Let your business pop out of tourists’ refrigerators! How and why to use OTA portals
Gone are the days when word of mouth, recommendations, and flyers were among the few ways to increase demand for hotel or rental services. There are more and more tools available. New channels, emerging applications, software… In theory, this is great. In practice, however, you need to consider how to use them effectively and choose the right ones for your type of business.
One such tool, which has been present and rapidly developing in recent years, is OTA portals. Learn more about them, find out how you can use them, and whether they are the right form of online presence for you.
What are OTA portals and what are they for?
The modern, seemingly mysterious abbreviation OTA stands for “Online Travel Agency.” Sounds better, right? And don’t worry, you don’t have to be a tech guru to understand them. After all, the very fact that you are reading this article means that the Internet is not an undiscovered mystery to you.
We’ve already answered the first question: what are OTA portals? Now that we know the definition, let’s get to the point: what are these portals for? The answer is simple and, in the abuse of the word, general – for everything! Well, maybe not everything, but many things related to tourism and rentals, which is what you are interested in. More specifically? OTA portals are places where you can easily and quickly book hotels, airline tickets, and even spa stays without leaving your chair or even lifting your hand with the phone to your ear. Okay, but why would a landlord, hotel owner, or tourist use OTA portals when they have the Internet and Google search?
Well, OTAs are like the Internet within the Internet, filtering hundreds of offers so that tourists can find what they are looking for faster, and hopefully – your rental offer. Competition for Google rankings in the tourism industry can be uneven. Promoted ads, years of positioning, and practices that are not always in line with fair competition can make it difficult for a rental property owner to break through to the first pages of the search engine. The competition is also very diverse, ranging from small businesses to large hotels. OTA portals are designed to help tourists find what they are looking for and entrepreneurs to be found. A good idea, right?
Now imagine that you are a traveler heading to your destination with your dog, looking for a cozy place to stay along the way. Unfortunately, you have certain requirements, such as a good price, pet-friendly accommodation, breakfast included, and the possibility of late check-in. Where would you look for such accommodation? On an OTA portal, of course! There you can compare prices, check-in and check-out times, and most importantly, read reviews from other travelers so you don’t end up in a room with a camp bed and a broken window.
But is everything that glitters gold? Not quite. OTAs also have disadvantages that are worth knowing about in order to avoid them in advance. These portals often impose certain surcharges and commissions, so it may happen that prices on OTAs are higher than those offered directly by the service provider. Tourists are aware of this, but the benefits usually outweigh the disadvantages. For example, free cancellation of reservations or the sense of security of having the entire transaction handled in the event that the accommodation provider fails to deliver the services offered.
OTAs created for tenants or tourists?
Although the dozen or so sentences above seem to exhaust the topic of OTAs, this is not the case. Many tourists, hotel owners, and rental property owners wonder whether, in light of what they offer, these portals were ultimately created more for tourists and for their benefit, or for hoteliers and tenants. Let’s think about it together before we click on the registration buttons on booking portals. These online tools were created not only to make life easier for travelers, but they can also be the key to the success of your business.
First of all, booking portals are a short and uncomplicated maze, straight to your door. Thanks to them, you can reach a huge number of potential customers who would never otherwise find your hotel or apartment. It’s like putting up a huge neon sign saying “Rooms available!” on the main street of the Internet.
But that’s not all! Booking portals are also a great way to fill your rooms with tourists. They operate 24/7 and are at your fingertips in apps and mobile websites. They are like a salesperson who never takes a day off.
In addition, booking portals are also a tool for building your brand and prestige. Customer reviews, ratings, comments – all of this matters in effective branding. OTA portals have very effective tools to encourage tourists to express their opinions. Here we return to the form of advertising mentioned at the beginning, but in a slightly more modern form – online recommendations from real, actual tourists. Often with photos or videos. You know very well that when someone chooses a place to stay, they are reluctant to choose something that has more than 3.5 stars or even more.
And finally, to sum up everything above and to emphasize the essence of using OTA portals in business – booking portals are a way to save time, money, and energy. Each portal is a bit like a separate mechanism of a small team of employees who oversee reservations, marketing, branding, and many other aspects, 24 hours a day. Thanks to them, you don’t have to get involved in creating your own reservation systems on your website or creating individual advertisements and promotions.
On this basis, it can be concluded that for entrepreneurs in the tourism industry, OTA portals are an excellent tool with a minimum of disadvantages. But what about tourists?
On the other side of the screen, there are all of us – even rental property owners and hoteliers. After all, we all travel sometimes. What are we looking for? The right accommodation. How do we want to find it? Quickly and efficiently. Does browsing through search engine results meet these requirements? Not really, right? But any OTA portal does. Select your destination, set the filters that are important to you, choose the sorting method, and that’s it. The chance that you will find your dream place on the first page of results is huge.
The conclusions are quite logical. Although tenants and tourists are two different groups of people with opposite requirements for the functionality of booking portals, OTA portals can be equally attractive to them. Why? Because these days, everyone is looking for convenience and savings in time and money.
Which OTA portal should you choose for your business?
We could start by listing the most famous and popular ones, from the oldest to the most recently created and quickly winning the hearts of tourists. We will not do this for one reason – the article would quickly become outdated. This field of Internet tools in the form of booking portals is growing in the blink of an eye. Trends are changing, some sites are losing their reputation and position on the web, and others are ceasing to function properly, but new, refreshed, and improved ones are appearing.
The introduction to this subheading alone leads us to certain conclusions, or more precisely, to the answer to the question, not “Which OTA portal should you choose for your business?”, but “Is it worth limiting yourself to just one portal? Well, as they say, “It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.” Given all the factors that drive this market, it is definitely worth securing a position on several OTA portals to ensure the online presence of your business. Imagine that you have worked for years to achieve a fantastic position, excellent reviews, and nice comments on one of the portals, which is ending its career, and you have to start all over again on a completely new platform. A bleak vision, isn’t it? Unfortunately, it is realistic.
However, it is impossible to be on all portals. You should choose the ones that best suit your business. For example, if you run an agritourism business, look for portals that bring together advertisements for places offering a similar range of services, but don’t limit yourself to them. In addition, choose a general, popular OTA portal and maybe something with an offer for children?
It is worth doing a little research. Check which portals are popular in your industry, what reviews they have, and what terms of cooperation they offer. Maybe then the choice will become a little easier.
How does the BedBooking app facilitate activities in this area?
OK. You are at the stage where your business has appeared on several OTA portals or you are planning to start registering, but you are daunted by the prospect of dealing with all these portals, each of which differs in appearance, functionality, fees, etc. This is natural and very similar to buying shoes or a screwdriver online. Every store looks different. What do you need to manage your reservations smoothly and prevent overbooking? The answer is BedBooking – our digital superhero in the field of reservation management.
What does BedBooking offer and how can it make your life easier? Here you have the opportunity to combine several booking channels in one place. Sounds tempting, right? The fact is that no entrepreneur has the time to personally manage hundreds of bookings on different platforms. It would be necessary to hire an employee, but not with the BedBooking app. This booking calendar, program, and app is one place for all your reservations.
This solution also solves a common problem, especially during the peak season for a given industry – overbooking, i.e., accepting reservations for your properties for too many people at the same time. Such a situation is extremely awkward for a business owner and can even lead to serious damage to the reputation built up over the years. Automatic synchronization, availability control, and a convenient overview of the rental status of your property will help you cope with booking chaos.
Other benefits of the BedBooking application compared to OTA portals
The BedBooking online booking system is a comprehensive tool dedicated to property owners and hoteliers, enabling effective management of accommodation facilities. It allows you to optimize booking processes and communication with guests, which translates into increased business efficiency and improved service levels.
One of the main advantages of the BedBooking application is the possibility of using a mobile reception desk. This allows property owners to manage their facilities from anywhere, at any time of the day or night, which increases flexibility and mobility in running their business.
Synchronization with OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) is another advantage of the BedBooking app. Thanks to integration with popular booking platforms such as Booking.com and Airbnb, users can avoid the problem of overbooking and effectively manage room availability on various portals, which contributes to increasing the visibility of their properties and the chance to attract new customers.
Communication with guests is a key element of successful customer service. The BedBooking app allows property owners to stay in constant contact with guests by sending messages, answering questions, and providing relevant information before, during, and after their stay. This helps build a positive image and customer loyalty.
Occupancy statistics and reports are an invaluable analytical tool that provides app users with insight into key indicators of property occupancy and marketing effectiveness. This allows owners to track and analyze trends, identify weaknesses, and make informed business decisions.
An online booking calendar for the website is another feature that facilitates the management of accommodation facilities. By integrating the booking calendar with their own website, users can enable guests to make online reservations in a simple and convenient way, which helps to increase the number of reservations and improve the user experience.
Finally, the Employees module enables effective team management by assigning tasks, monitoring progress, and coordinating activities. This is a key element of effective accommodation facility management, allowing you to maintain high-quality customer service and efficient business operations.
If you have any additional questions, please contact us at [email protected].
