SiteMinder's booking engine can help you capture more direct bookings, own guest relationships from the start, and boost your revenue with special offers, seasonal promotions, and loyalty discounts.
Here are some tips to help you maximise value from your booking engine and attract more direct bookings.
Connect your booking engine with your website
Create a seamless booking experience by integrating SiteMinder's booking engine with your website. This maintains consistent property branding and builds trust with potential guests, increasing the chances they will make a direct booking.
Most guests prefer booking online — if they can't easily find your booking engine, they may instead book through an online travel agency (OTA) or choose another property.
💡Your SiteMinder booking engine is optimised for mobile, making it convenient for travellers searching and booking on mobile devices, particularly for last-minute reservations.
See the website integration guide here.
Showcase your property with high-quality images
Great images are crucial for converting visitors into guests. Grab your visitors’ attention and give them a clear picture of what they can expect to help them feel confident to book your property.
Tips:
Upload professional, high-quality images that showcase your property's unique features. (Property settings > Media library).
Include photos that show both interior and exterior views.
Assign at least three images to each room type, including bathroom photos.
Add an eye-catching banner image to your booking engine. (Direct Booking > Configuration > Branding).
Update your content
Maintain accurate and detailed information to provide a true representation of your property’s amenities, services and features.
Room type content (Rooms and rates > Room types)
Add clear room type names.
Include concise 2-3 sentence descriptions highlighting the room type’s key features
Add all room amenities and features.
Focus on unique selling points like great views or special amenities.
Property content (Property settings)
Detail all property facilities and services.
Include parking and transportation information.
Add check-in and check-out times.
List your terms, conditions, and privacy policy.
Add your cancellation policies. (Direct booking > Direct booking rates > Configuration > Cancellation settings).
Implement strategic pricing and promotions
Use promo codes
Promotion codes can help attract both new and loyal customers while driving direct bookings.
Offer exclusive discounts for direct bookings (Direct booking > Promotion codes).
Encourage guests to return and share promo codes in post-stay emails.
Advertise and distribute direct booking promo codes through social media channels.
Create loyalty program promotions for guests who book direct.
Offer discounted rates and packages
Create dynamic discounts to encourage more direct bookings. (Rooms and rates > Rate plans).
Offer early-bird rates with flexible cancellation policies.
Create last-minute rates with non-refundable deposits.
Offer stay-pay deals with discounted nights.
Build unique package deals for guests who book direct — for example, deals that include entry to nearby events and attractions, early check-in/late check-out options, or restaurant packages.
Monitor and maintain competitive rates and availability
Regularly review and update your rates against market conditions.
Optimise your rate plans and packages for maximum conversion.
Monitor and review cancellation policies and restrictions.
Monitor competitor rates to price competitively and convert more bookings.
Boost your digital presence
Social media channels
Use your social media channels to gain visibility:
Link your booking engine to social media platforms.
Share direct booking promotions.
Create engaging content to showcase your property.
Include clear calls-to-action for direct bookings.
Emails and guest communication (Direct bookings > Configuration > Guest communications)
Creating pre-arrival and post-departure e-mails is a great way to build customer loyalty and own the relationship.
Thank your guests for choosing / staying at your property.
Include upsell opportunities.
Request guest preferences.
Offer direct booking incentives for future stays.
Request guest feedback.
Share special offers for return visits.
💡Guest engagement can also help you directly communicate with your guests before, during and after their stay at your property. Learn more here.
Set up your Google business profile
Also known as ‘Google My Business’, a Google Business Profile is a free business listing that appears in Google’s search results when a potential guest searches for your property.
Why create a Google Business Profile?
Be visible on Google Maps.
Stand out from your direct competitors in the area.
Take potential guests straight to your website to book directly.
In your Google Business Profile listing, you can provide key details about your property, including your location, operating hours, amenities and contact details. You can also upload photos to attract travellers to your website. To set up your Google Business Profile, follow these steps in Google’s guide for hoteliers.
Connect to high performing travel sites and metasearch engines
Connect to Demand Plus to appear on Google Hotel Ads, Trivago, and TripAdvisor — and reach millions of travellers actively searching for accommodation. Reduce your reliance on OTAs and increase your revenue by driving guests to book directly on your website.
💡Read more about how to increase your direct bookings in this guide.