Many homeowners strive to get more direct bookings via ther own vacation rental website (avoid OTA commissions).

An increasing number of potential guests is checking out what kind of rental offerings are available on OTAs (e.g. Booking.com), then searching Google to find a specific accomodation at the best price. How to convert these „window shoppers“ into direct bookers?

• Create an identifiable brand and mention your vacation rental’s brand name wherever possible (e.g. in your listing copy) to make it obvious for your potential guests what they should search for.
• Optimize your vacation rental website for booking conversion and seamless user experience (e.g. responsive website, quick loading times, high quality images, booking engine, accept online payments).
• Capture guest data in order to attract repeat guests (e.g. gather personal email address from guests who booked via an OTA and target them with future promotions).
• Offer exclusive benefits for direct bookings on your vacation rental website (e.g. a breakfast hamper on arrival, local restaurant vouchers, late check-out option).
• Try to create great vacation experiences for your guests. This will encourage them to book their next holidays directly with you and/or to recommend your vacation rental to friends.
• Stay in touch with guests via email (campaigns), Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook, Skype etc. and promote special deals to get direct bookings. Try to build a relationship that is closer to friendship than just „business“.
• Keep your OTA listings appealing. Otherwise potential guests won’t investigate further and will skip straight onto the next competitor.
• Ask potential guests to book directly every time you speak to them (email, phone, social media etc.).
• Let travelers know, that direct bookers can avoid OTA fees (increasing user charges on platforms like HomeAway).

(Source: via @Lodgify – Get full details at https://www.lodgify.com/blog/convert-window-shoppers-direct-bookings )