Having been confined to their homes for more than a year , it is no surprise that people are eager to return to your property . Your guests are returning with a renewed appreciation for the guest experience and new expectations of what that experience entails . Returning guests are coming back with more technological confidence , having spent much of their lockdown researching recipes , ordering food , and shopping online with little or no human interaction . They now expect to have the same DIY technological freedom when it comes to booking their travel .
During this same time , your property had to make tough choices to remain in business . Like many hotels and resorts , you may have had to furlough or lay off employees to reduce costs . You may be facing the same staff shortages as other properties because of qualified hospitality workers leaving the industry . If this sounds like your property , having guests who expect to book more online will present you with a welcome opportunity to operate with reduced staff . The two main ways for you to facilitate online bookings are through an online travel agent ( OTA ) or your own propertybased online booking engine .
Outsourcing Your Online Booking - OTA
If your property has not been using OTAs , they are a popular option for hotels and resorts because of their exposure , ease of use , and limited upfront technology and development investment . Bigname OTAs invest in advertising and search engine optimization ( SEO ) so they can drive traffic to their site and win top-of-mind awareness with travelers . Because they already have an established infrastructure , they are a quick way for properties to accept online bookings with no upfront cost . Once you have set up your property , you will be charged anywhere between 15 % and 30 % per reservation (
Hotel Price Reporter ) plus additional advertising charges if you decide to invest in having your listings show up more prominently on their website .
While their popularity and ease of use may make you question why it is worth considering anything else , there are drawbacks . An OTA usually limits what guests can book on your property to just rooms , so potential guests will need to book dining reservations and activities , such as spa treatments at your property another way ( manually if you do not have an online booking engine , or they may choose to book them off property ). Also , an OTA is a convenient and cost-effective way to attract new travelers who do not have a hotel / resort preference . However , returning guests and guests looking specifically for your property will also be shown listings for other properties in your area , so you will be “ sharing ” space with competing properties . OTAs are where most properties start with online bookings , and if you have been using them for years , you may be wondering why you would consider an online booking engine for your property .
Bringing Your Online Bookings In-house – Online Booking Engine
There is a limit to what guests can book on your property through OTAs . Because of this limitation , guests are making off-property reservations and bookings , and you are losing revenue . If activities such as dining , spa visits , golf , classes , etc . represent a significant source of guest revenue for your property , offproperty bookings are significantly decreasing your property ' s revenue per available guest ( RevPAG ). Having your own online booking engine allows you to capture online room reservations and activity bookings for your property . And because a properly planned online booking process makes it more seamless for guests to book rooms and activities , your property will substantially increase its RevPAG above what you could achieve with a combination of OTAs and call-in bookings .
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