Hotel Metasearch Engine: Strategies to Drive Direct Bookings

A research study states that most travelers (80%) prefer booking through hotel metasearch engines such as TripAdvisor, Trivago, Kayak, etc. But to get online visibility on meta search, you just need to list your property on different OTAs and optimize the listings. This drives direct bookings on your hotel website and saves you commission cuts.

Let's study what a meta search engine is and 4 actionable strategies you should adopt to get more revenue.

What is a meta search engine?

A hotel metasearch engine is a single platform that compiles bookings from different sources, such as OTAs and hotels' websites. Through this platform, visitors can compare the prices of other hotels and select the best possible rate that suits their needs.

A few examples of Meta search engines include Trivago, Kayak, Google hotel ads, and Tripadvisor. Consider the hotel metasearch engine as the one price comparison hub for guests to check room availability, compare prices, and read the reviews across different platforms in real-time without having to visit different sites individually.

This is driven by the increasing use of smartphones and the convenience that meta-search engines provide to travelers in terms of choosing the best hotels, flights, and vacation packages.

The increasing growth of hotel metasearch engines will skyrocket in coming years as most travelers are inclined towards leisure travel (business + leisure).

Thus, it’s a powerful tool for hoteliers to get more online visibility at the global level and drive more bookings as their property is now visible to guests across multiple channels.

How do hotel metasearch engines work?

The working of traditional meta-search and the hotel metasearch engine is the same. Just like traditional metasearch has the database from other search engines, so when the user enters a query, the hotel metasearch engine crawls various booking sites and collects information on rooms, prices, and availability.

Let’s say a traveler searches for a destination and selects the travel dates, the hotel metasearch engine pulls the list of hotels, their prices, and reviews from these sources.

Thus, it saves time for travelers, and at the same time hoteliers can increase their chances of bookings as their property is visible across multiple sites.

The meta-search engine for hotels doesn’t handle the booking process directly, rather it directs the visitor to the chosen site for the destination.

In a nutshell, to win on metasearch, you need to know the laser-focused bidding strategies and ad placements so that your hotel can appear on the top of the metasearch engine. As there are several other OTAs, you need to create a balance between low bids and high bids.

If you go for low bids, then you won’t show on the top results.

If you select a higher bidding option, your ad might appear at the top spot on metasearch, but if the guest acquisition cost is higher than the price you pay for each click, then you would get a lower ROI.

Plan your bidding strategies accordingly by analyzing the market, keeping a close eye on your competitors, and monitoring seasonal patterns.

You need to make sure that for every click, you generate revenue.

Note: By listing your hotel on OTAs, you can appear on the Meta search engine.

Benefits of using metasearch for direct bookings

Here are a few benefits of using hotel metasearch-

A hotel metasearch engine drives direct bookings for you as you are visible on multiple platforms. At the same time, it provides convenience to travelers to search for the best accommodation without searching for different OTAs.

An increased visibility lowers your commission being paid to third parties. Thus, it’s cost-effective for you to promote your property. The money that would otherwise be wasted on OTAs will now be used for advertising your website.

You can stay on top of a guest’s mind and increase your property’s exposure because your guests are actively searching for accommodation.

With a metasearch engine, you can connect with travelers who have a higher intent to book a stay at your accommodation. Thus, you can drive visitors directly to your website resulting in a higher profit margin.

Travelers when landing on a meta search engine such as Tripadvisor, Trivago, Skyscanner will be redirected to your hotel’s website. They can complete the booking process on your site. Thus, you can engage them, build relationships with them and cross sell and upsell your services.

Key strategies to drive direct bookings through metasearch

Let’s discuss some of the key strategies you should adopt to increase bookings through hotel metasearch-

1. Get direct bookings through booking engine optimization

OTAs sell your inventory while hotel metasearch engines direct travelers to your booking site. But what if your hotel’s website is not integrated with a booking engine, then how do you receive direct bookings?

The only way to secure direct bookings is to have an optimized booking engine.

Here are a few MUST-HAVE elements to optimize your hotel’s booking engine-

A book now button should be present on the booking engine, and it should have a contrasting color that makes it stand out.

Around 45% of bookings come through mobile devices, so you need to optimize your booking engine for a mobile audience.

The booking engine should have an integration with a secure payment gateway so guests can make secure reservations.

The booking process should be intuitive, allowing guests to book rooms on the go.

It should offer guests real-time room availability and pricing information.

2. Ensure rate parity across all channels

Another strategy to drive direct bookings through hotel metasearch engines is to create an effective revenue management strategy such as Rate parity. Rate parity means keeping the prices consistent for all room types across different distribution channels.

When travelers land on a meta-search engine, pricing becomes a deciding factor for them to click on the booking link or not. When they get the best deals, they’re likely to book on your website resulting in an increase in your hotel’s revenue.

3. Use metasearch advertising

Usually, when travelers decide to reserve a spot at XYZ accommodation, they are redirected to the OTA website. If the guest makes a reservation through OTA, the hotelier is likely to pay a fixed commission to them.

Through meta-search advertising, a link to book your hotel is visible to guests and you will get direct booking benefits.

The probability that guests will click on your hotel depends on whether your hotel appears on the top of meta-search engine. That's where you need to experiment with your bidding strategy, the keywords you use in your ad copy, and how compelling your ad content is.

4. Use compelling descriptions and high-quality visuals for property

An attractive hotel description makes your hotel STANDOUT and if it’s not compelling enough to click, travelers will likely go off.

Include the unique selling proposition of your property, the unique facilities available, and what extra things you offer to travelers (spa service, swimming pool, or anything).

Additionally, you should add high-quality visuals and action shots of every area (bathroom, play area, dining, pool) that create a lasting impression on travelers that they consider investing your time and money at your spot.

5. Using retargeted ads

Filip Dimitrijevsk, the business development manager of CLICKVISION Digital uses retargeted ads to drive direct bookings for a metasearch engine.

Retargeted ads are a game changer for targeting guests who do not complete their bookings after viewing listings on metasearch engines. According to him, the ads you run should be highly personalized and highlight the advantages and perks that guests would get by booking directly, such as free upgrades or other benefits that are generally not available through OTAs.

Personalization has been a game changer for him while running retargeted ads, as hoteliers can see what viewers previously viewed, whether it’s room type or the dates they checked. This results in increased conversions, and guests are more likely to book as it doesn't seem like an ad to them, but rather a reminder of what they were interested in.

Wrapping up

The above guide has given an idea of the best practices you can use to take full advantage of meta-search engines and drive direct bookings on your site.

Unlike OTAs, the meta-search engine is another popular distribution channel where your ideal guests hang out. The travelers who use meta-search engines are high-intent shoppers, and they usually go there to find the best deals, compare prices across different OTAs, and visit the hotel website to make a reservation.

For hoteliers, a meta-search engine works like a single dashboard where they can increase their property visibility and get direct bookings as their property is now visible to a global audience.

The key to increasing direct bookings on hotel meta-search lies in setting the right bidding strategy, ensuring rate parity, and using meta-search advertising.

With us, you don't need to take the extra load. Our cloud-based channel manager help hoteliers like you distribute your inventory across different channels such as OTAs and meta-search engines. Having an integration with 100+ OTAs, we can help you manage your inventory with ease.