Your own website
You can have a very simple website to get started
and build more sophistication as you go along
Should you set up your own website?
The first question you should ask is: do I need my own website? A company website - if done properly - makes you look professional and trustworthy. Even if the majority of your bookings are made through third party websites such as booking.com, many potential guests do visit the company website in search for more information, extra imagery or better deals.
If you invest time into converting your guest (coming through booking.com and other OTA's) into loyal returning customers, your own website (even a basic one) can save you in paying commissions to those big sites.
However, creating a website that can process online bookings is a serious investment in time and money, and asks for your continuous attention.
Having at least some form of website seems sensible, to show that you run a professional business and to allow potential customers to contact you bypassing the expensive booking channels.
Questions to ask
- Do I want my own website?
- Should my website be able to process online bookings?
- Do you want to create the website yourself, or will you outsource it?
- Do you want to be able to change content on the website yourself?
Your domain name
When you decide to create a website, you need to choose a domain name. If you choose your domain name (www.yourdomain.com), make sure that the name is registered with you as the owner and not the webmaster creating your site.
Make or buy?
Nowadays there are numerous software services where you can create your own site, even without any technical knowledge. Such services include squarespace.com, websitebuilder.com, wix.com and strikingly.com. The site you are looking at right now was created with Strikingly.
For smaller companies a one page website may be sufficient (like the one for Okavango Lodge), however, if you have many rooms in your hotel or lots of tours to offer, you may want a multi page website.
If you are a small or medium sized company and don't have things like online payments and booking (there are ways to do semi online bookings), the above options are a good choice: relatively cheap, no dependency on others to build or maintain your website.
Another popular service is Wordpress. It offers more flexibility, but it also requires more effort to get to work with the software. Wordpress requires regular updates for the site to keep working smoothly.
Online services that include reservation software and a website editor are e.g. Lodgify Smoobu and Cloudbeds.
Tour operators may want to have a look at vacationlabs.com or tashi.travel offering a package of website, online booking and channel management.
If you have a website built for you, make sure you are able to manage content yourself once it is up and running. You don't want to depend on a webmaster for simple changes in e.g. rates.
If you are asking a web agency/developer...
You want to be clear what is expected from your web agency or web developer when setting out on a project for a new website. Start writing a brief on what you expect. Then have the web agency respond with a debrief in which they lay out what they are going to build for you, how you will work together, the timing, the budget... Download the website briefing guideline to get started.
Affordable websites for starters
Have your own website on a budget
Simple, yet professional
Single or multipage website
Strikingly is a service that starts under US$100 a year, with which you can create and manage your own professional website, either in a single page or a multipage set up. The rate includes your own domain name. The website you are looking at right now is running on Strikingly (Pro Subscription).
Get bookings directly on your website
When you have your own website, you want your potential guest to make a booking via your own website. This way you don’t pay commission and can build a direct relationship with the guest.
Have a book now button
Right on the home page, but preferably also on every other page, a guest should be able to start a booking, either with a book now button directing to a booking engine or a field to select dates and rooms.
If you don't have an online booking option, you still want your 'call to action' inviting your site visitors to 'enquire now.' Check out how you can come close to online booking by designing your own semi-online-booking.
Use widgets on your website
These days there are booking engines which have options like exit pop ups, quick notifications, welcome box, and many more. This will engage with your visitors effectively and direct them to book with you. When your guests come across such notifications and highlights, they get more curious and they might book with you instantly.
Let your visitors compare rates
Before booking a hotel room, your guests tend to go through several websites and other multiple OTAs to compare the prices. Now, what if you can provide them the comparison on your website itself? Try giving your website visitors the best possible comparison, so they can make the decision there and then. By doing this, your chance of getting direct bookings increases and on the other hand, it minimizes your dependence on OTAs.
Implement a live chatbot to attend guest inquiries
When visitors land on the hotel website and browse through your website, they may have several queries. And you have to answer them instantly, because if they don’t get any reply within a few minutes, they may leave. In such a case, if you’ve got a chatbot, it becomes easy for you to provide instant replies to your website visitors.
WhatsApp offers a tool to add a button to your website that allows your web visitor to start a chat.
Create Packages
Your visitors and potential guests are looking for a stay and want to be pampered. Hakuna Matata. So it is attractive for them to book complete packages. So not only an overnight stay but also breakfast, dinner, bicycle rent, a massage in the wellness center, and packages for a longer stay with a discount for example.
Monitor your website uptime
How do you know your website is up and running 24/7/365? It's frustrating when customers contact you to tell you that your website is down. You (and your webmaster) can monitor your site uptime through Uptime Robot, a free service for the basic monitoring.
Adding Widgets from social etc
You can integrate other systems you use (newsletter sign up, reviews, social) into your website using Widgets provided by these services. They ‘communicate’ with each other and the information you share on your website is up to date.
On its website Nekacheya uses so called 'widgets' to show their latests post from social. The Google Maps they are showing is coming directly from Google and gets all of the necessary updates 'real time.'
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