How to choose your hotel web agency ?
How do you choose the service provider who knows how to present your hotel’s website in the best light and make it generate at least 20% of your online bookings? Which web agency should you entrust with the mission of reducing your OTA commissions by 5 to 10%?
Did you know that 52% of customers who have selected your hotel on an OTA platform also go directly to your hotel’s website? To increase your turnover, your website is therefore undoubtedly a decisive tool in your digital strategy.
Is choosing a web agency specializing in the hotel industry mandatory?
Should you choose a web agency specializing in the hotel industry? The answer is yes !
Even if the development aspect is a very important condition for using an “up to date” technology offering a well-referenced hotel website where navigation is intuitive, fast and fluid for a better experience, it is not sufficient on its own. only.
In web marketing, it is necessary to know the market concerned perfectly, to have benchmarked it well and to have all the information on the behavior of Internet users concerning this market. WIHP is the specialist in website creation for hotels.
Check the references of the hotel website creation agency
Of course, a website for an independent hotel, an SME or for a hotel group are made differently and that is why it is important to select a web agency that perfectly masters the ins and outs of the hotel industry. .
Most of the time, agencies specialize in a type of structure such as a VSE, SME or even a large group, but also in specific sectors of activity.
Do not hesitate to ask the agencies for practical examples. Ask to see the hospitality websites they have created. This will give you an overview of his skills.
Also take the time to consult the customer reviews available on the internet. Some agencies clearly put customer satisfaction at the heart of their values and have certified reviews on platforms like Trustpilot, or even customer testimonials on their Google My Business page, so much information that can enlighten you on their skills.
Write specifications that are as precise as possible
The specifications are your basic tool for choosing the right web agency for you.
It is a document clearly and rigorously summarizing your expectations and objectives, in a precise and concrete way. Similarly, it allows the agencies you have selected to offer you a tailor-made quote, to best build your project.
Your specifications will also be a real roadmap and a guarantee of quality to which you can refer throughout the construction of the pages of the site to assess compliance with your initial needs.
Here are the main elements to include in your specifications:
First, it must make a precise description of your activity. Take the time to explain to the agency your precise and complete vision of what your hotel establishment offers its customers.
Describe in detail your offer, your target of potential customers, but also your main values and your commitments if you have already defined them. All these elements frame your project, in particular to create a hotel website that is truly adapted to your establishment.
In the previous step, you identified the specific objectives of your web project. Explain them as clearly as possible in your specifications, ranking them in order of priority if necessary.
Define the scope of your project: a web agency takes care of the creation or renovation of your website, also remember to include other very concrete elements in your specifications, such as taking charge of its security as well as its daily maintenance if you have decided or cannot take care of it yourself.
If you already have a logo, a graphic charter, brochures or even a slogan for your hotel, the specifications must show them, because these are essential elements that will be used by your web agency.
All of these elements are useful for the experts in front of you, to be able to determine what they need to support in the design of the site or in your online communication strategy.
Define the constraints, whether in terms of time or budget. Specify the date on which you want your site to be online if you have planned it in advance. Also indicate if you have a specific monthly budget for your hotel digital marketing campaigns. Cite examples of sites that you appreciate, to inspire your web agency, and help it to propose a suitable offer, do not hesitate to feed it from sources that you find relevant.
A reputable agency will never offer you a pure copy, but taking inspiration from an idea and adapting it to your establishment could be a good solution.
Define the deadlines for creating a hotel website
Your agency must make commitments regarding the creation time. The average time that can be seen for a website to be online is between two and four months.
But be careful, you must be a responsive and involved hotelier in your project, remember that this is a collaborative effort in which you are the conductor. Your response time to questions and proposals should ideally not exceed two to three days.
Ask how your content management works
When you entrust the creation of your hotel website to an agency, keep in mind that you may one day take control of the tools used, or that you will have to pass them on to another service provider or even to the buyer of your establishment. . For all these reasons, it is imperative to check which authoring tool your agency uses.
The name of this tool is Content Management System (CMS). The majority of website creation providers use CMS like WordPress or Prestashop. Some have created their own tool. WIHP provides you with a simple, clear tool in line with the specificities of the hotel industry, such as connection to the booking engine.
The CMS used for your website must be quite intuitive, easy to use and allow a sufficiently fine customization of your pages. Get trained by your web agency at least in the basics of the chosen site creation software and also ask them to have access to it, at least as an editor.
You must be able to integrate content yourself or add elements whenever you want.
Choose your hotel web agency
To meet consumer expectations, have good visibility and a good brand image with your website, it is essential to choose the right hotel web agency. Whether you are an independent hotel or not, your digital strategy, like your social networks, will depend on a good customer experience, with the certainty of an increase in turnover and a reduction in your commissions for OTAs.