Welcome to the first article in a series about “Building Digital Momentum for Your Property”. In this series, we will explore many aspects of the digital world and how it relates to small to mid-sized accommodation properties. This article is about website basics and includes some great tips.

Building Digital Momentum for Your Property Part 1: Website Basics

Whether we like it or not, our customers are moving more and more into the digital world. Whether it’s Gen Y with their iPads booking accommodation from the airport, or grey nomads driving from town to town stopping at Internet Cafés, they all want to connect with you in a digital way. If you don’t exist in the digital world, you don’t exist in their world.

No motelier in their right mind, would run a motel without signage out the front of the building. Not having an effective website is like not having an eye-catching sign and having a poorly designed website is like having an old peeling sign. Your website should reflect the pride you have in your property.

The great thing about a website is that it works 24/7 for you and can be seen from all over the world. But how do we make the most of it for a motel? I have spent many long hours looking at hundreds and hundreds of motel websites. I have also read lots of research into human behaviour and how they interact with websites. They are some really effective motel websites, but unfortunately most don’t work anywhere near as well as they should.

Research has shown that most people spend less than 10 seconds determining if the page they have selected from search results is what they are looking for. To capture their attention quickly, you need three simple items on your Home Page:

1. The word “Accommodation” or  “Motel” or “Motor Inn” prominent in the top part of your page so people know they have the right type of page
2. Your location (e.g. your town or region) prominent in the top part of your page so people know they are in the right part of the world
3. A large photo, or rotating photos, prominent in the top part of your page so they can see the type of accommodation you offer

This all needs to be able to be seen on your Home Page without the need to scroll down. If you can do that, you have jumped the first hurdle.

Now that you have their attention, you want to convert them to a sale. The best way to do this is:

1. Have your telephone number in a large font dominant in the top right corner of your Home Page (and every subsequent page)
2. Have a “Book Now” button dominant in the top right corner of your Home Page (and every subsequent page)
3. Make sure your “Book Now” button links to a live booking system and not an enquiry form. Old style enquiry forms put a lot of people off and are one of the major reasons people leave a website (and go to a competitor).
4. Make sure your photos are excellent quality and highlight your property. This is the other major reason people leave a website – the photos make the property look bad. I recommend paying for a professional local photographer to come and take quality photos with good lighting.

When making a purchase, many people will need what the marketers call ‘additional justification’. The secondary purpose of your website is to provide additional useful information that helps convince people to book with you. Your website should include:

1. A Google Map showing the location of your property
2. Details of each room type with photos
3. Details of your property facilities
4. Details of the local area
5. Details of major local attractions
6. An up to date list of local events
7. Details of your restaurant, function rooms and conference facilities if you have them
8. A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page where you can list all the questions you get asked with answers
9. A photo gallery of all your photos

How can GuestPoint® help you with your website?

GuestPoint® has a great feature that can help you. It’s called WebPoint®, and it is an online booking page where your customers can book direct with you, commission free. It’s just like your own Wotif.com page and is linked directly to GuestPoint®. Guests get a personalised instant confirmation email as soon as they make their booking and their reservation is automatically loaded into GuestPoint®.  As rooms sell, inventory is instantly updated. You can easily link WebPoint® to your existing website in seconds.

Click here to see an example page

For further information, please call Centium Software on 1300 236 848 or visit www.centiumsoftware.com/guestpoint/intro for more information.

We look forward to talking to you soon.

‘Building Digital Momentum for your Property’ series topics include:

Part 1: Website Basics
Part 2: Online Sales Channels – which ones work and how to set them up
Part 3: Improving Your Property’s Google Ranking
Part 4: Promoting Your Website