Why Vacation Rentals Should Offer Online Booking
Stephanie Hedberg | 6 February 2008 |
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Being in the business development department at Blizzard Internet Marketing, I often hear property managers make statements like, “We don’t offer online bookings because our guests don’t feel comfortable making week-long vacation arrangements over the Internet.” Or there’s the handy, “We pride ourselves in talking to each of our guests personally.” While I don’t disagree with the above statements, I do try to help clients understand the various reasons why this decision could be costing them.
The vacation rental industry is vastly changing the way people vacation. While these accommodations offer the same luxurious comforts of your home, they’re often more costly. It’s because of this cost, and length of stay that statistics show most guests still prefer to call rather than book online. However, you’re forgetting quite a few people when you’re only catering to the “over the phone” booker:
- Those who want to book online
- Returning guests who already know what they want
- Guests who are in a different country or time zone and want to book when your office isn’t open
- How do you handle giving potential buyers a busy signal?
- Some people prefer to buy online and have documentation of what they saw, booked and paid
- Guests may be in a hurry and not have time to make the call - but they do have five-minutes to sit down at the computer and multi-task.
How many guests are you losing because of these factors?
The question should be, how convenient is your website for all guests? Do you make it as easy as possible for ANY guest to make a booking? Whether it’s making sure your phone number is on every page, or having a secure and dependable booking engine, the point is you’re giving your visitors options!
There are so many ways to effectively track your marketing dollars with online bookings. You can also still maintain a “personal relationship” with clients who have booked online by calling to confirm their reservation. For a list of our recommended booking partners and tracking options please contact our Business Development Department at 888-840-5893.
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February 6th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
You make several excellent points for online booking. Every single client of mine that has added online booking, increased their revenue that first year. I strongly encourage everyone to add that service.