As Chris Silcock from Hilton recently told CoStar - the “most exciting” near-term opportunities lie in personalised content.
The reason for this is, of course, to increase visitor engagement to convert more website traffic into guests via direct bookings and loyalty.
We've reviewed hundreds of hotel websites and apps and in doing so, compiled these short checklists of the key elements to make sure you get right.
Website Wellness
✅ Keep plug-ins alive
We see little grey boxes on hotel websites. Usually, this is a Google Maps plug-in that has broken because something has changed and the website owner has not updated the implementation.
✅ Replace and update broken links
We see a ton of broken links on brand.com sites - either to internal pages that no longer exist or to external websites. According to Google, broken internal links harm your ability to capture organic search engine traffic.
✅ Avoid slow-loading graphics and videos
Animations, videos and high-res images all look great on designs but when you factor in bad wi-fi and browsing on the go, anything that slows the loading speed of a website down is going to increase your bounce rate and hurt conversion.
Content Engagement
✅ Don't state the obvious
Six paragraphs that include the likes of the Statue of Liberty or Buckingham Palace will not help you stand out, either to search engines or customers. When deciding what content to include, hone in on your local area and what the neighbourhood has to offer.
✅ Don't Force Doom Scrolling
The old newspaper term now used by web designers 'above the fold' refers to the content seen before having to scroll. The more scrolling a visitor has to do, the less likely they will engage. Think about the user interface and navigation to avoid lengthy pages.
✅ Keep Content Visual
A bunch of text strung together without any images is bound to bore the reader and not receive much engagement. Ensure your content is visually appealing and has quality images and videos to break up the descriptive text.
✅ Include Calls To Action
If you are using your website content to sell the destination, make sure you include ways for your customer to commit. Booking links for restaurants or tours for example are not only helpful but increase the odds of them coming to the destination and staying with you in the first place.
Content Maintenance
✅ Regularly Review and Update The Details
Places close, opening hours change, names change. Ensure that you are regularly reviewing the details and keeping them up to date. You don't want to be promoting a restaurant that no longer exists or sending someone there when it's closed.
✅ Include (Then Remove) Seasonal Updates
Christmas markets are not of interest in January. All too often we see seasonal guides that are well-intentioned but irrelevant because somebody has forgotten to take them down after the event.
Implement Dynamic Content
Website content should be reviewed at least monthly to make sure that wellness, engagement and updates are all taken care of.
Obvlo is a dynamic content solution that enables to you include personalised content that automatically stays up-to-date and fresh without any manual effort. If managing your content and maximising engagement to drive direct bookings is the goal, we're here to help.
