Tips to reduce the online booking abandonment

reduire-abandon-reservations
reduire-abandon-reservations

Justify your rates

Some potential clients abandon their online booking because your rates do not correspond to their budget. However, a potential client could have a large enough budget to afford to stay at your hotel, but they might not find added value by picking your hotel. With your marketing strategies, it is crucial to work on your hotel’s image in order to showcase what makes your hotel unique. Do not hesitate to share your story and show off the one-of-a-kind aspects of your hotel on your website. By doing so, potential clients will immediately notice this added value and will be willing to pay the price in order to stay with you. Thus, they will not abandon their booking at the last minute.

Improve user experience on your website

In order to avoid potential client abandoning their booking due to a long and complicated booking process, make sure your online user experience is clear and concise. In the hospitality industry, we always strive to provide the best customer experience and this should be reflected on your website. You should test your online booking experience to ensure it is simple, short and efficient. Online reservations through smartphones and tablets are on the rise, so make sure your booking process runs smoothly on these devices as well. First, ensure your “Book now” button is clearly visible and stands out. Then, your booking engine should only ask the potential client the necessary information in order to process the booking. Keep in mind that the more fields to fill and information to provide, the more likely this client is to abandon their booking. It is therefore important to keep the mandatory fields to a minimum and remove all the unnecessary fields. Every field removed will boost the number of bookings, and you can still ask your client some further information once their booking is complete. You can obviously test your online booking process yourself, but you might want to ask your friends and family to test it as well, to see if they find anything confusing or complicated. This will give you a better idea of the elements you need to improve on in order to provide a simple and smooth experience which will maximize your bookings. You can also add a live chat feature on your website. With this tool, you will be able to answer any of your clients question in real time, and they will be able to complete their booking without having to contact you by e-mail and then wait for your reply.

Use your booking engine’s features

Your booking engine certainly contains some features which you can exploit in order to turn website visitors into clients. For example, creating last minute deals could encourage a potential client with a small budget to stay with you at a low rate at an early date. The presale feature could encourage clients wishing to stay with you at a later date to finalize their booking by taking advantage of a discounted rate. Promotional codes may also trigger an impulse buy for a potential client. Booking engines also offer the option of displaying the number of rooms left available for their chosen date. This stress marketing technique can trigger potential clients to take a quick decision and finalize their booking.

Play with your cancellation policies

Some potential clients abandon their online booking as they have to discuss it with the people travelling with them first and see whether or not your hotel corresponds to their criteria. By offering a flexible cancellation policy, you could see your conversion rate improve. This will allow potential clients to guarantee their booking while they discuss it with their peers. It is likely that even if they find a cheaper accommodation, having to cancel their booking at your hotel will discourage them from booking another accommodation. Keep in mind that a more flexible cancellation policy does not necessarily mean that more clients will cancel their booking. It can simply give a peace of mind to indecisive clients and thus entice them to book. This technique will allow you to generate more bookings while maintaining a policy on the rooms you have left.


Many reasons can cause potential clients to abandon their booking. Make sure to avoid those on which you can act, especially by justifying your rates and optimizing your online user experience. You could be surprised of how simple actions like these could boost your direct bookings.

9 Ways to Boost Hotel Bookings and Increase Revenue

augmenter-reservations-hote
augmenter-reservations-hotel

Tip 1: Solidify your hotel guest personas

With the help of your hotel database, find out who your guests are, why they’re staying with you and for what purpose, i.e., business or pleasure. Then, develop one or two guest personas so that you can properly tailor your marketing efforts to meet their needs.

Tip 2: Use a strong value proposition to resonate with guests

Clearly state what makes your hotel unique and why potential guests should stay with you rather than anywhere else. Be sure to emphasize the fact that you can meet their needs better than your competitors can.

Tip 3: Speed ​​up your website loading time

Research shows that the slower your website speed, the more likely visitors are to leave it for a competitor’s site. To avoid this, make sure that it does not take more than 3 seconds for your site to load.

Having a spectacular photo gallery is essential for any hotel website. Since potential guests visit this page to see what your hotel looks like, it is the ideal place to showcase your most beautiful rooms, features and amenities. Always ensure that your photos are high quality and up to date.

Tip 5: Keep your site simple

Simplify site design and navigation. A quick and easy-to-use site allows potential guests to better navigate the information and continue exploring your site.

Tip 6: Avoid overwhelming potential guests with too much choice

People who visit your website might be discouraged if faced with too many choices. Make sure you limit your packages and navigational options to the bare essentials.

Tip 7: Appeal to guests through visual storytelling

Images pack a huge emotional punch with potential guests. Fill your website with beautiful, powerful images that tell a story and convey strong emotions. You might be surprised to see just how positive an effect this can have on hotel reservations.

Tip 8: Think mobile friendly

Optimize your website for mobile. Ensure that your potential guests can book their stay with ease, without ever having to touch a computer. Also, be sure to include smartphone functionality on your mobile site so that guests can call you or get directions to your hotel with just one simple click.

Tip 9: Get down with your data

Website data can reveal a lot about your hotel and your guests, so take advantage of it! These informations are an invaluable personalization opportunity for your property. Whether it is to tailor the customer experience or offer them a personalized arrival, the use of this data helps to exceed their expectations. Certain information about your establishment can also be useful to analyze your performance with indicators such as the occupancy rate, the status of the rooms, your average monthly revenue and others. So what are you waiting for to take advantage of it!


Whether it’s by getting to know your customers, improving your website or your social media, all of these can contribute to your hotel’s reputation and therefore increase your profits. You will not only improve your reputation in the eyes of your customers, but also your position against your competitors through differentiation.