How Hotel marketeers can shift bookings from OTAs to the hotel website?

This question is one of the current hot topics within the travel industry, certainly after the aggressive way Booking and Expedia and others took over the online world, many of us have a great dependency on the OTA. This is not only true for hotels but as well for Tour Operators (who pay out high commission to get clients), restaurants, wellness-centres, … (who are getting pushed into Groupon).

We all know these commission we have to pay takes a serious part of our budget and I believe we must take back a part of the marketing efforts. To create a balance between Direct Bookings and bookings via OTAs.

Why in the first place took the OTAs took over the online world?
1.The reason is rather simple, these OTA’s consist of technicians and online marketeers, you are running your business, taking care of the the guests
2.The traveller is ‘lazy’ want want an easy way to have a choice. OTAs websites offer this.

What can we do to make a difference, to stimulate a shift and generate more direct booking?

Read the article of Max Starkov, President & CEO of HeBS Digital, the hospitality industry’s leading full-service digital marketing and direct online channel strategy firm based in New York City: Read the Article

Here are some extra thoughts and ideas.
1.As stated before, the traveller is ‘lazy’ and want an easy way and a choice, so work together with platforms that offer this and take 0% commission
Yes it exists, commission based in not the only way to promote packages and rooms. Ex. Google Promotions is already available in some countries, Yabbedoo.com offers a booking like style to promote direct reservations etc.

2.Technically issues: We all know that our business can compete technically with the big online players, our job is to serve the guests. The idea is not to put all your eggs in the same basket, work with smaller, niche players, adapt your offers to niche groups of people, create packages only available if you book directly.

Frederik Van Lierde
Founder & CEO of Yabbedoo.com, the unique and pure solution to promote direct bookings, a platform that brings toegterh the best of OTAs and your branding (http://yabbedoo.com)

Budget Travel Tips When Visiting London

With an abundance of historical and infamous tourist attractions such as the iconic Clock Tower, aka Big Ben, London is one of the top travel destinations in the world. However, visiting this city, or any European spot in that manner, involves investing a lot of money from plane tickets, hotel, pocket money and more. To assist you in fulfilling your dreams of stepping foot in this wonderful city, we will be presenting you with budget tips you can take with you when you visit London.

Stop international roaming, use a local SIM:
A common mistake of travelers is keeping their mobile phone under an international roaming plan. If you are visiting another country, might as well take advantage of the local network providers offering short plan such as O2’s 1 month contract SIM plan. They also offer flexible travel roaming plan service if you’re visiting other European cities. Make sure you have a local SIM card, so you can affordably call your family and friends while enjoying the beautiful city of London.


Visit free city attractions:
Before leaving home, you should research about the places you want to visit. If you think everything in London is expensive, then these free-entrance attractions will prove you wrong. First, visit the British Museum on Great Russell Street. You will see up-close some of the most famous objects such as the Rosetta stone and Egyptian mummies. Last year, the Museum of London hosted that “At Home with the Queen” exhibition to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. You can also download travel apps on your Smartphone or tablet to help you get around the city quickly.

Book a budget hotel room:
Despite the simple room furniture, there’s nothing wrong with budget hotel rooms, especially if you’re a traveler. Since most of your day time will be spent outside the hotel, a simple bed will be enough to rest your head at night. However, one of the most important things you must consider when booking a hotel room, is its location. Is it accessible to famous stops such as the train station? Is it near a main street? Do other travelers recommend the hotel? This will help you assess whether the hotel is safe and worth the price.

Ride the train:
Instead of riding a cab, why not try London’s railway. You can check information about rail services in the city through National Rail Enquiries. There are also railcards for discounted fares such as the Network Railcard for off-peak services in South East England and Young Persons Railcard for travelers aged 16 to 25. Both railcards cost £28 ($42.5).

Big Ben’s city attracts 15.3 million foreign visitors spending £9.4 billion ($14.3 billion) in the year 2011, based on a study. So, it wouldn’t be surprising to know if you decide to spend your holiday in London, just be sure to carry the tips presented above for a stress-free vacation.

About the Author
Reese Jones has an insatiable passion for development , graphic design, modern art and the most recent software. In her spare time she can always find time for racing and you can always find her on Google+

Unique & Affortable hotels in London

London stays 1 of the cities to visit in the world, with thousands of years of history, world class attractions, home of stars so which hotel to choose?
Staying in the right hotel is as important as knowing what to visit in the area.

The Yabbedoo team, big fan of London create a list of 5 different hotels for a perfect stay in the capital of Great Britain

THE AMPERSAND HOTEL

Based in Kensington, the hotels are rooms are inspired by the local London neighbourhood, referencing 5 central concepts: botany, music, geometry, ornithology and astronomy. These are the Victorian values of discovery and wonder.

view all special packages the Ampersand hotel offers

citizenM HOTEL

Welcome this new kind of hotel in London, Bankside. citizenM is a boutique hotel, they saw an evolution in travelling and saw a new type of traveller , they saw explorers, trekkers, shoppers and professionals.  They are independent, share respect for cultures and young at heart.  CitizenM create a hotel with affordable luxury and quality.

view all special packages citizenM hotel offers

THE HALKIN

This London luxury hotel in the city’s Belgravia district, promises an elegant and discreet environment. They have many loyal regulars as a home away from home, you really can expect faultless service, very nice  cuisine within an  Asian-inflected style.

view all packages the Halkin hotel offers

THE ZETTER

The zetter, once the home of footbal pools company of the same name, this boutique hotel is a pearl in London.   The Observer even wrte “Decor is effortlesny cool” and was even voted for the top 50 coolest hotels in the world.  Do we have to say more?!

view all packages The Zetter hotel offers

Relates stories of London

• Unusual & Cool Restaurants in London
• Covernt Garden, heart of London Pictures from Now and Then

Fun Facts of Ethiopia

Reblogged from Frederik Van Lierde:

Travel to Ethiopia Soon? Check out these holida packages and tours

1. Ethiopia is almost twice the size of Texas.

2. It is the birthplace of coffee and they have official coffee ceremonies in the home. If you are offered coffee, it is very rude to decline. (what am I going to do?)

3. They claim the final resting place of the Ark of the covenant at a chapel in the holy city of Aksum, which used to be the capital of Ethiopia.

Read more… 175 more words