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The online distribution avenues that your hotel uses are crucial. After all, they play an important role in generating hotel revenues and ensuring your overall business success. Gone are the days when hotel bookings were made in the hotel itself. Today, reservations are typically made online without as many middlemen in between. The advent of smartphone technology has made the whole booking process a lot faster and convenient from anywhere in the world! Since bookings are easier to make than ever, your hotel needs to provide guests with different avenues that they can choose from when placing their own reservations.

Perhaps what you’re wondering at this point is what online distribution avenues you can use to make bookings easier for guests. Keep reading to find out about three essential online distribution avenues and learn more about how you can make the most out of them.

Primary Website

Your hotel’s official website is the primary avenue that visitors can use to make bookings online. In this age, a website serves as an online representation of your business. It does not only create brand awareness and promote your products or services but also serves as an avenue through which your clients can pursue transactions. Your goal is for your clients to visit your site and book their rooms online via your website.

To ensure you augment your site’s potential for booking, make sure you utilize Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies. SEO will help your site be found online and rank higher in the results page. Also, make sure that the page is user-friendly and can easily be navigated. Doing so can eliminate all the hassle in booking and make the process all the more convenient for your clients looking for a place to stay.

Online Travel Agents

Another popular online distribution avenue is online travel agencies (OTAs). There is a wide range of online travel agents that individuals can visit online when looking for a place or hotel to stay in. Some of the more famous ones include Booking.com, Expedia, Orbitz.com, Hotels.com, and Priceline.com.

There are several good reasons for your hotel to partner with these online travel agents. For one, they offer your hotel extra exposure, apart from your regular advertising and promotional tactics. An OTA is said to be the most popular distribution channel for mobile users. In fact, statistics show 64 percent of all mobile bookings come from an OTA. Make sure to provide these agents with up-to-date information such as accurate descriptions of rooms and high-quality photographs.

Global Distribution Systems

Finally, a global distribution system or GDS system is one great avenue where clients can visit for room reservations. GDS system is a network primarily used by travel agents to book things such as airline seats, hotel rooms, and car rentals for their clients and customers. The primary GDS systems include Amadeus, Travelport, and Sabre.

Hotels such as your business ought to take advantage of this GDS system. This distribution channel allows you to foster good relationships with travel agents. This can result in higher commercial demand for your hotel rooms. In the end, your hotel can benefit from GDS by having the opportunity to attract the market or clients from across the globe.

The three aforementioned online distribution avenues are the best means by which to get more people to book and check into your hotel rooms. Make sure to update your website, pursue good partnerships with travel agents, and join in the GDS system. All these can make a great deal of difference in your hotel business—in terms of increasing revenues, selling your brand, and ensuring its overall business success!

If you’re looking for a digital marketing agency to help improve your hotel’s online distribution avenues, Web Connection Asia is your best option. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!