Stages of the Booking Process: Research S2E2

Foreign. Welcome to the Boost Hospitality podcast. My name is Mark Simpson. I'm the founder of Boost Hospitality, or Boostly for short. This podcast is all about working with small independent hospitality owners, helping them increase their heads on beds, cutting down on commission costs, and just getting a better understanding how marketing for their property works. In 2017, in episode two, we are going to be talking about the second stage of the booking process. The second stage is research and we're going to go into exactly what a guest looks for in a property and we're also going to share with you how you can make sure that your place the property that they click on to get more information. If you missed episode one, make sure you go back now and download it because we're talking about the five stages of the booking process that the guests go through before booking a property. So number one was plan, number two is research. So the guest has done their search, they've gone on to one of the listing sites, the many listing sites that are out there and they are having now a look for properties. This is where your photos and your images is. So key. If your first image on these sites is poorly representative of your property, then you will not get the booking. So the key here is to make sure that the image that is the first image that people see is your unique selling point. So again, if you're a pet friendly property in Scarborough, you've got to make sure that, that your main image is of a pet staying at your property. You know, you could have a really cool exterior shot with some dogs running around. If you wanted to go for where you've got an image of a past guest in here, then, you know, make sure that it draws the attention. If you've just got the, you know, the standard exterior shot on a street with no appeal, then people are going to scroll past you. You've got to disrupt their attention and get them to draw to you. So images is one of the key things. Make sure that next time that you are one of your listing sites, update the image to make sure that first one is going to be something that's going to draw people's attention. In number two is make sure that you have all of your amenities right. So what do I mean by that is that when you list on these websites Whether it's a Booking.com, expedia, Airbnb, you can put down exactly what your property has. So if you've got street parking, make sure street parking is clearly listed. If you offer breakfast, if you offer breakfast in bed, if you have A bar that serves special cocktails. If you've got a restaurant, if you've got a golf course that is nearby, or if you've got something specifically on your property, make sure that you put this down. When people do a search on any website, the first thing they do when all of the results come up is that they filter them down. So you want to make sure that you are appealing to people, doesn't matter what their search is. So if they're going to go for the price range, you're in that bracket. If they're looking for people for specific reviews, you're in there as well. If you want somebody who is coming to look for again, a pet friendly property for two adults, two children, make sure you've got every room listed properly. Don't just upload it once and leave it. If you've got a room that can have extra beds in, make sure you have that ability. So when someone puts in for a double room and they want to bring two kids and you can put extra beds in to accommodate those extra children that you have that added onto that listing site and the costs replicate that. Really important now because this is one of the key areas is where a guest has got loads of options in front of them. How can you stand out from the crowd? First thing is images. Secondly is make sure that your facilities that you provide to a guest are clearly stated and this goes to your website as well. Don't hide your selling points on your website. Make sure that your features, your benefits, why people should book with you is on your homepage. If you don't have this, you're going to lose the guest. You just look like everybody else. If you haven't got a unique selling point, go and get one. The reason why people stay with small independent properties and don't go and stay with the faceless organizations like Marriott or Hilton or Travelodge or Premier Inn is because they want to book with somebody and have that social experience. They want to have a stay in a town or a city that's a little bit different. That's why they come and stay with, with property like ours. So it could be something as simple as, you know, a really good breakfast. If your breakfast is better than anywhere else, if you do something a little bit different, focus on that. You know, breakfast is getting really popular in 2017. A really good breakfast. Breakfast photos is really popular. So jump on that bandwagon. If you're one of the first properties in your town or in your city to get the Amazon echoes the Google homes in your property. Again, make sure that is one of the first images that people see. Make sure that is clearly stated and just try and separate yourself from the crowd. So really important in stage number two of the booking process when the guest is going through their research, make sure that your facilities, your unique selling point, is clearly presented to the potential guest and make sure that it's the first thing that they see. So that is episode number two of the Boost Hospitality Podcast series two. We talked about research. I would love to hear your feedback. Let us know exactly what your unique selling point is. Email markoostly.co.uk or you can come and find us on Instagram. It'slyuk.

Thank you for listening to the Boost Hospitality Podcast. I've created a free ebook to go along this podcast series. To claim your copy, all you need to do is go to boostlee.co.uk podcast2 and that's the number two. And as always, Boost Lee is spelled B O O S T L Y. My name has been Mark Simpson. Thank you so much for listening. I'd love to hear your feedback. Tweet me UK Sam.