Increasing direct bookings is the priority and we certainly help thousands of businesses grow theirs. The next priority is to ensure you have a good mix of other booking sources so you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. Too many bookings from one source creates a risk to your business.
If almost all your bookings come in from Bookingcom or Expedia there’s a danger of a single source being too dominant and any business knows that securing future success requires a healthy spread of bookings.
What if you were to fall out with your single biggest source of bookings, do you have any alternatives? Perhaps they decide to implement something you disagree with, do you have another source as back-up? These are valid questions that could affect the sustainability of your business.
You also need to consider that each agent has their very own customer database and by working with a variety of them you maximise your exposure to potential new customers. If for example you only work with Expedia, you’ll only get Expedia customers and that will limit your business.
A good healthy business mix includes plenty of direct bookings alongside a diversified strategy with Bookingcom and Expedia, but make sure you have a plan to increase direct bookings.
Secure your future bookings with a two priorities
1) Don’t rely on just one big source of bookings
Easy to use channel manager can help manage multiple sources of bookings without double entry or double bookings.
2) Invest in growing your direct bookings
Direct booking tips and blog articles to help grow your direct bookings
If, having done all this, you still feel that your property still doesn’t have an obvious unique attribute, there’s always the option of creating one. If you’re in an especially beautiful part of the world, you could study some local history and offer walking tours that focus on that. Seasonal unique selling points are another great way to keep business coming in all year round: you could focus on an outdoor facility, like a patio garden, in summer, and an indoor facility, like a real log fire, in winter.
Every day, more and more people are using iPads, iPhones, Androids etc to book hotels and B&Bs.
Big hotel chains have the largest marketing budgets, so their websites must always be the ones that attract the most attention. Right? 
We’ve put a lot of thought and effort into making those bookings happen for you, but that can be wasted if you don’t spend a little extra time making sure your widget looks fantastic. Your room details page is usually the 2nd most visited page on your website. Why? Because people, quite understandably, want to see what they’re getting for their hard-earned money! Showing customers what they are getting whilst they’re considering prices and availability will increase their likelihood of booking….it’s as simple as that.
In my view, it was simply not fair for them to compete against private enterprises whilst receiving funding from government or EU bodies. The accommodation sector has been radically altered by the internet and the pace of change is unrelenting. There is just no way an organisation like VisitScotland, with all its processes and its complex culture, can keep abreast of developments and provide a service of any quality or value.
