Why Your Accommodation Needs a Website and Direct Reservations

If you are an accommodation owner or manager, you might be wondering if you really need a website or accommodation management system for your property. After all, there are many online travel agencies (OTAs) and booking platforms that can help you reach potential guests and fill your rooms. However, relying solely on these third-party channels can limit your online presence, control, and profitability.

In this article, we will explain why having your own website and investing in hotel management software is essential for your accommodation business and how you can achieve this easily with one of our partners, RoomRaccoon.

Benefits of Having a Website for Your Accommodation

A website is your online storefront, where you can showcase your property, services, and unique selling points to your target audience. It is also a powerful marketing tool that can help you increase your brand awareness, reputation, and loyalty. Here are some of the main benefits of having a website for your accommodation:

• Expand your reach: With a website, you can attract guests from all over the world who might not find you on OTAs or other platforms. You can also optimize your website for search engines, so that people who are looking for accommodation in your area can easily discover you. According to a recent Hotelchamp.com survey, 91% of people preferred to make their hotel bookings online.

• Control your narrative: With a website, you can tell your own story and highlight your strengths, values, and personality. You can also update your information, photos, and offers anytime you want without depending on third-party policies or guidelines. We all know how limited OTA’s descriptions can be! You can also use your website to communicate with your guests, answer their questions, and collect their feedback with no middle-man.

• Increase your direct bookings: With a website, you can offer your guests a convenient and secure way to book directly with you without paying any commissions or fees to OTAs or other intermediaries. You can also use your website to upsell extra services, packages, and special deals and increase your revenue per available room. According to a study from Phocuswright, direct bookings in hotels already account for 45% of the total bookings, reaching over 60% when analyzing the travel industry as a whole (flights, attractions, etc).

How Le Peach Can Help You Create a Website That Accepts Direct Reservations With RoomRaccoon

At Le Peach, we create engaging and personalized websites for accommodation clients, such as hotels and tourist apartments. We work closely with each client to understand their needs, preferences, and goals and design websites that reflect their brand identity and showcase their unique selling points.

We also connect the websites to RoomRaccoon products, such as the booking engine and the channel manager, which allow the clients to take direct reservations from their website and manage their online distribution across multiple channels. There are many benefits to this connection, such as:

• Booking engine: RoomRaccoon’s booking engine allows you to take bookings through your website within minutes and build stronger brand awareness with a personalized booking experience. You can directly upsell extra services and special packages with RoomRaccoon’s booking engine, which lets guests book in just 5 easy steps using any device. The booking engine is 100% commission-free and integrates seamlessly with your website and property management system (PMS).

• Channel manager: RoomRaccoon’s channel manager connects you to over 100 online booking channels, such as Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, and more. The channel manager automatically updates your availability and rates across all channels and synchronizes your bookings with your PMS and booking engine in real-time. The channel manager also imports and stores virtual credit cards (VCCs) from OTAs in the guest reservation and allows you to charge them when they are active.

Having a website and accepting direct reservations is not only a nice-to-have but a must-have for your accommodation business, especially for bigger properties. It can help you reach more guests, control your online image, and increase your profitability. By connecting your website with the RoomRaccoon tools, you can easily accept direct reservations with no commission and also benefit from a comprehensive channel manager that simplifies and optimizes your presence everywhere you sell.

To learn more about RoomRaccoon and how it can help you grow your business, visit their website or contact them for a free demo or trial. If you need a professional web design company that specializes in accommodation clients, look no further than Le Peach. We will put you on the map and increase your visibility worldwide. Contact us today for a free consultation and quote.