Best Book Direct - Promote Your Own Best Rate on Your Own Site

Ensure Your Customer Knows You Are Offering Guaranteed Best Rate Direct

It is just a simple fact that customer will search third party sites looking for the best deal but that deal is not always about price it can be about value. They will look about and that does mean that very high percentages will find you on the third party site and then open your website for more information. The opportunity to switch sell your booking is being all too often lost. Capture and keep that customer and you can switch that customer to booking direct with you at a lower cost of sale.

The whole thing about generating more Direct Bookings through your own website is about just doing the obvious things.

We've already shown that the Online Travel Agents are bidding for your name in Google Adwords and prominently promoting a "Best Rate Guarantee" and that you need to counter that by asking them to stop, bidding against them for your own name and always making sure that your Page Title also pushes the best rate by booking on the direct and official website.

The consumer is often more discerning and one bad experience on a third party website may be enough to change their behaviour permanently - they will not do this however if your price on your website is more expensive.

Let's look logically at the consumer journey. In fact let's look at your own consumer journey for the last time you booked a hotel away from your own location.

Scenario One

You know the name of the hotel and search for it in Google or you even just search for hotels in Edinburgh

As we discussed on Day Two you will then be confronted with

• A Paid Advert from usually Booking.com at the top offering Guaranteed Best Rate and Savings
• A Google Places Map on the right hand side 
• And the hotel website in the normal listings - it may even say Best Rate Guaranteed Book Direct in its title!

(Note: many of you will never have seen the Google Hotels entry above before - we shall come back to Google Hotel Finder and how it could change the game later in the month)

You are discerning and want best value so you open the top paid listing and are offered the rates for your stay at the chosen hotel or destination. We've all used booking.com or lastminute.com as a search engine looking for what's available and where. At the moment your accommodation website cannot do anything about this other than appearing on these listings (we're not advocating getting rid of them as they can be useful!)

But once your availability comes up and is of interest to the booker it is what the customer does next that gives the operator the chance to take that business back DIRECT.

The discerning or curious customer will invariably check the the property out in more detail by doing a quick search for it. Your hotel is found but it says nothing about best rates it just says  Celtic Links Hotel Edinburgh.

They click on the link and open the official site.

• They can't find an availability checker in less than three clicks so they give up and close it down or; 
• They find the availability checker and there is no availability and close it down; 
• They find availability but the rate is £20 per night more expensive direct and they close it down.

With any of these scenarios, there is just no contest. The hotel website gets a sharp click on the close tab button and the booking is made with the third party and the hotel has lost:

1. A direct booking
2. A direct customer (the OTA can now market directly to them the next time)
3. Profit through high commissions paid to the OTA

Scenario Two - The Switch Sale

And it would have been so simple to switch that sale if the hotel had offered a Best Rate Guarantee of their own, ensured the prices were the same and that added value options were available.

1. The customer open both sites
2. On opening the hotel site they are confronted with a bold statement (as in the example on the right) ensuring them that a Direct Booking is the Best Booking. There may even be statement explaining what best Booking Direct actually means to them. (See Day Five)
3. They click on the booking page and the price is the same but there are also packages that add better value.
4. They buy the room at the same price but add on the Book Direct Extra

The accommodation has retained a Direct Booking, retained the customer information, reduced the costs of sale and increased the secondary spend.

Does it happen this way? you are the best judge of that. Does it sound familiar in your own bookings history?

Direct Sell by Adding Value

Some of the best converting Bookassist clients will use every opportunity open to sell more rooms direct by adding value to the basic room proposition. Give more whenever you can and ensure that the option to book direct is given more value.

• Book Direct and Receive Upgrade Offers
• Book Direct and Receive a voucher towards dinner
• Book Direct and Receive 20% off your next stay
• Book Direct and Receive Free admission to a Local Attraction

Remember not all your potential guests are looking for the lowest price and as we all do, we will pay that little bit extra for the service, the extras, the personal touches. 

With Bookassist web booking engine you can add unlimited extras - flowers, champagne, flowers, rounds of golf, gift vouchers - to the booking process even restricting them to specific packages. All of these little extras can help the customer differentiate between booking third party and booking direct.

In the eyes of many OTAs are driving accommodation providers in an ever faster Race to the Bottom and discerning operators need to start adding more value on their own direct business. They provide a distribution channel for your products but it is up to you to ensure that you are managing the balance of that relationship proactively.

It is after all Best to Book Direct!

The Best Book Direct Guide is being produced in conjunction with the on-line marketing team at Plan B and the award winning Bookassist Booking Engine. 
Email or call 01292 521404.
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Two Championship Links Golf Courses Choose Bookassist

Bookassist in Scotland are delighted to announce that they have entered into two great new contracts with some of the very best golf related accommodation in Scotland at Castle Stuart in The Highlands and Craigielaw in East Lothian.

Both golf courses have been developing their own on course accommodation and both properties will offer the golfing visitor to Scotland an even more enhanced experience.

Craigielaw Golf Lodge

Opening in May 2013 this is a 25 bedroomed addition to what already is a superb clubhouse and meeting facility overlooking the golf course and the Forth of Forth.

Situated at the entrance to the village of Aberlady, the high quality accommodation will offer 25 en suite twin or double rooms with 13 sea view and 12 courtyard facing bedrooms.

We've been working with General Manager Derek Scott in setting up the rooms, rates and availability and soon they'll be adding a range of golf inclusive offers on to the site complete with a range of guest adds which can be added to each package.

The Craigielaw Lodge website is already live and taking on-line bookings and we look forward to a great relationship with the team on the East Coast.

Castle Stuart Golf Lodges

Simultaneous to getting the booking engine live on the Craigielaw site we've been working with Stuart McColm and Steff at Castle Stuart Golf Club to create a really strong booking proposition for their wonderful new golf and accommodation product.

Castle Stuart itself hardly needs much introduction as it captured the imagination of the golf market even before it opened and has hosted the Scottish Open over the past two years and will again in 2013.

The magnificent course is now additionally supported not only by first class clubhouse facilities but also by three luxurious self catering accommodation offerings - Golf Lodge sleeping up to six and the Farmhouse and Castle Cottage sleeping up to eight.

The flexibility of the Bookassist booking engine allowed us to configure each accommodation unit to the needs of the management and more importantly the golfer. The wonderful Stay and Play Castle Stuart packages will be bookable by accommodation type for up to eight golfers in eoither single bedded or twin rooms and then the golfers can add on the number of rounds of golf to their package. Add ons such as caddies, welcome hampers, cases of beer can easily be added onto the module as and when required to add value to the DIRECT booking experience.

The Bookassist Booking Engine will go live on the Castle Stuart Lodging Pages over the next few days and once again Plan B and Bookassist look forward to building yet further the relationship we have with Castle Stuart which was cemented over a year ago with the development of the Highland Golf Links brand and online marketing campaign

This blog article is presented by Plan B and Bookassist. The Bookassist Booking engine is managed in Scotland by Plan B and with nearly twenty years involvement with Scottish hospitality marketing, Plan B can provide full support for your online marketing requirements from website design, relationship building through to increased conversion with Bookassist Web Booking Engine.

Best Book Direct - Google Places For Accommodation Businesses

Improve How Your Customer Views Your Business Name - Part II

In our travels, in our day to day support calls and in our ongoing research we still find dozens  of businesses who have found themselves immersed in a Facebook campaign yet are still without an up to date or quite often NO presence on Google Places. If your brow has just furrowed and you've just thought I'm not sure whether we're using Google Places then you really MUST read on. It is free, easy to set up and it really is an absolute MUST DO TODAY job.

If there's one thing you need to check before the year's out it is that you're using Google Places to its full (and FREE) potential.

We have presented at workshops all around the country and still businesses are not using the free tools that Google have given them. And to be quite brutal it's unforgivable!

"You've got a Facebook account yet you haven't updated or claimed your Google Place?" Time to prioritise better!

Google Places is playing an an increasingly important role in searches for the hospitality sector on both PC based searches and increasingly in Google Apps on mobile devices. It is not just important that hospitality businesses manage their Google Places account it is truly criminal not to.

It's an old blog posting but Laurian Clemence, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs with Google UK highlighted the importance of Places more than a year ago, “By having an on-line presence via Google Places, hotels are enabling users to find and interact with their business,” says Clemence. He recommends keeping listings simple, accurate and consistent.

From a tourism and hospitality perspective Google Places is taking, and is likely to take even more, prominence as Google identify means of improving their social media offering with search offerings such as Google+ Local, Google + Pages for your business and Google Hotel Finder.

As we've said however, the starting point for us however is getting the basics in place so start with setting up or editing your Google Places information

Test It Now for Your Business

Google Place information is visible in the top right corner of the search screen - and must surely be a positive one for hotels seeking direct bookings through their own website.

Once again use your own business name and see what your customer sees. On the right is the Google Paces result for The Oak Tree Inn Balmaha. This search data is free and managed at the core by your business. It offers reviews and new ratings out of 30 based on a host of customer inputs.

If your business doesn't appear in this way you really need to get this listed as an A+ priority and that means TODAY.

This is not intended to be a detailed guide to how to set up Google Paces just a call to action to ensure you do. Google explain in the easiest possible terms how to do it.

Do you need to understand how it interacts with Hotel Finder, Google + Reviews, Google+ pages? In time yes but for now get the building blocks in place and make sure that your business details, map, and descriptions are up to date. Upload your best most recent images and video if you have some.

To start creating your free local business listing, go to the Google Places and sign in with your Google account. If you don't already have a Google account, click Sign up now to create a new Google account.

Things to Do Today

1. Search for your business names (include separate searches for your restaurants. pubs and leisure facilities and see how you are represented in Google Search and Google Places
2. Set up or update your Google Places account fully for each business you operate - content, images, categories, video, tags and descriptions  special offers, the lot. Set an hour (or very maximum two) aside to do it properly.
3. Check your Google Places account and the statistics and advice on it regularly

Downloads, Links and Reference

This article is a call to action rather than a detailed briefing. We have previously written articles on Google Places in this blog. Simply type in Google Places in the search field top right of this page for more detailed info. Google's reference guides are definitive and really easy (on the whole!) to follow so to get your entry up to date click on the links below.

Google Reference Links

• Google Places for Business
• Google + for Business
• Understanding Google Hotel Finder

Additional Reading

• Google Local for Hotels 
• Google Local is Replacing Google Places
• Google is Going Places
• Hotel Tips for Google Places

The Best Book Direct Series is being produced in conjunction with the on-line marketing team at Plan B and the award winning Bookassist Booking Engine. 
Email or call 01292 521404.
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Best Book Direct - Your Business Name in Google Search

Improve How Your Customer Views Your Business Name - Part I

Search for your business name and location in Google and note the results. How are you seen, who are your partners or competitors, how is your business name represented, how does your Google Place entry look. This is your continual and ongoing reference point. Once you have your business name sorted and only then should you start moving to being found for more general terms. Start from your business out.

One of the most challenging issues facing accommodation providers in 2013 and beyond is how to reduce the cost of on-line sales by switching your guests from third party websites and on-line travel agents to booking direct.

We will be looking at the shady practice known as Hotel Brand Jacking later in the week at how the accommodation sector - and the industry bodies representing the sector - could and should be taking this practice head on but regardless of the way the big boys act, operators should be doing what they can for themselves in areas of search and "brand" or business name awareness. Let's start with the very basics.

It seems logical to start with your own business name. You may think that it's simple - a potential customer is looking for your business specifically and they'll find you? Maybe but increasingly your name is being hijacked. Bit of an overstatement?

Well if you've seen a drop in bookings over the past two years from your own website you may be blaming your website or your booking engine. The truth is that your DIRECT customer, those looking for your business, are being "seduced" or more accurately "bought" by the online travel agents running Google Adwords for YOUR business name.

Let's look at an example of a smaller independently owned hotel on Loch Lomondside, The Oak Tree Inn at Balmaha. We did a Google search for their name "Oak Tree Inn"

The first thing you'll notice is that you are being shown in a number of ways. Paid advertisers will show always first; The business featured on Google map will be on the right hand side and the organic search listings will be listed below the paid adverts.

Google Search for "Oak Tree Inn" or "Oak Tree Inn Balmaha"

We'll look at how businesses can maximise their content on Google Places on the right later in the week so we'll focus on the paid adverts and the generic search listings for now.

The first thing that your searchers will find are the paid adverts with the big boys buying your business name.

Do your customers know that it's an advert? Do they care? Or are they going to be drawn by the Best Price Guarantee or Book & Save statement?

What would you do? Go for the most likely best price?

Your own website may always appear first in the general listings but what does it say to the customer?

You must ensure that it emphasises that it is Best to Book Direct so while the OTA's may be able to promote Best Rate Guarantees, so should you; and only your site can claim to be the official one so why not use it.

The Oak Tree Inn has done just this and there is little doubt that it helps convince the customer that they are assured of the best rates by booking direct.

The series of Best Book Direct features is intended to focus businesses on the issues and actions that they DO have control over and by creating a course of small changes (some with big gains) there can be a gradual but inexorable movement toward a much more balanced accommodation reservation position.

So acting on a Google search on your own business name may not be high on the Richter Scale but it is a start that states a determination to take more control of your online marketing and sales conversion. Over the next days and weeks some other equally small changes may combine to make the big differences in direct sales that all accommodation businesses need in 2013. 

The next few Days in the Advent Calendar will look further at maximising your Google Search opportunities and protecting your business name.

Things To Do Today

1. Do a Google Search for your business name
2. Note what other sites are being found and how your customer sees your name
3. Amend your Home Page Title to encourage more DIRECT business
4. Regularly revisit how your business is being found.. 

Downloads, Links and Reference

• Get Your Defensive Strategy Right
• Hotel brand hijacking in search – look out for a revolution
• Hotel Brandjacking: Online Marketing Pitfalls
• Brandjacking Index Report - May 2011

(NOTE: The Brandjacking Index study con­cludes that brand­jack­ing re­sults in more than 580 mil­lion vis­its from highly-qual­i­fied travel­ers be­ing si­phoned from ho­tel book­ing sites to the book­ing sites of chan­nel/mar­ket­ing part­ners or com­peti­tors. The study pegs the over­all an­nual cost of lost book­ings and un­nec­es­sary com­mis­sions at $2.2 bil­lion.)

The Best Book Direct Guide is being produced in conjunction with the on-line marketing team at Plan B and the award winning Bookassist Booking Engine. 
Email or call 01292 521404.
Get Daily Updates and Comment on Tourism Matters Facebook

Website and Booking Engine Options for the small operator

Plan B have unveiled three new website and booking packages under their Open Rooms branding.

The three options which are aimed at the smaller independent accommodation provider have been developed around Plan B's proprietary and purpose built hospitality Content and Destination Management System known as The Claymore Project.

The competitive pricing of the packages recognises the challenges facing the smaller operator in a constrained market place where investment in improving services and infrastructure is at a premium.

Ian McCaig of Plan B explains, "The pressures on smaller operators is coming from all sides in particular  from Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com and others driving prices down and increasing the cost of sales through increasingly high commission levels. The Open Rooms suite of products has been designed and developed to try encourage a Best Book Direct attitude from the operators who can and should be taking more control over everything they can do to increase lower costs DIRECT reservations"

The suite combines full content management with award winning low cost booking engine technology using Bookassist's Web Booking Engine.

McCaig continued, "We are particularly aware of the removal of VisitScotland's booking engine in Scotland at the end of December and these solutions are perfect for the operators who are now looking for a long term replacement. We think it's important that businesses consider their strategy before signing up to something that simply says we're FREE - there is always a cost to a booking and providers just have to ask where those costs come in."

We strongly believe that the best booking - for both the provider and the guest - is the DIRECT booking and with all of our booking engine clients it is about increasing the reservations through the accommodation providers' OWN sites not traffic through high commission third party sites. 

It's not easy to break the stranglehold of the big boys when the revenues are so desperately needed but it can be done slowly and surely with good practice."

Our Open Rooms suite gives businesses of all sizes the tools to start moving rooms back to DIRECT"

Open Rooms Postcard 1314

Open Rooms Postcard is a well-designed and update-able micro site featuring a rolling gallery of images and it also includes your contact information, Google Map, and direct links to your social media too! For small accommodation business you can even integrate Bookassist, one of the leading booking engines on the market, into the site to take commission free bookings.

On signing up for an Open Rooms Postcard website we will take your logo, images and content and turn it into a search engine optimised, online availability ready, fully content managed webpage and often in less than 48 hours!

Read More and Download PDF

Open Rooms Lite 1314

Our entry level package, Open Rooms Lite 1314, offers the independent accommodation provider all of the flexibility required and you can grow your site as required with our purpose built content and destination management system you can control as much of your online content as you need. Manage and update your content, add image galleries even integrate your social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter and offer fully integrated and offer DIRECT online room bookings - commission free for under ten bedded properties.

Based on flexible Open Rooms Frameworks, we design around your colours and logos. You decide on your site content and pages and we build the site for you. You manage all of your content from day one. Your booking engine is integrated into the system with you ready to take commission free bookings from day one.

Read More and Download PDF

Commission Free Booking Engine

VisitScotland have announced recently that from the middle of December 2012 they will be removing access to their booking engine leaving many smaller accommodation providers with only a few weeks to find a replacement to ensure that they can receive online bookings through the important first three months of 2013.

Aimed at the small bed and breakfast and guest house provider this lighter version of the award winning booking engine offers a commission free booking option with a host of top end functions. Open Rooms 1314 offers a modified version of the web booking engine aimed at the smaller operator making it easier than ever to manage rates and availability and take reservations DIRECT from their own websites.

Read More and Download PDF

For further information click on the links above to view website examples and to download a detailed PDF Guide or if you wish to discuss your booking engine options please call us on 01292 521404

Gearing up for Year of Natural Scotland

News Release from Scottish Government

15/11/2012

With only two months to go till the Year of Natural Scotland officially gets underway in 2013, Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing has been urging Scotland’s visitor attractions to get involved.

Speaking at the Association of Scottish Visitor Attractions annual conference in Falkirk, Mr Ewing outlined how the twelve months showcasing Scotland’s outstanding natural environment has significant potential to boost visitor numbers.

He also met Ellen Walker of the travel company Brightwater Holidays. It is one of the first companies to take advantage of the Year of Natural Scotland branding which features prominently in their new brochure that is to be distributed across the UK.

The Year of Natural Scotland is the next of the Scottish Government’s Focus Years showcasing some of our best known tourism assets as we progress towards our second Year of Homecoming Scotland in 2014. The Year of Natural Scotland follows the Year of Food and Drink, the Year of Active Scotland and the Year of Creative Scotland.

Tourism Minister Fergus Ewing said:

"The Year of Natural Scotland provides us with an excellent opportunity to make the most of Scotland’s magnificent natural heritage and increase visitor numbers in the process.

"I am encouraging everyone at home and abroad to discover or rediscover Scotland by getting out and seeing some of our world renowned scenery, wildlife and other natural attractions which will boost business and enhance both the local and national economies.

"Tourism attractions across the country can get involved by using the toolkit which is available on VisitScotland’s website and by thinking now about how they can make the most of this opportunity. Brightwater Holidays is already on board and I know many others are doing the same.

"The Focus Years have been a great success and the figures speak for themselves. Over half a million people attended events and activities celebrating the Year of Food and Drink, we saw a 6 per cent increase in "active" participation levels during the Year of Active Scotland and the messaging around the Year of Creative Scotland has already reached almost 70 million people across the globe.

"Together we can build on this success for the Year of Natural Scotland and keep the momentum going for the second year of Homecoming in 2014 when Scotland will take centre stage in world terms as host of two of the largest events in the world, The Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup."

Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland, said: "The Year of Natural Scotland is a great opportunity for Scottish tourism businesses to showcase exactly what this country has to offer. It is great to see that, already, we are seeing businesses such as Brightwater Holidays seizing the initiative and highlighting the Year of Natural Scotland. I would encourage all Scottish tourism businesses to think about ways that they, too, can get involved and take advantage of this unique celebration. Not only is the Year of Natural Scotland about putting Scotland’s stunning landscapes on the world stage, it is also about boosting the visitor economy and putting cash in the tills of tourism businesses throughout Scotland."

Ellen Walker from Brightwater said;

"The Year of Natural Scotland is the perfect timing for Brightwater Holidays to launch its new marketing division under the brand Brightwater Scotland.

"We have built up an enviable reputation over the last 20 years for our personable service and a range of Scottish Holidays that is second to none. Our Scottish Garden Holidays, Island Breaks and Archaeological Tours are the perfect fit for The Year of Natural Scotland.

"We are delighted to launch Brightwater Scotland - in association with Visit Scotland and the Year of Natural Scotland 2013."

Good Flight News For Scotland

Good news for Scottish tourism (and business) that Virgin Atlantic will launch multiple daily flights between London and Scotland from next March after it successfully bid for all the slots British Airways was forced to relinquish following its takeover of BMI.

BA and Virgin will now go head to head on flights between London Heathrow and Edinburgh and Aberdeen for the first time.

Virgin, which will lease aircraft with crew from a third party airline to operate its new domestic network, said further details would be announced within the next two weeks.

Virgin Atlantic's chief executive Steve Ridgway said: "We have fought hard for the right to fly short haul and take a strong challenge to British Airways within these shores.  For 28 years both airlines have battled for customers all over the world and it has meant that British consumers have ultimately had some of the world's best flying and lowest fares.

"This is the beginning of an exciting new era in Virgin Atlantic history and we now feel a responsibility to everyone that has supported us in this challenge. Passengers can look forward to a great short haul service with us but most importantly reap the benefits from the re-injection of vital competition we can provide on these routes."

The airline said the new routes, to launch around March 31, will complement its new Manchester to Heathrow route it is also introducing next year. Flights will be operated by a narrow-bodied A320.

BA, which already flies between Heathrow and Scotland, was forced to give up some of its take-off and landing slots from Heathrow to Edinburgh and Aberdeen as well as to Cairo and Moscow, for rival airlines following its takeover of BMI, which was the only other airline flying the same routes.

Lufthansa is believed to have been the only other airline bidding for the Heathrow to Edinburgh and Aberdeen slots, but Virgin lost its bid for slots to Moscow, which went to easyJet (see earlier story).