yelling to stay away from online agencies, we forget about the guest. Here we have achieved it, and what's next? What do we know about him? Where do you share the data? The first right thing to do is to segment knowledge. Ask at check-in what your guest is interested in: a corporate business trip, a romantic getaway, a family vacation, etc. And act on the information you receive.
The easiest way to reward your customer is to offer exclusive pricing. So why not start by building hidden price groups on your site that will only be accessible through links you email to that closed dial plan?

Come up with a clear plan and strategy. What segment are you targeting? Why? What is the best time to promote offers? Make sure you have a clear strategy in place before you start and measure everything!
14. Competitions! We can give back more than we give

So far we've been talking about adding messages to our site such as "best rate guaranteed", "no upfront fees", "access to exclusive offers", "flexible cancellation", "free parking", etc. But why don't we go a little further and have a contest? Everyone loves to compete and the chance to get rewarded!

Assign this task to someone from your team, let him choose the winner once a week. It could be an upgrade to a deluxe room, a dinner for two at a restaurant, breakfast in bed or even a late check out. Think and be flexible. Tell about it on social networks. This is another great way to promote direct bookings.
15. Accessibility or how to be as flexible as online

We all know when a client hangs on our phone and asks to book a room that is not available or does not match the time of accommodation, we are forced to refuse him. But be flexible!

If all standard rooms are sold out and you are left with superior or deluxe rooms, you know these room types won't fill up - sell them to those in need. Give yourself and your customer the best chance to order.
16. Use your reviews

We hope you agree that responding to reviews is important. According to statistics, 78% of people who saw the response of the hotel to their response, believe that the hotel cares about its guests. But for some reason we don't use this opportunity to promote our direct booking messages.

For example, there are thousands of people who visit TripAdvisor a day and many of them can view your hotel, so advertising "direct booking" will be very useful.

We don't suggest adding this to every review, in many cases it would probably be inappropriate, but why not add it subtly here and there? It won't hurt, will it? (just don't include your full URL, TripAdvisor will block it).
17. About images

We - hoteliers are too verbose. Why say one word when you can say 100? And this is often reflected on our websites. Of course, we must satisfy our customers in order to tell how great we are and help search engines rank us more effectively. But now the emphasis is on images.
Make sure you have a large, high-quality photo on your site that tells about you. Don't over-promise with deluxe or superior rooms, this will only lead to complaints and negative feedback. Give an honest view of the hotel that the guest will see.

Use only large high quality images
Make sure you have a gallery in your site navigation as this is often the second most visited page on the site.

For heaven's sake, never show empty rooms. An empty restaurant or bar is like a haunted house. Show people - eating or drinking, smiling, enjoying. Let customers imagine being there and experience everything you have to offer.
Make sure the photo is good, every little thing can make a difference. A crumpled sheet or bad lighting can ruin your brand.

Don't be afraid to use emotional photos rather than lobby or bedroom shots. Close-ups of even a teacup can capture someone's imagination.
18. And now about the video

With more people using sites like YouTube, video is becoming an important part of our lives.

There are many ways to follow trends, for example, in the "Home" tab, you can put a video about your hotel. And then scatter excerpts from it on the appropriate pages, for example, a 30-second video about your restaurant on a page about your restaurant.
Start your YouTube channel and post all your video content there.

Another easy way to create video content (if you have weddings being played) is to ask the newlyweds for permission to post clips from their wedding video in your own section. Most, we are sure, will allow you to do this, and things like this will give you great content to showcase your hotel in real conditions, and not "varnished" and implausible.
19. Back to prices

Yes, back to prices. When a customer visits your site and checks the available numbers, you have every chance of getting him. But what if he wants to look and leave to check and compare the best offers from "enemy" online agencies. Make sure that all prices are on your site. There are tons of useful widgets for this, we dare to recommend you TripTease.

Like all smart hoteliers, we have the lowest prices on our website, so we always win. Ta-dam! This is how we tell the client: "No need to check anything! We have the best prices right here and now!" This, of course, should help to get these customers.
20. Guest recognition

We all like to be recognized, don't we? Of course, not like Kanye West, but don't we all like to think that someone remembers us?
Many providers of automated booking systems have now started producing "guest recognition" software. It works like this... When I go to the site and check availability for, say, July 26th and then leave, my visit is logged. When I return, the site greets me (so far anonymously as I haven't introduced myself) and asks if I still want to book a room for June 26th. And then it shows me the prices valid for that date. Wow! The client likes to be remembered and this speeds up the booking process.

When I go back to the site after booking to check directions, I am again congratulated on my return, but this time called by my first name. I may be offered dinner, useful information about discounts, interesting events, etc.

After I've been there, I return to the site a few months later to possibly book another room. I am again greeted by name and offered access to exceptional offers, they want to reward me for my loyalty. And now I really feel special!

We all want to "feel the love" and this new software is a huge bonus and will definitely help you not only convert but also establish a relationship with your client. And we all know how difficult it is to gain trust, but how powerful and great it can pay off!

Finding a hotel room online is now easier than ever. In fact, almost 60% of bookings are made digitally and the online database is constantly growing. One way or another, ordinary consumers are at the epicenter of the battle of hotels and online agencies (OTA). There is no doubt that Expedia and Booking.com have succeeded in gathering information about hotels and the best rates for rooms, but the main issue for hoteliers is that OTAs give them bookings, but not loyal guests.

Here are some examples of how hotels motivate potential guests to book rooms directly.

Benefits of Direct Booking

When guests decide to go directly to a hotel's website for search and possible booking, they are looking for something more personal. Hotel owners need to quickly capture the attention of visitors by offering direct booking benefits, focusing on room selection, booking changes and price negotiation. Understanding the tastes and preferences of site visitors, you can activate direct orders without giving tidbits to third-party offices.

Independent hotels are taking a hit

Independent hotels are forced to compete not only with OTAs, but also with large hotel brands. By designing marketing campaigns around unique direct booking incentives, these hotels show how customer satisfaction helps win loyal customers.

Castle Hotel & Spa (Tarrytown, New York)

Guests who visit the hotel through OTA will receive a 15% discount if they book directly next time.

Kelvin Hotel (Glasgow, Scotland)

Guests booking direct are guaranteed the lowest rates, a complimentary full Scottish breakfast, a Kelvin Hotel loyalty card, a gift bag of sweets and additional seasonal and holiday deals.

Hotel Arts (Calgary, Canada)

Booking directly provides personalized booking services and free cancellation up to a day from your stay. Other offers are an additional 10% discount on accommodation rates and membership in the Extra Hotel Arts program. Participants will receive free water, turndown service, and free meals at a local restaurant as a compliment.

The Langham (London, England)

The Langham offers direct customers free Wi-Fi, a 15% discount on tours of London, personalized room packages, customized offers such as breakfast or massages, access to the 1865 loyalty program, and frequent guest benefits.

Major hotel brands such as Marriott are not left out of the battle for direct bookings.

Hilton Exclusive Deals

10% off the listed price, plus the ability to earn points for free Wi-Fi, an extra night in a room, digital room keys and room selection before check-in. Also, customers will be able to exchange points for tickets to concerts, shows and other events.

Marriott Awards

If the customer finds a lower price, he will receive a room at that price plus a 25% discount. Marriott loyalty program members get free Wi-Fi, mobile check-in and the chance to earn points for a free night at a hotel.

We remind you that