What are Smart Rate Promos?

Conversion rates on hotel websites are typically 2 – 3%, approximately only 1/3 of website visitors initiate a room booking and only 5% of those complete the booking.

This leaves the vast majority of website visitors unexposed to the hotel rates and special offers. Dynamic rate promotion on the mobile and desktop website (Smart Rate Promos) feature real-time availability and price promotional banners or tiles, based on business rules such as "Tonight's Rate is…" on the mobile site or "This Weekend's Rate is…" on the desktop website. 

With 75% of online travel website consumers indicating price as a primary purchase reason, the Smart Rate Promos create a "shortcut" to the booking process by displaying real-time rates as a prominent promo tile on the mobile website. This case study focuses primarily on the mobile site Smart Rate Promos.

What are the Best Uses for Smart Rate Promos?

This solution is best used in combination with other reservation conversion optimization apps, to recover abandoned bookings and steer site visitors to complete a booking on the hotel desktop, tablet and mobile site. Smart Rate Promos can also help hotels achieve more direct mobile bookings, as 7 out of 10 mobile bookings happen via the voice channel. Read more about our entire Reservation Conversion Optimization Package here.

Case Study Description

LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino wanted to drive more bookings through their mobile website and achieve more direct online bookings. Their rates changed frequently and this would not be a manageable task if needed to be done manually. HeBS Digital proposed featuring tonight's rate prominently on the home page of the mobile website to achieve more last minute direct online bookings from users visiting their mobile website.

HeBS Digital implemented the Smart Rate Promos technology on the LVH – Las Vegas Hotel & Casino mobile website, featuring real-time availability and rates for tonight on the mobile website. The Smart Rate Promos accesses rates and availability with booking engine connectivity, and then projects that valuable information on the mobile website. The property does not need to do anything on their end to update the rates; this is done automatically.

Results

In 6 short months, the property saw over 17,500% ROI from over 444 bookings. See below for the full results:

Time Frame: December 18 – June 18, 2013

• Revenue: $52,931
• Total Contributing Revenue: 4.34%
• Conversion Rate: 1.1%
• Bookings: 444
• Nights: 693
• ROI: 17,543%

About HeBS Digital

HeBS Digital is a full-service hotel internet marketing firm, providing direct online channel strategic advice and award-winning website design. We help hoteliers take full advantage of the direct online channel and turn their websites into the hotel's main and most-effective distribution channel. Our hotel Internet marketing company provides hoteliers and travel executives with expert advice, concrete recommendations, and sensible solutions to critical Internet-related issues that are crucial for the very existence of your hotel or travel company.