This week I thought it would be helpful to bring you some more tactical tips on optimising your listings with booking dot com, ready for the staycation surge. (Sorry this post will bore the non SA peeps but letting you know now so you switch to another post 🙂Â
You may or may not remember I wrote a post on this back in December following a catch up with our account manager and I summarised key takeaways in a post (link at the bottom). This week we had another helpful zoom call so I thought it would be helpful to share with other SA operators.
While 80%+ of our bookings are direct, we still absolutely like to optimise the gaps with b.com so these calls are great for keeping sharp and understanding the wider short stay demand.
A BRIEF SNAPSHOT OF WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW
(these are some stats from our region of Scotland but likely pretty representative of the UK right now due to lockdown)
As you’ll know operators can only accept bookings from essential workers right now so naturally bookings are fairly low.
98% of bookings are from domestic guests (again as you would expect)
Searches on b.com have started to increase as families are ruling out foreign holidays and starting to book in UK holidays
There has been a noticeable spike in family bookings and the stay duration has increased for the average stay on last year with more stays stretching to a full week vs 3 nts.
Domestic bookings are increasingly being made on mobile.
COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES TO OPTIMISE B.COM
GENIUS vs NON GENIUS
*If you’re not already, consider joining properties onto the Genius program, as 57% of bookings made for our area are for Genius properties and this goes up to 75% of bookings in other parts of the UK. [Per property you will see this in the property extranet Opportunities > Genius Partner Program, alternatively you can opt in in bulk through the Group Extranet under Bulk Editing > Genius]
*The Genius booker sees all the genius properties first in their listing options and they can even filter to see only genius meaning the non genius property either doesn’t get seen or is seen last.
*B.Com stats show that the Genius booker spends 11% more on average than non Genius bookers
*Genius bookers give you a greater sense of certainty as they are more committed guests as have proven to show up as planned and not be fraudulent. They also tend to book longer in advance. (Contractors are often Genius bookers).
MOBILE RATES
*With 73% of searches being made on a mobile device, the Mobile Rates could be used to convert those guests and compete for business. [You can add per property extranet under Rates & Availability > Mobile Rate. Or you can do this in bulk across the properties in your group extranet in Bulk Editing > Mobile Rates]
*With increased numbers of millennials travelling, they will typically book via mobile and are more likely to leave reviews. So, if you’re actively looking to increase the number of reviews you could use mobile rates for a while. (these can be turned on and off easily)
PREFERRED PROGRAM
*39% of bookings come through the preferred program (where you pay an additional 3% for boosted visibility) and increases your ranking/visibility for all types of bookers ie genius or not. However do note that the added 3% commission stacks on top of the 10% genius so in total you are giving away 10%+15%+3% of your booking (you need to do the maths for your nightly pricing so it doesn’t become unviable).
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
*If you already use Occupancy Based Pricing, Child Rates can be an easy setup and a great way to attract the growing demand from families. [You can set this in the property extranet under Property > Policies > Child Policies. Oor you can do this in bulk across the properties in your group extranet in Bulk Editing > Child Rates]
*The B.com analysis showed that France, Germany, the Netherlands and USA are starting to look and book for UK locations – whilst we don’t do this, you can attract them with a Europe or USA Country Rate. [You can build Country Rates in the property extranet under Rates & Availability > Country Rates. Or you can do this in bulk in the group extranet in Bulk Editing > Country Rates]
*The book window is fairly wide at the moment, so best to ensure you have availability loaded into your calendar right through this year.
*There has been a rise in the amount of 3-7 night bookings. To compete for this business, consider using a weekly rate to attract longer stays. [You can set this in the property extranet under Rates & Availability > Rate Plans > Add a new rate plan > Weekly Rate. Or you can do this in bulk across the properties in your group extranet in Bulk Editing > Weekly Rates]
Hope that’s been useful. Any other booking optimisation tips you can share with your fellow SA Operators?