Imagine you have to book a stay in Milan online. You would probably visit a website like Booking.com or Expedia to check out the hotels available. After weighing up the various options and finding the most suitable accommodation for your needs, you would go to the official website of your chosen hotel to check the rate and conditions offered and, if better, make the booking.
This example illustrates how many users behave and helps us explain the so-called ‘billboard effect’, which is when a hotel's presence on OTAs increases its visibility, also benefiting direct bookings.
Hotels on OTAs benefit from high visitor traffic and exposure, which is also due to the platforms’ high online advertising investment capacities. In addition, positive reviews help hotels reassure potential guests about the quality of their services.
By applying the billboard effect, being present on OTAs can send large amounts of qualified traffic to official websites. However, you need the right revenue management and marketing strategies to ensure that your direct channel has the best online rate and visibility.
If we took the example above, what would happen if the official website’s offer was less advantageous than that of an OTA? Of course, the booking would be made on the most advantageous channel, in terms of price and booking conditions.
Our first tip, therefore, is to have a solid revenue management strategy that rewards the official website: this does not simply mean offering a lower price, but also guaranteeing the customer particularly attractive and exclusive conditions. For example: flexible cancellation policies and direct channel packages and offers. These benefits should be highlighted with strategic persuasive messages during the booking stage.
To ensure that your official website remains competitive with OTAs, you need to carefully monitor its electronic distribution and act fast if a portal is more advantageous. To ensure maximum performance, you can also automate monitoring by using tools such as the Blastness Parity Check, which, thanks to the Distribution Health index, helps hoteliers avoid rate disparities.
Once you are certain that the rate on your official website is the best rate available online, you need to make sure that it is easily discoverable by users on search engines. Our second tip, therefore, is to invest in SEO and digital marketing campaigns to position your website at the top of the search results, both organic and paid.
At this point, once the user has easily found your website, the booking process should be simple and intuitive, otherwise, there is a risk that the user will decide to book via an OTA. It is therefore important to ensure a smooth and engaging user experience, with improvements or by creating a new website if the booking process is ineffective.
Finally, there are other small precautions that a hotelier can take to make the most of the billboard effect. The first, which you should never overlook, is having a polished image on Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels etc. with high-quality photos, engaging copy and clear, up-to-date information. Competition is fiercer than ever, and first impressions can make a real difference. We also highly recommend that you maintain your reputation by encouraging satisfied customers to leave positive reviews and responding actively and proactively to any criticism or negative reviews.
