The posh suite décor at the International House Hotel in New Orleans shines when depicted by high-impact photos . |
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Sites have success by offering choices and add-ons at booking . Rather than creating pre-made packages that can sometimes be confusing or cumbersome , however , offer a la carte add-on options . |
Hilton . “ If a certain keyword set is seeing a lot of hits on digital , you ’ ll find it in our copy .”
Equally important is catering to users who browse on their smartphones . While Google notoriously keeps its algorithms close to the vest , it is heavily speculated that websites not optimized for mobile devices may sacrifice ground in search rankings .
“[ Mobile ] is big now for hotel bookings and will only get bigger ,” says Graham Charlton , editor in chief at Econsultancy , an international digital research and training group . “ Google now effectively punishes non-mobile sites in mobile search rankings , so any hotels without a mobile-friendly site should make this a priority .”
Social outreach
Social media has become the digital headquarters for conversations . Through photo sharing on Instagram , Twitter and Pinterest campaigns , and new social climber Snapchat , social media users cocreate your brand .
“ Consumers are creating the experience they have with the brand ,” Pizzinato says . “ The brand needs to be where [ consumers ] are sharing ideas and having conversations — and that is social media .”
Pizzinato cites the popularity of Four Seasons ’ Pin . Pack . Go campaign that invites potential guests to create Pinterest boards to plan upcoming vacations , collaborating with Four Seasons team members who also pin recommended
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restaurants and hotspots to the guests ’ boards . Campaigns such as this one not only create buzz , but also boost a brand ’ s visibility and drive traffic to its websites .
“ Social media works ,” says Jay Schwartz , owner and chief creative officer of IdeaWork Studios , an interactive agency specializing in website design , apps and campaigns for the luxury and hospitality industries . “ Have fun and speak to core groups using the tools and languages they know and enjoy .”
An engaging experience
After attracting visitors to a site , the next challenge is holding their attention . To engage visitors , today ’ s websites must be lightning fast , eye-catching and easily digestible with content that highlights the property ’ s unique features .
Canopy by Hilton embraces freshness and simplicity . “ The website was our very first foray into crystalizing this new brand for our Hilton customers , so we needed to get it right ,” Steffen says . “ Through extensive research , we found … that simple , fresh and energizing content is appreciated
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and valued by our target guests .”
“ Your website now is the most visible part of your company ,” Schwartz says . “ Ask yourself what you want to see when you visit a hotel ’ s website . If I ’ m looking at a business hotel , show me the free Wi-Fi . If it ’ s a resort , I want to see the view . Remember that style is important , but not at the cost of losing revenue or functionality .”
Schwartz cites the International House Hotel in New Orleans as a property that leverages its local expertise into compelling content . The “ Our Favorite Haunts ” section of the hotel ’ s website parlays the staff ’ s deep New Orleans knowledge to direct visitors to local restaurants and attractions with a serious cool factor . “ They don ’ t just give people what they can find on Yelp ,” Schwartz says .
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Booking basics
As with the rest of the website , visitors want booking to be simple and speedy .
“ To reserve a hotel , all the site needs is contact details and a credit card number ,” Charlton says . “ Making it more complicated by
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IdeaWork Studios | ideawork . com |