The webinar on optimizing distribution channels for independent hotels focused on navigating the changing online landscape, maximizing web direct channels, and effectively using metasearch. Key takeaways emphasized the importance of managing rates and inventory across platforms, optimizing the hotel’s website for direct bookings, and leveraging mobile optimization and geo-targeting strategies. Attendees were encouraged to gain control over their online marketing and distribution strategies to enhance revenue and customer engagement.

1. WEBINAR:
Optimizing Distribution
Channels for
Independent Hotels
November 2, 2017

2. Speakers
GINO ENGELS
Co-Founder & Chief
Commercial Officer
JOAN LEE
Vice President of
Operations
KERST LEHMANN
Digital Marketing
Specialist

3. Agenda
PART 1
Navigating the changing online distribution landscape
PART 2
Optimizing your web direct channel
PART 3
Maximizing on metasearch
PART 4
Audience Q&A
3

4. Audience Poll
As a hotelier, what are your biggest challenge(s) right now when it comes to online distribution?
A. The lack of control of my hotel’s rates and availability across all the online channels
B. Too much business going to high-commission channels instead of direct channels
C. Understanding how to use metasearch for my own benefit
D. Finding the right vendors to work with on analytics and digital marketing
E. Other or none of the above
4

5. Navigating the
changing online
distribution landscape
5
Using smarter data insights to
optimize pricing and revenue
strategies across online channels

6. Do you know your cost of online customer acquisition?
H It’s no longer just about simply
activating the different online
channels to fill rooms

7. Control over online inventory, it’s not so simple
OTA DIRECTMETA
• No. of different channels
• Customer mix
• Competitive
price/package/offering
vs all channels
• How to drive traffic
effectively?

8. OTAs and metasearch are a core part of
hotel room shopping
Phocus Forward The Year Ahead in Digital Travel, Phocuswright 2017

9. Keep scrolling!!
OTAs and Meta portals dominate search engines

10. Changing face of the online travel
Phocus Forward The Year Ahead in Digital Travel, Phocuswright 2017

11. China and India are key growth markets
in leisure travel
WTTC, 2016

12. Understand and manage performance of
your online channel levers
How many room nights does
each channel normally
generate?
LOS
Which day of week are your
channels driving business in?
Day of Week
Which regions are your
channels driving business
from?
Room Types
What sort of lead time are
your channels driving for
your room bookings?
Country
How far in advance do guests
book and via which channel?
Lead Times

13. Total Property 200 rooms
Rooms Available 5 rooms
Leadtime 2 days
Choose the channel strategy that
works for you

14. The reality of OTAs and Metasearch
’

15. Use technology to spot and manage
discrepancies on OTAs and Meta sites

16. Who is selling your rate?
Determine the wholesaler undercutting you

17. 1. Be aware of the current market trends
and take advantage
2. Understand your online channels and
what type of business they generate
3. Gain control over your online rates and
inventory
Key takeaways

18. Optimizing your
web direct channel
18
Increasing contribution from your
direct channel to increase your
bottom line

19. Increasing your direct channel
contribution
Hotels know that a good distribution mix is
key to increasing the bottom line.
● High OTA costs
● Cheapest channel is your direct channel
● Benefits
○ Own your guests
○ Customer engagement (pre and post stay)
○ Marketing for future stays
19

20. Optimize your website
Your website is a great place to educate
your customers to book direct.
● Having the best deal on website
● Price checkers
● Mobile optimized website and
booking engine
● Internationalization
● Geotargeting Strategies
● Content Parity
● Brand Term PPC Campaigns

21. Your website should have the best deal out there!
A traveler is doing their research across many sites before they book your
hotel. Give them a reason to book on your website.
Incentivize travelers to book direct: Free WiFi, Free Upgrade
48%of bookers
most likely to book direct
if offered a room upgrade
Source: softwareadvice.com

22. Your website should have the best deal out there!
Draw attention by a pop up or slide in.
It’s a great way to show the benefits of booking direct.

23. Your website should have the best deal out there!
Perks and rewards are a great way to entice travelers to book direct.
Stay Wanderful
GuestBook

24. Your website should have the best deal out there!
Email signups aren’t as intrusive as website popups and are usually found at the footer of
websites. Benefits of email signups:
● Acquire email addresses for future marketing
● Sell the best rate to closed user group through email
● Sell member rates on your booking engine to closed user group

26. Price Checkers
Price checkers give travelers confidence that your website does in fact have the best deal.
● Decrease the chances of the traveler leaving your website to shop other channels
● Travel Tripper’s Rate Match goes a step further by automating the best rate guarantee
on the hotel’s own website
26

27. Mobile Optimized Website and Booking Engine
Mobile website traffic and conversions are growing at exponential
rates.
According to Google, 31% of leisure travelers have booked on a
smartphone, 53% of business travelers have booked on a
smartphone.

28. Mobile Optimized Booking Engine
Mobile booking engines should
have these characteristics:
● Large imagery that is clickable
● Clear and prominent call to
action buttons
● Use screen space wisely—less
is more!
● Easy to add billing info

29. Internationalization
We see some markets can have 50% or more of their traffic from international countries.
Increase website conversion rates by supporting other languages and currencies.
Tips:
1. Find the top 3-6 countries.
2. Ensure the experience is seamless from your website to booking engine.
3. International marketing promotions.
29

30. Geo-targeting Strategies
Pricing your direct channel geographically is a great way to
sell the lowest rate on your website.
● This discount is still lower than paying high OTA
commissions
● Bookings from international countries have longer
lead times and longer lengths of stay
● Offer these geo-targeted promotions to geographies
with the greatest opportunity

31. Geo-targeting Strategies
Types of offers:
● Length of stay discounts
● Include value-add such as breakfast, wifi, free upgrade
Don’t forget to promote!
● Geo-targeted offers are great for PPC campaigns
● Target international visitors with the right message
through a PPC ad to ensure you get the visitor to your
website and convert
● Seamless user experience

32. Content Parity
Your website should represent your hotel in
the the best light compared to OTAs, Metas,
and any other distribution channel.
Things to look out for:
● Property and Room images
● Room type names
● Cancellation policies
● Amenities

33. Content Parity
OTAs like to highlight certain
attributes such as Free WiFi,
Free Breakfast, Free Parking,
Free Cancellation prominently.
If your website doesn’t highlight
the same attributes, then your
hotel looks like a better value if
booking on an OTA.
OTA LISTING
WEBSITE LISTING

34. Brand-term Search Engine Marketing
What is your hotel name worth? It’s worth
enough that other sites are bidding on it!
● OTAs
● FITs and Wholesalers
● MetaSearch sites like Kayak and
Trivago
● Review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp

35. Incremental loss
of clicks
96%

36. Brand Term PPC Marketing
Protect your brand terms! Merchant agreements should have a clause.
Your cost per click gets more expensive if more players are bidding on your brand
keywords.
Have PPC campaigns for your brand terms to take the top spots on search engines to
optimize the amount of traffic you are getting to your website.

37. Maximizing on
metasearch
37
Advertising on metasearch sites
effectively with a limited budget

38. Metasearch vs OTAs
METASEARCH
At its core, metasearch
is a rate-shopping tool
compiling room rates
from multiple booking
websites, including
OTAs, into one search
engine platform.
Examples: Google Hotel
Ads, TripAdvisor, Kayak
OTAs
OTAs, or Online Travel
Agents, are bookings
sites for a multitude of
products, including
flights, car rentals and
hotel reservations.
Examples: Booking.com,
Expedia.com,
Reservations.com
38

39. Metasearch
Metasearch platforms are data aggregators of other search engines and offer a collection of
real-time inventory and room rates at preferred stay dates.
39

40. Metasearch Channels
40

41. Metasearch on Google
41

42. SERP Consumer Behavior
42

43. Major Decision Points
What is my audience ?
Where will I succeed ?
Budget Allocation ?
43

44. Metasearch Integration
Find the right
integration partner
Choose
Channels
Establish BE
Connectivity
Choosing the right partner is
crucial for success.
The selection of channels
is determined by several
factors, such as
competition, budget and
target audience.
Sufficient integration with
the BE enables seamless
control of rates and
inventory.
Monitor
Performance
Set goals and monitor
results closely to evaluate
the effectiveness of
metasearch.
44

45. METASEARCH DOs and DON’Ts
● Don’t consider metasearch as a LUXURY compared
to other DM channels.
● Stop focusing too much on your COMPETITION.
● Don’t FALL BEHIND your partners or competitors.
○ No metasearch integration = no fair
marketplace.
● Don’t base FUTURE STRATEGIES off of your first
month’s performance.
● Stop RELYING PRIMARILY on OTAs rather than
having more control over your own spend.
● Know your TARGET AUDIENCE.
● Choose the right CHANNELS for your objectives.
● Use a BUDGET that’s right for you.
● Guarantee RATE PARITY or better rates at all
times.
● Know what’s in your OTA CONTRACT.
● Make sure you provide GREAT SERVICE for great
review.
● Respond to ALL REVIEWS.
● Keep TESTING!

46. Audience Q&A
46

47. Thank You!
Please send all follow up questions to
marketing@traveltripper.com.
The webinar video and presentation
will be made available to all registrants
within 1 day.