It's all about rates and availabilities at top hotels, right? Get access and get going. Well, not quite. Hotel supply is much more complex than that, and while quality hotels are the essential foundation to build your success on, access to rates and availabilities is just one aspect of a great hotel supply. We look at the bigger picture to see why great hotel supply is about more than hotel product.
Merchandising: getting your offering out there
Great deals are nothing without a route to market; particularly if you're marketing hotels as a cross-sell, the shop window is crucial. Optimized display, intelligent sort-and-filter functionality and carefully crafted user experience (UX) all play a huge part in boosting your attach rate. Some estimates put the benchmark for hotel attachment at around 50%[1], but that's a mean product of a wide range. Good merchandising tools, strategy and traveler-focused UX are key to getting near the top of that range.
Booking tech: getting over the line
So you've got access to competitive rates and flexible availability in properties around the world, and you've got the means to serve them to your travelers. So far, so good – but you haven't seen any money change hands yet. If you market direct to travelers, it's just as important to have the right technology that entices them to book: optimized functionality is essential again, but there are myriad other factors – do you need a ready-built solution? Do you need it white-labeled to avoid brand leakage? Would you prefer a fully customizable booking tool? Do you need the flexibility to offer both pay-now and pay-later rates? The full range of functionality you get with your booking tools is another crucial part of the picture, and you should expect flexible solutions along with great hotel product from a truly standout hotel supplier.
Partnership: support when you need it
There's support and there's support. Sure, some providers will give you a few content options with your hotel supply and maybe update it once a year. Maybe they'll even have a contact center where you can get help. That might give you enough to get to market – but it's unlikely to help you keep boosting your bookings and growing your business.
In the big picture you need proactive account management to take a strategic view on your hotel supply; you need tech support to launch your booking solution and to keep it optimized; you need high-quality content and different finance options to suit your business and help you scale. In other words, you need a partner – not just a business that gives you access to rates.
So how do you find the right supplier that offers everything you need? Getting the full picture from prospective suppliers is all about asking the right questions. If you're looking for hotel supply, arm yourself with our essential guide, 13 questions to ask your hotel supplier, to make sure you can find the right solution for your business.
[1] businesstravelnews.com/Distribution/TMC-Business-Strategies-in-an-Idling-Corporate-Travel-World