Hotels are eager to reduce their dependence on online travel agencies (OTAs) for obtaining guests. They want to spare themselves the high costs of using third-party channels.
But luring customers to their own websites and apps -- i.e., direct bookings -- isn't easy.
So tons of experts have appeared to offer advice to hoteliers on how to get more direct bookings.
Enter, Software Advice, an Austin company that has reviewed and recommended enterprise software for 160,000 businesses of all kinds -- not just in hospitality -- since 2006.
The company recently sponsored a Google Consumer Survey of about approximately 2,500 consumers to learn which perks do the best job of persuading travelers to skip OTAs.
They've published a report online. Here are the key highlights:
A free room upgrade, such as to a room with a balcony or a better view, works best at persuading customers to book direct. It won over nearly half of the respondents in the survey.
Free food and drink is the next most tempting spiff, for both men and women, beating out other incentives.
These lures trumped gift cards, free access to on-site amenities, and other possible perks by significant margins.
R. Terry Mueller, CEO of eMax Hotel Internet Marketing, chimes in that hotels ought to call out these special offers on their websites with a box that sits on the part of a website that is visible when a user first reaches it in a typical desktop computer or tablet browser.
See more in the full report, here. It includes detailed advice, such as what type of gift card to offer if you're going to offer one, plus the methodology of the study.
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