Hotel metasearch engines, are they profitable for your Hotel?

Although OTAs have long been a dominant source of indirect hotel reservations, hotel Metasearch engines like Kayak, Trivago, TripAdvisor and Google have become much more relevant in the marketing mix of hotels and distribution channels.

What are Hotel Meta Search Engines?

Hotel Metasearch engines are not reservation channels. They are advertising platforms on which hotels (and OTAs!) Can market their inventory. From the perspective of the consumer, who is very sensitive to prices, Hotel Metasearch engines have the clear advantage of being a "one-stop shop": it is a way to search for available hotels during the desired travel dates, read reviews and compare prices between different reservation channels (including OTAs). For you, as a hotelier, they are a highly qualified source of traffic.

However, recently we have seen a movement between OTAs and metasearch sites, I will try to explain it in a few lines. First, a radical trend towards industry consolidation has led to acquisitions; Like Kayak on Priceline and Trivago on Expedia. Also, like OTAs, TripAdvisor and Google have integrated Hotel inventory into their search results with a "Book Now" button, making many wonder if a hybrid OTA / metasearch model is on the way.

With this information, many hoteliers ask themselves: Do I really need to invest time and money in hotel metasearch engines?

The answer is yes.

If your guests use metasearch engines to reserve hotel accommodation, you must have a presence on those sites. Fortunately, there are great benefits to investing in hotel metasearch engines.

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Benefits of investing in Hotel Metasearch

1. Cost reduction per reservation. OTAs such as Booking and Expedia charge booking commissions close to 30 percent, it is true that you can choose what you pay with a minimum of 15%, but in some markets, you will have to increase the commission if you want to have enough presence, this makes Increasing cuts in hotel performance.

Hotel Metasearch engines, however, operate on a different model, as companies pay at a cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per click (CPC). This often results in hotels generally paying less per booking, allowing them to retain more benefits. TripAdvisor, for example, offers a CPA model and charges only 12 to 15 percent of the reservation, in exchange for guaranteed visibility of 25 to 50 percent in searches.

The Google metasearch program (GHA) is a significant opportunity for a Hotel to reduce its cost per reservation compared to OTAs. With this program, ads appear in the hotel search process, causing conversion rates to grow with higher ROIs. Hotels pay with a CPA model, as they do with OTAs, but the great advantage is that the hotel "owns" the client and receives all the contact information when the guest Qnnit.

2. Increase the visibility of the Hotel. Traffic to Hotel Metasearch engines has tripled since 2014. This will likely not decrease in the short term, given market developments such as the meteoric rise in Google's travel business and advertising spending on sites like Trivago and TripAdvisor. Hotel Meta Search Engines are becoming increasingly popular with consumers and hotels should use this to their advantage.

Pro Tip: Did you know that if you enter the Hotel Metasearch program and pay by CPA, if your client does not make the reservation at that moment, but makes it a few days later, that reservation will be FREE? Indeed, the cost for acquiring a reservation does not have a cookie duration, so if a client comes to you through GHA but does not make the reservation at that moment, Google will not charge you anything, if it comes back later or the next day through an organic search or another device... ta Chan!

3. Defend your territory

The Hotel Best Costaballena, in Chipiona (Cádiz), is a newly opened hotel of the Best Hotels Chain. When you enter your website to book, you receive a multitude of messages: How many people are watching, the price comparison with other platforms, warns you that you will pay at the hotel... everything that must be done to increase the conversion rate of a reservation, but before entering this website, what happens? Without a presence in Hotel Metasearch engines (in this case only with a presence on TripAdvisor), you are transferring your space, your brand (and your €) to others who will invest for you.

Expedia and Booking spent 5.8 Billion dollars on advertising in hotel metasearch engines, (I put it in letter to avoid dizziness, five hundred million dollars), 23% of that investment was in TripAdvisor and Trivago, in other words, they invest 23% of their advertising budget to sell your business in Hotel Metasearch Engines. Shouldn't you, with your hotel, claim your share of this cake? If in the end you will pay between 15 and 30% commission to these channels, shouldn't you invest in your independence and in the reduction of costs per reservation?

4. The battle for your guests' data

With metasearch engines, hotels receive the reservation as a direct reservation, as these sites redirect guests to the hotel's website or integrate directly with the hotel's CRS / booking engine. This means that you receive the guest's contact information and other data, rather than a generic Booking.com email address. Once you have that data, you have the opportunity to directly market to that customer with email marketing, remarketing... with the aim of loyalty and recover part of your direct business.

5. Diversify your marketing

The cost of direct traffic sources continues to rise, making Hotel Meta Search Engines a proven and viable option to diversify your marketing investments. The cost of pay per click (CPC) in search engines (especially Google), is making "holes" in hotel marketing budgets around the world. The cost per brand keyword, your hotel name for example, is suffering annual price increases in Google Adwords that sometimes make the bid by the hotel unfeasible. Should you give up on your brand in a search engine like Google? No, I don't mean that, but you should invest with love and care, see these tips.

• Choose the right sites. Some hotel meta-tasters may perform better than others, depending on factors such as the location of your hotel, the type of experience you offer, and the types of guests you attract. If it is a small hotel with fewer resources, it is a good idea to closely monitor CPA / CPC expenses for each metasearch engine. This way you can prioritize the channels that work best for your hotel.
• Take advantage of technology. The idea of??managing another distribution channel can be torture for a Hotel Commercial or Revenue Manager, they have little or little or no experience with CPC or CPA ads. Fortunately, there are ways to easily manage all your distribution channels in one place, and ways to measure the origin of your reservation, so you can control where your income comes from.
• Get help if you need it. While Hotel Commercials, Revenue Managers or Directors of large hotels can take advantage of technology to help them scale their work, in small Hotels or independent hotels they may have problems with the additional workload and should consider looking for a reliable and experienced. An agency partner that will help you achieve your income goals.
• Close the cycle. Now that you have a relationship with this guest that you have obtained in hotel Metasearch engines, it is important to convert that guest into a direct booker. Make sure your marketing team communicates regularly with these guests, after the stay, with offers and incentives to book directly with you the next time they travel to your area.

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