An authentic story, wrapped with rich meaning and visuals, can actually help you justify a higher price. In other words, consumers in general are willing to pay more for an anticipated experience and hotel shoppers are no different. So, if you’d like to get $20+ more per night over last year, tell a better story.
That’s exactly what happened when the Atrium Inn implemented Vizlly just 3 short months ago. Once they started showcasing their rooms, unique features and local offers, complemented by stunning visuals, their value increased. Not just by a little, but rather by a whopping 25% increase in the average daily rate! “We’ve seen a significant increase in our ADR,” Tammy says. “A $35 increase year over year.”
If you do the math, assuming an average year round occupancy rate of 60%, which is on the low side, the Atrium Inn stands to generate an incremental $700k+ in ADR year over year for their property. No wonder her management is delighted! “My bosses keep asking me what I’m doing, they’re very happy with the changes!”
Purchase Intent Leads To More Direct Bookings
They’ve also experienced success with something marketers call “purchase intent”. In the case of a hotel website, the desired action is navigating to the shopping cart (i.e. IBE or booking engine), which demonstrates the intent to purchase.
In just 90 days after going live, the Atrium Inn has had more than 22,000 visits to their site with a purchase intent rate of 21% on their direct channels alone by focusing on the 4 primary elements of the shopping journey that influence someone to continue to the booking engine. Today’s travel shopper cares about 4 things:
- Where they’re going to sleep
- What there is to do in and around the area relative to their travel dates
- Are there any special offers available
- What are others saying about the property
It’s a combination of these storytelling elements weaved together that closes the direct sale reducing the costs associated with OTA promotions and discounted rates.
Digital Marketing Made Easy
Tammy’s new purpose driven website looks great on all devices travel shoppers are using, including smartphones, tablets and desktops. Features like:
- Compare Room Selections allows guests to choose the perfect room
- Special offers are clearly defined and easily managed on the Offers page
- Travel shoppers can easily find the website because it’s now SEO friendly, ranking high on the search engine results page
- Potential guests can quickly check rates and book directly on the website
Tammy can now quickly and simply manage her own online marketing initiatives and realize her goals. “[Vizlly’s usability] is natural and organic,” she says. “I’m not a website developer, but I can do everything now.”
The problems facing the Atrium Inn Vancouver are not uncommon: smart hospitality marketers are always looking for opportunities to improve the performance of their digital marketing to increase direct bookings reducing dependence on OTAs. Tammy’s decision to subscribe to Vizlly has given her the tools she needed to cost-effectively manage her hotel’s digital marketing to reach, engage and convert travel shoppers. She’s happily achieving her revenue targets and keeping her budget in check which in turn, has her bosses smiling!
