Being visible on search engines is a major concern for any establishment and has become an essential element of hotel advertising. Any hotelier wanting to attract visitors to their establishment should definitely consider this kind of visibility marketing strategy. What is Search Engine Advertising (SEA) for Hotels? Search Engine Advertising consists of buying advertising space on Google’s SERP (Search Engine Results Page) using targeted keywords. Advertising campaigns can also be carried out on other search engines like Bing, Yandex, Yahoo, Baidu etc. At WIHP we recommend advertising your hotel on Google and Bing as these are two of the most popular search engines. The distinctive feature of SEA campaigns is that your ad is targeted precisely at a certain type of internet user. The ad is shown to travellers who are already in the search phase. With SEA, the user does not receive passive ads, you are responding to their request for information. For a hotelier, these types of campaign are worthwhile because you direct highly qualified traffic to your website. You are targeting users who are searching for information. Do you have to appear at the top of the search results? You don’t need to appear at the top of the search results but you should appear somewhere near the top. How do I select keywords for my hotel SEA campaign? There are several levels of keywords, and you’ll choose different types of keywords depending on the strategy you decide to employ. To work out which keywords you can use to position yourself, consider the types of searches an internet user might make. To do this, analyse the semantic fields for your hotel (meaning, the words that relate to your hotel). Your hotel website can also be used as a source of inspiration in your keyword search. To build your hotel’s advertising base, you should position yourself on keywords that work. This means using keywords that are relevant to your establishment. What type of campaigns should I use to advertise a hotel? There are several types of possible campaign:Brand protection Targeting with generic keywords (linked to the hotel but not the brand name) Remarketing campaigns (Display, YouTube, Gmail ads, etc.) Brand awareness campaigns (Display, YouTube, Gmail ads, etc.)Brand protection: These campaigns allow you to counter brandjacking when a third party uses your hotel name and registers conversions on their website. For example, an OTA can make it so that they appear each time the term ‘hotel’ comes up and can also buy an establishment’s brand name. An OTA doesn’t actually buy a specific brand name, they place themselves on wider searches which means they appear in the greatest number of searches. Watch out as there could also be campaigns using your hotel brand created by other distributors. Targeting by generic keywords: This type of campaign gives you the ability to advertise your hotel on a so-called ‘broad’ search. This is a way of ‘broadly’ reaching internet users. You can also use combinations of keywords, for example adding something that’s distinctive to your hotel. This type of advertising targets internet users who are actively searching, in other words, the internet user hasn’t yet decided to book with you. If you show your hotel during the user’s purchase path, you’ll be ahead of the game in the purchase process compared to a brand protection campaign. The aim of these campaigns is to make your brand known. Remarketing campaigns: These are based on personalised targeting, they target internet users who have already visited your website. The aim of these campaigns is to re-engage users and increase conversions. You advertise your hotel directly to users who have shown an interest in your hotel. Brand awareness campaigns: Brand awareness campaigns target users according to their interests and their searches. When you carry out these campaigns, you are trying to raise awareness of your hotel among people who like to travel. You should see these four types of campaign as a funnel. The more precise your campaigns, the more likely you are to hit the mark in the purchase pathway. How much does a hotel SEA campaign cost? The cost of a hotel SEA campaign is calculated on a CPC (cost per click) basis. This model is different to traditional advertising (for example, poster campaigns, radio ads, etc.) which have a fixed cost, making it easy to control the cost of your campaign. Note that it is your competitors who will define the amount you allocate to your hotel SEA campaign. For example, if you use so-called ‘popular’ keywords (often purchased by your competitors) you will automatically be impacted by your competitors’ CPC. If your competitors have higher bids than yours, you will need to increase your CPC to appear above them. What budget should I allocate to a hotel SEA campaign? It depends on how much visibility you want to generate for your hotel. Your budget will differ depending on where in the conversion process you want to target users. Whether you want to display your ad at the end of the conversion funnel or whether you want to target them before. Your budget will also vary depending on the location of your hotel, if your hotel is in Paris the bid will be higher than a hotel located in a smaller town because it has fewer inhabitants. No matter what your budget is, you can create advertising campaigns for your hotel. With visibility campaigns, you can set daily limits so that you don’t exceed the budget you have allocated. You can appear on a selected keyword until your budget has been reached, once you reach the limit, your ads will no longer be shown to internet users. What key indicators should I track? When your campaigns are launched, ensure that you have optimum cover: take into account the impression rate of the keyword and the visibility obtained. Then you can work out your campaigns’ potential. Why should I use an SEA campaign for a hotel? SEA campaigns allow you to qualify the traffic that will land on your hotel website. Buying keywords means you can qualify the internet user you are targeting, as the search will bring the user to you. So, setting up ad campaigns for your hotel will help you bring qualified users directly to your hotel website. By carrying out ad campaigns, you’ll increase the number of links that direct people to your hotel. These links mean you’ll have more visitors to your website which in turn will increase the number of conversions. However, if your campaign is to be successful, you should respond adequately to the internet user’s request. If your ad does not meet their needs you’ll reduce the chances of potential conversions. Conclusion: Paid hotel ad campaigns can help hotels obtain new potential customers. Setting up a hotel SEA campaign can help increase the visibility and awareness of your hotel with travellers. For campaigns to be effective, you can action them alongside other levers which fuel your hotel’s marketing strategy. You should aim for synergy across your campaigns to occupy the maximum space in search engine results. Looking to advertise your hotel on Google or Bing? Contact our hotel marketing strategy experts

On March 9th 2021, Google announced the official launch of free booking links (organic links Google Hotel Ads). This allows all hotels sending their prices and availability to Google to appear in the Google Hotel Ads module for free.  Google’s mission is to offer relevant information to Internet users, whether they are paid (via ads) or free (via organic links). It wasn’t achieving this with the previous pay-only model.  What does this mean for hoteliers? Until now, a hotel wishing to appear in the Google Travel module had to have a connection with Google Hotel Ads. That meant you not only had to send your prices and availability, but also participate in advertising auctions to display your official website rates. So only hotels running paid campaigns via Google Hotel Ads could be displayed on the module. Today, all you need is a connection to Google Hotel Ads to have your official website rate appear in the “All options” section. What are the benefits for your hotel?  You’ll be able to compete with paid Ads and get direct bookings on your hotel’s website. You’ll display more links to your hotel’s website, so increase your chances of getting a direct booking.Where can you find free/organic hotel links on Google? You can find these organic links by clicking on “Show more rates” in the Google Hotel Ads section of your Google Business Profile page (formerly Google My Business). When you are in the Travel section, the rates will be displayed under two headings. “Options from our partners” and “All options”.   Google Hotel Ads organic links appear under “All options”.How to display Google Hotel Ads organic links for your hotel? If you are already using Google Hotel Ads via our Meta I/O platform, by default, these organic links are already displayed. As a Google Premier Strategic Partner, your property was one of the beta testers for this solution. If you are not yet taking advantage of this service from Google, you can also register your hotel by visiting the link here: Google page. If you would like to know more about the entire Google Hotel Ads ecosystem, please do not hesitate to contact our teams of digital distribution specialists. Conclusion With this announcement, Google is putting a considerable spotlight on its Google Hotel Ads solution for hoteliers worldwide. This organic link option, which has been tested by Google for a year, will allow all hoteliers who weren’t already using Google Hotel Ads, to increase their visibility and direct income by displaying their official website rates in an area that, until now, had to be paid for.  Hoteliers who already use Google Hotel Ads for their distribution will benefit from additional free links, which will directly increase the profitability of all campaigns. It is still too early to analyse traffic statistics for the different options (organic vs paid) but the navigation path is longer and is not visible by default for organic links.

Bouncing back poses a real challenge. It is essential that you put in place certain actions  to generate bookings through your various distribution channels. Travellers today place a high value on measures taken to ensure their safety within your hotel: 32% of travellers would be more inclined to stay in an “impeccably clean hotel”.  Displaying and publicizing  measures taken by your hotel is among the solutions to put in place to reassure your future customers.  Having a website does more than just increase your hotel’s visibility: Nowadays, it is among a hotel’s essential communication tools.  In this article, we will discuss various communication actions you can implement on your website to reassure your future customers. How do you update your hotel website?  Your hotel website is a powerful communication tool, reaching a large audience through which you can share hygiene measures you have put in place. It allows you to inform your future customers of the daily protocols that ensure their safety, and that of your team. There are various options available when it comes to updating your hotel’s website – see below for examples of possible actions you can take. How to update your hotel’s website? Any information you can provide (cleaning, sanitizing, staff training on sanitary protocols…) will reassure your potential customers that you will be ready to welcome them safely.  Here is how you can present it: Add a pop-up window to your hotel website You can display the measures you have implemented via a pop-up window, similar to that used on the Domaine de Rochevilaine website: Create an information banner You can also display a banner at the top of your hotel’s website with a personalized message expressing your sympathy or outlining reopening measures, for example, just like Hotel Eiffel in Paris.   Create a dedicated page on your hotel website  You could also create a dedicated information page on your hotel’s website to inform your future visitors of the specific measures that your hotel is putting in place to ensure their safety during their stay in your hotel.  Highlight the flexibility of your offers We recommend that you open your booking schedules for the coming months on your website. Make sure that the prices displayed on your website are consistent with those of your competitors. The objective is to remain competitive and generate a maximum number of direct bookings via your hotel website, minimising the use of third parties. We advise you to create a reassuring atmosphere for your customer on your website. Offering flexible rates on your hotel website is also very important, since travellers are afraid that their stay may be cancelled or non-refundable.. How canI broadly communicate the safety measures taken at my hotel?  You should not forget that digital technology offers a multitude of communication tools that should not be neglected.  There are various ways to promote the measures displayed on your hotel’s website.  Price Comparators / Metasearch Via metasearch sites, you can also inform your future guests regarding the sanitary measures you have put in place for your hotel. Tripadvisor has set up various tools with which hoteliers can display their implemented measures. Trivago has also developed initiatives that allow property owners to display the measures taken directly to travellers.  Your hotel’s social media presence Social media is a great way to relay information to your community. Use your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts to share your news, offers… This is also a great way to redirect future customers to your hotel website and to allow them to find all relevant information that will facilitate their stay in your hotel.  The newsletter Keep in touch with your customers and bring them reassuring news!Whether it’s to inform them about actions you’ve taken in response to Covid-19, to update them with news of your team, or share information concerning your operations.  In order to relay all this information, several solutions are available:Share your news using an emailing solution such as Mailchimp and refer users to one of your web pages.   You can also call upon specialized companies such as Experience Hotel, which is currently has a special crisis management offer:  Conclusion:  In order to reassure future travellers, remember to update the information on your hotel’s website. This is a great way to convey information that will be of direct concern to the traveller, and encourage them to stay in your hotel. Broadcast the information to future hotel customers via various different channels to be sure that you reach your target audience.  Finally, don’t forget to be consistent with your competitors’ rates in order to remain competitive. Do not hesitate to contact our team who will be able to provide you with advice to help you navigate your way out of this crisis, in the best shape possible.   

Why have a website for your hotel? An internet presence in the form of a website is a must for any hotelier wanting to communicate online.  Most people these days use search engines when they want to find something out. According to the Digital Report We Are Social x Hootsuite 59% of people worldwide use the Internet in 2020. So, having a website is an essential investment, whether you work BtoC and BtoC. Make your brand known with a website that reaches your target audience all year round with no interruptions.  It’s the perfect place to showcase your business, your virtual business card. What aims should a hotel website have in 2021? Firstly, figure out your reasons for redesigning your hotel’s website:To reposition your business To meet Internet criteria  To improve awareness of your brand To build your database To increase your turnoverThe purpose of a website is to answer your target audience’s questions, at the perfect time, increasing your return on investment.  Your website should showcase your hotel and make people want to book a stay with you, purchasing their trip on your site so they don’t go to bigger booking sites like Booking.com or Expedia.   WIHP supports hoteliers with a turnkey solution that meets the following objectives:a fast loading website user-friendly productive in terms of conversions  a site that reflects the quality and design of your businessIf you don’t yet have a website, then it’s well worth thinking about creating one. Creating a website is part of a digital strategy to increase the visibility of your hotel.   What steps do you need to follow to create your hotel website? WIHP can help you analyse your needs and create a design brief, and when it comes to building your website, we will ensure the site you launch meets your objectives. Creating a design brief for your future hotel website A design meeting will allow us to work out the structure of your website, from how it should look & feel through to organic referencing (SEO), it’s a chance for us to ask you the right questions and provide you with the answers you need. This is an important step to working out the essential elements for your hotel website and an opportunity for you to share any issues, ideas or requirements. What is our design brief based on?Your business and goals The site map: the structure and organisation of the entire site Graphic elements: graphic charter, logo & illustrations Media: photos & videos Text content What makes your hotel special, unique or differentYour likes and dislikes Your technical, aesthetic and functional constraintsCreating a specific pitch for your hotel website  To attract new customers to your hotel’s website you can implement different marketing strategies that make you stand out from distributors.  You can, for example:Offer complimentary breakfast or spa access Offer preferential rates  Display flexible cancellationsOffering preferential rates directly on the hotel’s website encourages direct bookings.  The world of travel is changing and most people will check prices on a hotel website as well as elsewhere.  So it’s important to display rates and offers exclusive to your hotel. Choosing photos for your hotel site The photos on your hotel’s website are extremely important. The photos display the over-all atmosphere of your hotel. When providing photos to create your hotel’s website, please ensure that they reflect the real thing.  Post high-quality photos to offer the best user experience possible. When deciding on photos to use for your hotel website’s homepage, think about choosing images that are most likely to lead to a booking. Choosing an efficient booking engine for your hotel website When choosing a booking engine to integrate to your hotel’s website, remember to choose one that offers easy booking from a user point of view.  There are certain criteria to be taken into account for optimal customer experience when making a reservation, so choose a booking engine makes it easy for the user.  The booking engine is one of the key steps in the purchase process, so it must be chosen meticulously. An efficient booking engine should offer the following:Speed during the purchase  A responsive booking interface  A secure booking engine  The option to add photos to complete the customer experience. A booking engine that can be tracked to measure resultsConsider the page content for your hotel website The page content you add to your website is important. The information that you choose to make available will affect visitors’ desire to stay in your hotel. The most important page of your website is the home page.  This is the page that will determine whether or not someone remains on your site. This is the kind of page where you want to create a “wow” effect to keep people interested in browsing your site. Another important page for your website is the rooms page. You must specify essential information, for example how many can stay in the room? Is Wi-Fi included? Complimentary breakfast? Room size.  You can also create a page for special offers that will be displayed only on your site. The Contact page allows your future customer to get in touch with you. Finally, you must also create a gallery page so visitors can get an at-a-glance overview of your hotel and rooms. The purpose of this page is to make people want to come and stay in your hotel and get them to make a booking. Working on your hotel websites’ user experience If someone visits your hotel website it’s usually because they are thinking of staying at your hotel. Make every effort to get the reservation booked directly with you and not let your potential customer book via distributors. Keep in mind that the customer experience when making a purchase must remain simple and efficient. Simple elements on your web pages can help you turn your visitors into customers. Remember to make the booking button visible on your site at all times, so that as soon as the visitor decides to make a booking, they can access the page quickly and easily.  Remember, nowadays many bookings are made via multiple devices so it is important to create a mobile-friendly or adaptive website so that bookings can be made from a smartphone or tablet. Conclusion: To get live reservations, you need to inspire the visitor to want to make a booking directly on your site. That’s why all these steps are important when designing your hotel website. Ready to create your hotel website? Contact our team of experts who will answer your questions.  

Book On Google is a “booking engine” created by Google to enable your potential customers to complete a booking without leaving their ecosystem.  The goal is to provide the customer with the best possible user experience. The idea is to remove all friction from jumping the user from Google to a different landing page. Book on Google was initially available only in the US. It is now available in the majority of markets. Step 1: Searching for your hotel on GoogleThe user searches for a hotel on Google.  The GMB  (Google My Business) of the hotel will appear with multiple choices to book (Official Site, Booking.com etc). One of the choices will allow the user to book directly on Google. This will be indicated on the campaign (per screenshot below).    Step 2: The hotel listing on Google Hotel Ads  The user will be able to make an online booking directly on Google without leaving their site. This means that the user never leaves the search engine.  Everything is done on the Google hotel booking interface. Step 3: Booking and payment of the hotel room First, the user selects the booking details: room choice, number of guests etc.Next, the user pays for the booking or leaves credit card details as a guarantee (depending on the guarantee conditions). Current payment choices: American Express, Visa or MasterCard.Step 4: Booking Summary The user will receive a confirmation mail sent directly by the hotel as if the booking came from the Booking Engine of the hotel. It is important to ensure that the booking reference is entered into the booking engine in case of modifications or cancellations.What it means for hoteliers: For hoteliers, this means a new distribution channel in addition to your website.  Book on Google offers a number of significant benefits aimed at improving the visibility of your establishment: Rapid integration  One booking reference number only  An email is sent directly to travelers choosing to stay at your hotel Increase in conversion rates for a hotel website  Optimized customer experience  Key points: Book On Google simplifies booking for your future customers. It is designed to make booking fast, simple and efficient. Using Book on Google not only enables your hotel to appear on the metasearch engines, but also increases the likelihood of increasing your hotel website conversions.  This is why it is important to add it to your hotel marketing strategy. Would you like to learn more about Book on Google? Contact our team of experts who will help to get you started.

To help hoteliers navigate post covid-19, we met Sandra Moore Director, Enterprise Sales, OTA’s & Hotels EMEA at Tripadvisor. We asked her to answer 6 questions about Tripadvisor’s engagements to help hoteliers on the road to recovery.  How did it go at Tripadvisor during COVID-19 crisis? Did it impact Tripadvisor’s business?Sandra: Like every business in the travel industry, of course we have been impacted by the pandemic, so what we have tried to do during this period is focus on how we can support our clients and partners in the hospitality sector as much as possible, and also how we can showcase the information and guidance that travel consumers are looking for in order to feel confident about travelling again. And those two aims are really connected – if we do a good job of providing consumers with the information and reassurance they need, then ultimately it is the industry that will benefit as consumer confidence grows.   Can you please tell us what the current travel intentions and demands are on the platform? Where do travelers want to go?Sandra: Yes, this is something we have been watching very closely. In June this year, we released a special whitepaper report looking at consumer trends and attitudes towards travel and how they have been impacted by COVID-19 and of course we have continued to observe and report back to the industry and our partners on those trends as they have evolved. One of the benefits of being the world’s largest travel planning platform is that we can very quickly identify shifts in consumer behaviour based on our site traffic, and that has helped us arm our partners with tangible, fresh data and insights that they can use to reassess their marketing strategies at speed. We’ve coupled that with consumer research to get a deeper understanding of how attitudes towards travel have changed, and what that means for our partners. What we have learned is that travel planning trends have shifted in five distinct stages – which we are calling the five stages to recovery. First there were the Decline and Plateau stages, as travel demand dropped off and leveled out as strict travel restrictions were imposed by governments all over the world. Then, as restrictions began to ease, we saw the Emerge stage of recovery, followed by the Domestic stage of recovery, and then finally the International stage of recovery, which we are moving towards. We also know from research that consumers do want to travel again. The travel mindset remains very resilient. In markets where travel restrictions have eased, travel demand is bouncing back quickly. But what is also interesting is how some travel habits have changed, even for those who are venturing out again. For example, we have seen an increase in road trip planning, often to areas where there are fewer crowds, like beaches and nature retreats. Even the types of properties that travellers are searching for has changed – with campgrounds and farmhouses recovering the fastest.  We go into a lot more detail about these trends in our webinar series we have been hosting for partners, which I would definitely encourage hoteliers to check out – all of the insights and information are available for free at https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/w5933.   Today, how can Tripadvisor help hoteliers sell their rooms better? Is there a different way to sell rooms if you are a hotel or a hotel chain?Sandra: We know it has been a hugely challenging time for many operators. On the one hand, hoteliers face extra pressure to adjust to new customer expectations, particularly around practices like hygiene and cleanliness, while at the same time they need to find ways to generate the levels of revenue needed to compensate for a loss in trading. Maximising revenue per guest is more important than ever, and one of the best ways hotels can do that is by increasing direct bookings.  At Tripadvisor, we have a number of tools that hoteliers can use to drive direct bookings that should be an important part of every hotelier’s strategy as they navigate this pandemic.  For example, we’ve made a number of enhancements to our Sponsored Placements solution to convert increased visibility into direct bookings. Hotels can now showcase direct rates exclusively in their ad units so that the only rate the traveller sees is the one driving to their own booking channel. In addition, the ad units – which appear at the top of traveller search results when they select dates and criteria that match that hotel’s availability – can populate a link to their safety measures as well. We have also introduced automatic tools that adjust campaigns in light of COVID-19, which means travellers from countries that are restricted from visiting a hotel’s location won’t be served their ads. This helps to safeguard a hotel’s campaign spend. By utilising solutions like this, a hotel’s marketing spend can serve two purposes – making their business discoverable to a new set of customers, while also enhancing their ability to drive direct bookings. Can you share with us the destination’s trends searches by market/destination?Sandra: The picture looks different depending on where you are in the world – not all markets or regions are recovering at the same pace. Right now, in many major markets particularly in Europe and some US states, we are in the Domestic stage, which means we are seeing a sustained uptick in domestic travel demand.  We also know the path to recovery is not linear – there will be bumps and dips in the road ahead, especially where further waves of infections occur and restrictions are reintroduced. We’ve already seen that in the US and parts of APAC, and in recent weeks we’ve seen that in some parts of Europe too.   But the overall trend line, especially in Europe, is positive and upward. In fact, for several weeks this summer we have actually seen domestic travel demand exceed 2019 levels in a number of countries. Can we expect a return to normal in the near future, or a recovery in specific markets?Sandra: The final stage of recovery is what we are calling the International stage. We are not there yet, and it is hard to predict exactly when that will come. But certainly what we see is that the picture will be different by market and by region. Since the sanitary crisis, what has Tripadvisor established to help people travel safely? What help can hoteliers expect to display their sanitary precautions?Sandra: When surveyed, more than nine out of ten consumers (92%) said cleanliness is now the most important factor when selecting an accommodation. So it is really important that hoteliers prioritise not only how they keep staff and customers safe, but also how they make this information known to potential guests. At Tripadvisor, we have introduced tools that help hoteliers promote information about their safety practices for free. We recently launched a Travel Safe initiative that allows hotel owners to select the safety measures they have in place at their property. The Travel Safe initiative gives customers the peace of mind they need to book a hotel and it gives hospitality businesses a simple way to highlight, at no cost, the steps they are taking to protect their guests’ safety.  All a hotel needs to do is complete a quick and easy checklist about the safety measures they have in place, which they can access for free via the Tripadvisor management centre, and that information will then be displayed on their Tripadvisor listing page.  Over 80,000 properties have already engaged with the Travel Safe feature, and click-through-rates to their Tripadvisor listing pages have increased by as much as 25%, so it really is worth the small investment of time for hoteliers to use the feature.