For hotels in the modern day, capturing an audience and keeping business steady can be challenging. Oftentimes the market can feel overwhelming, and with so many angles to look at, marketing can be confusing for many business owners. Many hotels have found success in listing their rooms on third party booking sites such as Expedia or Booking.com. The exposure offered by these global sites allows hotels to target a new set of potential customers and grow their business.  

Read on for some examples of success stories from hotels who have used Expedia or Booking.com to increase their visibility, and bookings. 

Independent hotel in the heart of the city 

Location can be both a help and a hindrance: the heart of the city is attractive to travellers, but also means there is a lot of competition around. A 3-star hotel in the middle of the city has a convenient, easy location and an attractive price, and still found it challenging to rise above the rest.  

By working with Expedia, this hotel first received data insights about their customer set. Expedia determined that they were especially attractive to families, a key insight which would help in targeting their particular audience in order to see the most success. Expedia used this customer data to craft specifically-targeted ads, designed to appeal to families. 

By selecting Expedia, this hotel set up a TravelAds campaign, with optimized images and text to highlight their location. TravelAds created a custom audience, and delivered across all of Expedia’s platforms, reaching potential customers worldwide. The campaign was set up with a cost-per-click, meaning they only paid when their ads were clicked on and viewed. 

This hotel saw an immediate return on their investment: demand increased, and their page views not only increased, but surpassed their competition. Their organic page views also increased.  

By developing specific targeting for families and couples, the hotel increased long-stay bookings. Their visibility increased 50% year-over-year, helping them to develop a recognizable name for themselves. 

Picturesque villa in a popular tourism location 

A heritage building in a beautiful tourist location has been converted into a beautiful villa accommodation open to travellers. The villa had an online presence, but struggled to raise awareness of their unique offering and sought to increase bookings. Their historic significance and extensive list of amenities pleased their guests, but they needed help in attracting more customers and increasing bookings. 

By enlisting the help of Expedia, the resort was able to reach a more broad (yet, specifically targeted) travel audience who would appreciate their offering, increasing their conversion ratio, expanding their audience, leading to positive ROI. 

In 10 days, the resort received 91 room bookings as a direct result of ads on Expedia. They also saw a 25% increase in bookings through Expedia and their partner site Hotels.com. 

Historic, traditional charm for modern visitors 

A heritage hotel with a lot of history and tradition has an old-world charm that appeals to all who walk through the doors. Their revenue manager was approaching retirement, passing the business on to a young successor. With this fresh set of eyes on the business, the hotel decided to put some new practices in place to grow their business – and profits. 

This hotel took a different approach. Before beginning to target ads to their ideal audience, they examined their price structure. Using Booking.com’s rate management tool, they were able to gain a clear picture of their competitor’s rates and review demand in the area. Comparing this to the provided calendar of local events helped the hotel to manage their room inventory more efficiently. 

Part of their business practice before engaging Booking.com was manually looking at rates of competitor’s hotels on different dates. With the rate management tool, all of this information is now provided in one clear place. This saves the time and effort of the revenue manager, freeing him up to focus on targeting their niche audience and providing pricing and service that is fit for them. 

The hospitality industry is a dynamic, fun, rewarding industry. For hotel owners and managers who take advantage of all of the modern offerings available to them, their time and energy can be refocused – from managing small tasks while trying to bring new business, to adding innovative ways to satisfy guests. Hotel Marketing is a crucial part of running a successful hospitality business, and the tools offered by Expedia and Booking.com can help to present your hotel to the right people.