Category Archives: Hotel Marketing
How to Increase Your Hotel’s Ranking on OTAs
Have you ever wondered how come a 4-star hotel with an excellent customer rating shows below 2-star hotel with an average rating when searching on Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak etc.? This case scenario is unfortunately a common story for many hotels on OTA websites. Your hotel may have more stars and be better rated by the customers but still show up very low in the results of the popular 3rd party booking sites. This naturally makes your property hard to find which in turn hurts your sales. So why is that and what can you do to increase your hotel’s ranking on these sites?
As to why – each OTA website has its own sorting algorithm which also means that there really is no one magic formula. Expedia may place higher the hotels that spend more money on PPC ads while Orbitz may position better those who convert well. There are very few articles and info posted by OTAs on the “rules of play”, but here are some useful tips that work:
- Befriend OTAs Market Managers (They can provide you with the insider knowledge, which is priceless! Stay engaged with them and keep them posted on your deals.)
- Participate in the OTA promotions
- Keep your hotel photos and information on OTA sites up-to-date
- Reply to guests’ comments in timely manner (Both good and bad reviews should be replied to in a way that shows care, not simple copying & pasting a standard answer.)
- Encourage your guests to leave reviews (Send a follow-up email, have guest cards encouraging guests to leave review.)
- Consider running PPC campaigns on OTAs (Paid placement will get you on the visible spots on the first page fast. Run A/B testing.)
Other factors that play a role in your ranking on OTAs include rate parity, inventory availability, last reservation made, and reservation conversion rate.
Do you have other tips that worked for you? Please share!
