Tried and true digital marketing strategies you can implement right now to deliver an impactful shopping experience that will drive direct bookings on your property’s website.

1. Copyright © 2016 Leonardo Worldwide Corporation
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Clear-Cut Digital Marketing
Strategies to Capture More
Direct Bookings
March 23rd, 2016
Darlene Rondeau, VP, Best Practices, Online Merchandising, Leonardo
Scott Yankton, President, Scott Yankton Consulting
Pam Levesque, General Manager, Blue Bay Inn
Technical Difficulties?
Contact
Citrix GoToWebinar
1-800-263-6317
support@citrixonline.com

2. Darlene Rondeau
Vice-President,
Best Practices, Online Merchandising
Leonardo
@darlenerondeau

3. Follow:
@VFMLeonardo
Tweets & Questions:
#LeoWebinar

4. Scott Yankton
President
Scott Yankton Consulting

5. Pam Levesque
General Manager
Blue Bay Inn
Blue Bay Inn

6. What’s in the way of getting more direct bookings?

7. Fuel Disputes Google’s Numbers
 It’s not the more than 20
sites often cited from
Google research
 According to Fuel, it is
10 or fewer, but on
average between four
and six
#LeoWebinar

8.  More leisure travelers
decide on a hotel by
visiting the hotel’s
website
 Most travelers booked
their stays online, half
did so on the hotel’s own
site
 Few are using mobile
devices
Clinch the Deal at Your “Store”
#LeoWebinar
Source – CMB Pulse

9. Scott Yankton
President
Scott Yankton Consulting

10.  Getting potential customers to your
site
o SEO/Organic
o Cost Per Click
o Social Media
o Advertising
o Etc.
 Once they are on your site,
converting them!
 According to Google, 52% of
travelers visit your hotel’s website
after seeing you on an OTA
The 2 Key Website Related Tasks
#LeoWebinar

11. Usability/User
Experience –
How easy do you
make it for users to
find what they
want?
3 Keys to Better Conversion
#LeoWebinar
Social Proof –
What do others
think of property?
Optimize
Check-Out –
How easy is it to
book?

12. 1. Answer the most important user
questions (so they can convert)
 In logical order
 Images/property stories (the most
requested item in my usability
studies)
 http://www.jhousegreenwich.com/
 Short videos
 Bullet points (before text)
Usability – User Experience
#LeoWebinar

13. 2. Provide users with an easy, intuitive
interface that doesn’t contain obstacles
that discourage conversion
 Quick, efficient, intuitive navigation that
inspires confidence = higher conversion
 Confusing navigation results in users
leaving your site
 Obvious calls to action that pull users
down the desired path
Usability – User Experience
#LeoWebinar

14. Usability – User Experience
#LeoWebinar

15. Social Proof
#LeoWebinar
 Offsite reviews on your site (TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.)
 77% of customers read reviews before they purchase online
(Forrester & Juniper Research Study)
 Customer Testimonials (text, image, video)
 Awards
 Third party certification icons that create confidence
 Evidence that shows that others are booking

16. Social Proof
#LeoWebinar

17. Optimizing Checkout – Only
Asking for What You Need
#LeoWebinar

18. 1. Only ask for what you need (loss of 10% per unnecessary field)
2. Tell users why you need the information you collect
3. Minimal clicks/pages (to book on Expedia is 4 pages, it can be done
in 3)
4. Clear calls to action (don’t make them guess where to click!)
5. Don’t add calls to actions that distract from check out (like
registering)
6. Assure customers that check out is safe (confidence icons)
7. Add sense of urgency prompts
8. Assure customers that they are getting the best deal possible
 Best rate guarantee
Optimizing Checkout
#LeoWebinar

19. Optimizing Checkout – Sense of Urgency Prompts
#LeoWebinar

20.  Make it easy for shoppers
 What others think matters
 Bigger, bolder, better
 Instill confidence
 Get out of the way
Key Takeaways
#LeoWebinar

21. Pam Levesque
General Manager
Blue Bay Inn
Blue Bay Inn

22.  Needed a modern website that
was engaging and effective
 Didn’t have a mobile optimized
presence
 Limited time & money
 Not very tech savvy
 More direct bookings
 Improved Occupancy
 Incremental revenue
Challenges & Goals
#LeoWebinar

23.  Tell my story, my way
 Show the property and its
surroundings
 Emphasize with video
 Consists of imagery & rich
descriptions
 Integrated reviews
 Mapping features our unique
location
Our Digital Marketing Approach
#LeoWebinar

24.  I’m where my guests are
shopping
 Booking opportunity at
every turn and when it’s
convenient
 Encourages travel shoppers
to reserve their room rather
than put off
“Book Direct” Strategy on Mobile and Social Media
#LeoWebinar

25.  Success is evident in our results
 Y-O-Y ending 2015, we were up $100,000
 YTD 2016, up almost $20,000 over 2015
 Our growth is directionally positive
 Guests tell us they loved the experience
Results
#LeoWebinar

26.  Have a visually-strong website
 Mobile-friendly website
 Your website needs to be easy for
guests to navigate
 And easy for your business to
manage
Advice for Driving Direct Bookings
#LeoWebinar

27. Based on today’s content,
will you attend future webinars?

29.  About Leonardo
 Invitations to
upcoming webinars
 Recording of this
webinar. Share it
with your colleagues
It’s a Wrap
#LeoWebinar

30. Connect With Us!
#LeoWebinar
leonardo.com
1.877.593.6634
@VFMLeonardo
blog.leonardo.com
scottyankton.com
scott@scottyankton.com
Scott Yankton Pam Levesque
bluebayinn.com
pam@bluebayinn.com
Blue Bay Inn

31. Questions & Discussion
#LeoWebinar