2016 is the year of OTAs vs. direct. Has the time come for independent properties and hospitality groups to join the battle and rethink their online distribution strategy? No matter how big your hotel, there are a lot of opportunities to take some bookings back from the online travel agents. Hotel distribution technology has reached new heights and keeps improving. Digital marketing tools are available for everyone. So even without the budgets of Hilton and Marriott, Independents can win big but only if they try.
You should be more concerned by the reasons travellers prefer OTAs. While they court them and get rewarded, will you just sit and watch and weep?
Clock Software’s CEO answers some of the persisting fears of hoteliers who consider but hesitate the switch to a cloud hotel PMS
The guest experience can be enhanced by providing modern online services that are easy to consume. What are BYOD, hotel applications and guest-facing hotel software features? How a mobile hotel app as a part of the property management system can help you win your guests' hearts and positive reviews. Can content and services delivered through a mobile hotel self-service application directly on a guest's mobile phone and a real-time, two-way communication channel with guests be a game-changer?
What does it take to have a powerful hotel website that converts and brings direct revenue in? Is it the content that makes the difference, or is it the design? Or maybe the booking software? In fact, everything that caters to the guest experience and comfort matters. Mobile responsive design, a booking system with fast checkout and instant confirmation, i.e. integrated with the hotel PMS, service personalisation, best price guarantee are what will make travellers stay on your site, book and come back for more.
To make sure you choose the right hotel management software for your hospitality business, make sure you ask hotel PMS vendors the right questions.
It's a fact - hotel guests come to your property armed with an array of devices and eager to consume services through them. Now's the time to deliver!
Travel websites make big promises with best price guarantee. But what if you skip them and book directly at the hotel instead? It's worth trying.
What features do hotel management system users value most, what are their top challenges and how the HMS has improved their working life?
April 21, Google launches what might be the most powerful update. Is your hotel website ready and mobile-friendly and how can Clock PMS support you?
Cloud Hotel systems have changed the overall concept for hotel management. They enabled the replacement of fragmented software infrastructure with end-to-end cloud PMS solutions where hoteliers can manage everything - from housekeeping, through online distribution, to guest engagement. Cloud hotel software made it possible to perform tasks from a distance and in a timely manner, without the limitations of hardware or location.
How to get my hotel on Google Maps, search, places, plus? Which one is more important and how many accounts do I need? Local businesses like hotels got confused in the recent years.
In the era of mobile and online hotel bookings, meta search websites and OTAs, it is of paramount importance to manage your room rates dynamically in order to get the most profit from every deal.
Don't waste your efforts on hating OTAs, put them on turning a little investment into great revenue.
Hilton is about to spend millions on implementing digital check-in/-out, room selection and customization for members of their loyalty club, HHonors. With Clock PMS hotels with smaller budgets can offer the same features to everybody, immediately and for much less.
Recently, the experts at Software Advice published an interesting research - Hotel Management Software Buyer View | 2014 - that identified the reasons why hotel managers and owners look for new hotel software.
Marketing is probably the most important thing in the list to popularize a hotel, besides ensuring the quality of service and ambiance. There are two ways to go about it: the hard way and the smart way. The hard way is to do extensive marketing and spread the word in such a way that almost everyone is aware of your hotel and it becomes the center of a conversation.
Google offers its users the possibility to publish their business on Google Maps completely free of charge.
Choosing to have an online booking engine on your web site and make direct sales means that you save commissions and make a bigger profit.
Until recently, meta tags were considered the magic wand of the web fairy, helping websites to fly forward in indexing by search engines.
A good website that provides full description of your hotel or guest house is particularly important for starting a profitable tourist business. It gives the information a customer needs when choosing where to stay.
