The Battle For Direct Bookings Is Hand-to-Hand Combat, Not Aerial Strafing

August 25, 2021

Doug Kennedy

For years now, vacation rental companies have been fighting desperately to win back market share from third parties, such as Online Travel Agencies, and thus reduce the cost of customer acquisition. Huge sums are spent on strategic initiatives such as email campaigns, improving organic and paid SEO, making sure the website tells the company’s story, and ensuring a smooth journey from looking-to-booking.

All of this increases the likelihood that a prospective, web-surfing guest may engage with the rental company directly. In military terms, I would say it is sort of like aerial strafing because the “ammo” has a mostly random chance of hitting its target.

However, too many VR leaders are overlooking the real means by which battles are won, and history buffs know that wars are won one battle at a time.

In the VR distribution space, the most important opportunities to encourage guests to book directly, and to re-book future stays, occur through human – not digital – interactions. Whether by phone, chat, email, or in-person, it is the people that make the difference.

For too long, the lodging industry, in general, has been obsessed with digital marketing and distribution at the expense of focusing on human engagement. Perhaps this is because digital encounters make it easier to empirically measure and report back KPI’s to the boss or owner, whereas the very nature of human encounters between staff and guests lends itself to anecdotal evidence.

The good news is that emerging tech has made it increasingly easier to measure these human conversations. For example, there are cloud-based phone providers that offer call recordings, allowing managers to coach-up their team. A few of these phone systems allow agents to track “disposition codes” and to turn inbound calls into transient leads worthy of follow-up. Engaged leaders can also peruse chat logs and email exchanges between staff and prospective guests.

Now, all of this takes a bit more time than glancing at a Google Analytics report or website conversion data. Yet marketing and operations leaders who are willing to do so will find a plethora of training and coaching opportunities to mentor staff. At Kennedy Training Network, we have come to recognize these opportunities through the work my team does with remote call scoring, telephone mystery shopping, training, but I also uncover opportunities during my consulting engagements. Here are some training tips from our programs and services.

Encourage Website Visitors to Call Direct

Post your company’s phone number prominently instead of burying it on the “contact us page.”
Use a local, well-known area code vs. an 800 number.
If you use a vanity number, spell it out below and make it click-to-call on mobile.
Right above or below the number, post copy reading: “Call Now to Book Direct” or “Call Our Local Area Experts.”

Chat:

Train your team that while chat is wonderful for answering quick questions, they should look for opportunities to offer to call the guest directly right now to complete their booking.
When guests start to ask questions such as “what’s the difference between this home and that one?” or other specific questions indicating a strong interest, respond by saying “If you like I can call you right now to assist!”
Remind your staff that chatting with guests is not like texting friends. They need to re-humanize the medium by reacting to what the chat sender mentions. Example: “I’m thinking of booking the XYC Condo for our honeymoon, but I just wanted to make sure it has a full water view.” Instead of clicking back “Yes, it does have a view…” instead say “Wow, congratulations! And this one is perfect for a honeymoon. Would you like me to call you now to answer any other questions and complete this booking?”

Email:

Similar to chat, prospective guests will often email questions about rates, bedroom configurations, and special needs. Staff should always personalize the responses.
End with a sentence such as “Our on-site team would love to assist you personally with completing your booking. You can reach in-house reservations at (number) during (hours), or just reply to this email with your phone number and time range and we will call you directly.”

Phone:

Today’s reservations inquiry calls are disguised as “I just have a quick question about…”
Train your team that after they answered to then say: “Now that I’ve answered your question, may I ask what dates (or what home) you are looking at?”
Oftentimes callers simply ask about the total price including taxes and fees. This is because many OTAs display different rates differently than your website. Again, after answering questions, agents should say: “Since we always offer our best rates here at in-house reservations, are there any dates I can check for you right now?”
When callers are obviously comparing rates they see online, train your team to ask “May I ask what website you are at?” and then offer to check directly.
It is also important to coach your team on how to sell the advantages of booking directly. This might include the timing of advance deposits, lower booking fees, and more personalized arrival experiences.
From what we see, vacation rental companies may find that it is the highest-rated/top-tier inventory that sells out first. Therefore, train your team to “downsell” to less desirable locations /views when that is all that is still open. Relace “All we have left is…” with “Fortunately, what we still have open…”
Of course, it is also important to engage in reservations sales training and remote call scoring (or traditional mystery shopping) on an ongoing basis. Not only will this help your staff convert calls, but also provide a higher level of guest service excellence.

In-House Guests:

Perhaps the best channel conversion “tool” of all is your entire guest services staff. Train them to engage guests whenever possible, such as when they stop by the reception office or when a maintenance tech strikes up a conversation while in the home for a minor repair.
Ask guests “How did you hear about us?” When they say they booked through a third party, talk up the benefits of booking directly next time.
Whenever guests call the office, such as to reconfirm third-party bookings, recognize this as an opportunity to get the email addresses. Use verbiage that encourages guests to provide it such as “Oh, and while I have you on the line, can I grab an email address to put on file in the event we need to reach you, such as for any lost and found items?”

For higher-revenue bookings, use personalized video email messages to welcome guests and/or to send a fond farewell at departure.

As Published Previously at www.vrmintel.com