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Choose from the titles below to read our most recent Symbolic Strategies:

Hoteliers - Proven Strategies to Convert More Website Visitors into Paying Guests.

Proven Strategies to Convert More Website Visitors into Paying Customers.

Hoteliers - What Can You Learn From Ford?

Website Appearance for the Hospitality Industry.

6 Questions for Website Success.

Hoteliers - Proven Strategies to Convert More Website Visitors
into Paying Guests.
By Michael T. Hibdon, CEO, Symbolic Interactive, Inc.

What is poor 'Visitor Conversion' costing your Hotel? Plenty.

Below are 14 real-life, proven strategies that you can apply to stop poor Visitor Conversion on your Website and start generating more reservation and group revenue in 30 days.

Read on!

Challenge:
Your Hotel's Website has 10,000 visitors a month, a sufficient amount of traffic for your size of Hotel, but it does not generate the reservation revenue you need. Many agencies would say you need to increase traffic to your Website. But this does not make sense. If your Website is not converting a sufficient number of visitors now, more traffic is not the solution.

Solution:
One of the most effective and least expensive ways a Hotel can generate immediate reservations is to convert more current Website visitors into paying guests and meeting planners.

How do you convert?

Our proven Visitor Conversion & User Experience Tools focus on converting Website visitors by focusing on presenting the visitors with tools and features that 'sell' your Hotels and the area's strongest selling features. These tools focus on giving visitors the tools they need to choose your properties over your competitors'.

Consider this: If you have 15,000 monthly visitors to your Website but your Website still does not generate the reservations you want, 'low traffic' is not the problem. The Website simply does not convert a sufficient number of visitors into paying guests and meeting planners. Of course, new Websites like yours do need more traffic, but to generate the most revenue from your Website we have to give equal value to applying strategies to build traffic and converting visitors.

What converts "lookers" to "bookers?"

We have to assume your room product is priced competitively, that your guest services are impeccable and all areas of the onsite guest experience are top notch. Of course this may not be the case 24/7/365, but for our efforts we have to assume these critical areas of price and service are covered. Now on to what 'we' can control.

A Hotel Website that is produced and managed properly is easily the most accessible, most flexible and most valuable marketing tool you can have. Sure, print ads, direct mail and other marketing efforts are very valuable, but today your Website and online marketing efforts impact every marketing effort.

In order to achieve and maintain the highest level of success of lead- and reservation-generation, you have to understand how consumers view Websites. Consumers are much more sophisticated about how they view their use of the Internet today than they were just two years ago. The Hotels that fail to apply Website strategies will find themselves falling further and further behind.

Would you stand for this?

Imagine having 10,000 prospective guests walk into your Hotel lobby each month. While 500 of them make a reservation, the other 9,500 prospective guests walk out, never to return.

This is what happens on most Hotel Websites each month; 90%+ of the visitors get to the Home Page and leave within seconds.

Convert 'a little.' Generate 'a lot!'

By applying proven strategies you can convert 1%, 2% or 5% more of your Website visitors into paying guests and planners. How much would this increase your revenue each month - $25,000, $50,000 or more?

Of course, a Five-Star Resort offering Guest Suites for $99.00 night will generate more reservations than a Two-Star Hotel offering rooms for the same rate. So in all instances we will assume that you are competing with Hotels with similar rates and rating.

Regardless of a Hotel's size, brand or budget, the Internet has forever changed the way they are marketed. Now any Hotel can build a Website and post it on the Internet for the entire world to see. They can also create and send Email Marketing messages to thousands of prospects fast and cost effectively.

So what's wrong with this scenario?

The ease to produce a Website does not make producing a successful Website easy. Many factors come in to play and frankly, the majority of Hotel Websites do a terrible job presenting their Hotel and applying proven strategies to generate a high rate of reservations.

Many factors contribute to how well a Hotel Website will convert visitors into paying guests. We have to make some assumptions about factors outside of our control, including, we have to assume:

The room rates are fair within the immediate marketplace.
The Reservation process online, once the link is selected to execute the reservation, is streamlined and highly efficient.

Short of that, here are 14 great strategies you can apply to convert more of your Website visitors into paying guests and meeting planners.

Strategy #1 - First - A Reality Check - Where are you now?
Establish how your Website is performing and how it compares to your competitors.' A prospective guest who is traveling to your city will likely visit your Website and two or more of your competitors' Websites before making a travel decision. Log on to 2-3 of your competitors' Websites and view their specials, accommodations, and other key Web Pages.

Do so from the perspective of a prospective guest. Don't just click from one Web Page to the next; really look at each Web Page.

What do you like and don't you like? Make a list of any good ideas you can apply. This may seem like an obvious thing to do, but when was the last time you did this? The reality is you should do this each month; it takes little time and you can learn a lot.

If you notice that your competitors' Websites don't seem to change much over a few months, that is a good thing - for you. Stagnant Websites are a turn off to consumers.

Now visit your Website with as much of an unbiased eye as you can muster. Be honest, does your Website do a better job selling your Hotel than your competitors' Websites do selling theirs? It's very simple, either it does or it does not.

If not, change it. It is really not a matter of 'Do I have the budget?' because if your Website is not generating the reservations you need, you are losing these reservations to your competitors. This is lost revenue that would more than pay for whatever it may cost to enhance your Website to begin capturing the valuable reservation revenue you are losing now.

While you are in the mode of comparing Websites, ask your agency to run a Search Engine Keyword Competitive Report on your top 2-3 competitors and learn how you are doing in the category of Search Engine rankings compared to your competitors.

Now to further define 'Where are you now?', we need to establish benchmarks for your Website's traffic patterns. The best way to plan 'what to do next' is to know 'what's going on now' - so let's review your Monthly Traffic Reports.

Your agency or Website hosting company can provide your Monthly Traffic Reports; in fact they already should be doing this each month. If not, there are many free reporting services available (www.Urchin.com, now owned by Google, is our preferred service and they provide a variety of very good reporting tools that are fast and easy to use).

If you don't receive Monthly Traffic Reports on a consistent basis, you should start to do so. I am always surprised how often a Hotel Marketing Director tells us they don't know the average number of monthly visitors to their Website, or the top 5 visited Web Pages on their Website and other critical data.

Yes, it is the job of your agency to have this data on hand, and the Marketing Director should require that the agency communicates this data to you at least on a monthly basis.

Even worse than the Marketing Director not having the information is when we have to contact the prior agency to acquire the Monthly Traffic Reports and often they don't have instant access to them. So, get your hands on your Monthly Traffic Reports and spend some time with them.

You don't have to memorize all the data, or look at the reports each month; your agency should do this for you. If they don't - fire them. I assure you if they don't have instant access to your Monthly Traffic Reports they are missing out on more than this strategy.

Here are the top data points to review:

How many unique visitors come to your Website each month?
How many visitors are returning visitors? This will establish an important visitor loyalty ratio.
Which Web Pages and files are accessed most?
How many visitors clicked on the Make a Reservation link?
Navigation activity. Many Web Traffic Analysis services will show which navigation is accessed most, such as clicks on the links for Accommodations, Check Rates, Meetings, etc.
What are the lengths of session times?
How many visitors accessed the Reservations Page?
Where are the visitors coming from (i.e., are they being driven to your Website by other travel directory Websites, the CVB's Website, etc.)?
What are the top 5 Exit Web Pages?
What are the top 5 regions of the U.S./World visitors are coming from?
Reservations Conversion Ratio: What is the ratio of visitors to actual reservations being made? This is the Magic Number you need to track weekly/monthly.
What are the top 10 referral Websites for your Website?
What are the top 10 Keywords used to find your Website?

Strategy #2 - Visual Experience is Everything:
Visitors to your Website will decide if your Hotel is worth considering for their travel needs within seconds of arriving at your Home Page. In fact, check your Monthly Traffic Reports and you'll likely see that 90 - 95% of all your visitors leave without venturing past the Home Page.

Many factors contribute to visitors leaving after only a few seconds. A visitor who encounters confusing navigation, poorly written content, an unattractive visual experience, or long download times will leave the Website, typically never to return. When it comes to engaging the visitor, everything on your Home Page and Website matters; every image, every link, every graphic, every block of text and every link. How well does your Website engage visitors to scan your Home Page and then venture further? The process requires a balance of presenting visuals, text and navigation in an inviting fashion.

A Website with great images but poorly crafted text will not convert a high number of visitors. A consumer visiting a Website with terrible imagery and graphics won't stay long enough to read the text no matter how well-written it may be.

Great looking imagery, high quality graphics, well laid out Web Pages, proper paragraph structure, text links and well-placed navigation will engage your visitors on the Home Page and compel them to go further into your Website.

Take this test; go to 5 non-branded Hotel Websites that you have not visited before. They can be Websites for Hotels of any class; resorts, boutique, whatever. When you visit the Website, scan the Home Page as if you were a prospective guest. What do you like about the Website? Were you compelled to venture further into the Website? When the Home Page loaded did you say, 'Wow!' or 'So what?'

You may find only one or two Websites that impress you, but don't be surprised if none of them do. Unfortunately, Hotel Websites for the most part are not built with the 'visual experience' in mind. Typically, the Website is built 'just to have a Website up,' and the 'visual experience' is a forgotten aspect.

You may be saying, 'Well, I don't have a $50,000 budget to pay an agency to develop one of those super fancy Websites.' While 'quality' is relative to what you pay, you would also be surprised that with the right agency/partner, a great looking Website that follows all the 'visual experience' laws does not cost much more than, if not the same as, the lower quality Hotel Websites you see so often.

Tips for achieving optimum 'Visual Experience':

Invest in the best photography you can afford. Even if you have to buy stock photography for lifestyle images, do so. Stock photography is very affordable if you are willing to look.
Invest in the best design you can afford. Interview your prospective vendors thoroughly before you hire them. If their designs don't 'WOW' you - move on. Also, don't rely only on the 'design' quality the vendor produces. Ask them why they recommend putting the navigation where they place it. What research have they done to establish their theories? Why do they recommend the Web Page layout they are providing?
Hire a copywriter that writes for the Web specifically! Don't get cheap here and don't rely on your conventional agency to write your copy. Writing your Web Copy like a brochure is a performance killer.
Use larger imagery if you can. This has a lot to do with the style of the Hotel and the quality of the imagery you have available.
Use Flash sparingly and effectively. A Flash Button Ad engages the visitor to click to learn more if produced properly, and it is a small file. Yes, 'Flash is good' contrary to what others may say. (I see a Symbolic Strategy coming �).
Use a clean font style. Don't use too many font styles.
Provide critical navigation in multiple areas of the Web Page, not just on the top or left column. This gives the visitor multiple options to navigate the Website.

So test your Website. Load the Home Page and ask yourself, 'Is my Website visually compelling?' Be honest and if you don't think it is doing the job, apply the strategies here and you'll see an improvement in 'Visitor Conversion.'

Strategy #3 - Images:
Invest in the best photography you can afford. It's amazing to hear a new Client say, 'We don't have any good photography.' No matter whether your property is a Five-Star Resort or an economy Hotel, images sell!

Economy or Limited Service Hotels: If you don't have a budget for a professional photographer right now, consider purchasing stock photography. You can purchase great lifestyle imagery from around $10 - $100 an image. You would be surprised how much great imagery will improve the visual experience on your Website.
Larger Hotel or Resort: You should definitely invest in a professional photographer if you don't already have plenty of great photography on your Website.

Many Hotels feature only a few images of the key areas of their Hotel, but images, along with location, text and rates are the top motivators for converting visitors into paying guests.

Tips for imagery use:

Feature as many quality images of your accommodations, guest rooms and guest suites as possible. Since 'Accommodations' is one of the top 3 factors consumers use to choose a Hotel, create a Photo Gallery for your accommodations if you have the images.
Meeting Space: Again, if you have the imagery, use it to create a Photo Gallery for your meeting space and various set-ups.

Strategy #4 - Travel is a Confidence Buy:
Travel, like any online purchase, is based on many factors: Price, location and confidence. Confidence is represented in many ways. If your Website has broken links, poorly structured Web Pages, misspelled text, low quality images and poorly aligned graphics, you can be sure this will not build a prospective guest's confidence in your Hotel.

Consider this: As consumers we all look for subtle indicators about the credibility of a company we are considering doing business with online. It is no different with managing your Website. You must take every step to build confidence on every Web Page of your Website. Yes, high quality design, images, graphics, etc., helps the 'Visual Experience' and we will assume you have this down pat. But creating confidence goes beyond quality visuals.

Everything about your Website will do only one of two things; it will either confirm that your Hotel is worth considering, or it causes the consumer to question if you are worth doing business with. You either move the visitor closer to the reservation or further away.

There are many tips on building confidence and most are obvious, but a shockingly high percentage of Hotel Websites break the 'confidence laws.' Here are a few - break them at your own peril:

No spelling errors: ensure there are no spelling errors. Have you ever received a leter from a vendor seeking your busness but their introduction leter or Email has spelling errors so regardless of how effective their products or services may be, they lost all opportunity of doing busness with your because of their spell errors�and yes, the errors above were to make a point.
No broken links: Ensure all links work and load the appropriate Web Pages and forms.
Correct phone and address information: A bad phone number is a sure deal killer.
Forms load correctly: Ensure your forms are working properly.
Online Tours and Photo Galleries: If you have Online Tours and Photo Galleries, make sure they are up to date and play properly.
Correct dates: Nothing says you are not paying attention to details more poignantly than if you are promoting a New Year's Eve special and it is July. Yes, this happens - a lot.

Strategy #5 - Cover the Basics:
One of the easiest ways to increase Visitor Conversion is to create the highest quality Website you can afford. But if you have a limited budget, ensure your agency includes all the basics of quality Website Development including:

Contact information at the bottom of each Web Page.
Feature the reservation phone number on each Web Page, preferably at the top.
Provide a 'Check Rates' and 'Make Reservations' link in the top left or other confirmed 'high traffic area' of the Website. Featuring both 'Check Rates' and 'Make Reservations' eases the visitor into making a decision. 'Making a Reservation' requires a commitment; 'Checking Rates' is safer. In the end, the visitor is taken to the same Web Page by clicking either link.
Provide a printable map and directions.
Feature text links to actionable items throughout the Web Copy.
Provide links to critical action items that you can't list in the Web Copy, i.e., 'Go here, to Take a Tour.'
No detail is too small, if that might be the detail that a customer notices and acts upon - it is important.
Provide duplicate navigation for important action items.
Place Search Engine Optimization text at the top of each Web Page.

Strategy #6 - Compelling Marketing Messages:
Feature a marketing message on each Web Page. Place the copy for the statement in the same place on each Web Page, but feature a different message on each Web Page if possible. You can create 2 - 5 short marketing messages and have them 'roll over' as each Web Page loads.

The marketing message is not a special rate, although it could be. A good marketing message for this strategy is a statement about your Hotel, your location, if your rooms were recently renovated, how close you are to attractions, convention centers, etc.

If you offer a 'Best Rate Guarantee' don't just have a simple, 'Best Rate Guarantee' graphic. Feature a graphic and a brief block of text. This text does not have to be a complete explanation of your program, it need only a few words and a link to 'more' - that loads your 'Best Rate Guarantee' Web Page.

Strategy #7 - Opt ins:
Invest in a quality opt-in Email Marketing system. You have thousands of qualified leads coming to your Website each month. Without a quality opt-in Email Marketing system and critical strategies to compel visitors to opt in to your database, you are losing thousands of quality leads each month.

Symbolic was one of the earliest developers of an opt-in Email Marketing system specifically for Hotels called the Email Campaign Manager.

This system prompts visitors to opt into a manageable database. After a visitor makes 3 clicks while navigating your Website, a Data Capture Form appears in a small window and asks the visitor to provide their contact information and Email address. The visitor can also opt in at any time during their visit by clicking on a Graphical Button Ad that opens the Data Capture Form. For more information on this highly effective lead generating solution, contact us at: Info@SymbolicInteractive.com or call us at 602.955.4222.

Strategy #8 - Fact Sheets:
These are printable Web Pages that feature text, images or forms. For example, a Hotel may present their Accommodations or Meeting Space on a single Web Page with 200 words of descriptive text and a few images.

An ideal Fact Sheet would feature up to 1,000 words of descriptive text, more images, floor plans of all the types of guest rooms or meeting rooms, a list of amenities, services, etc. The Fact Sheet gives the visitor a great tool they can print and read later as a 'take away marketing tool.'

Strategy #9 - Photo Galleries & Online Tours:
Because Symbolic is a known leader in the production of Online Tours, we may seem biased when it comes to this topic. We do have an opinion or two, but they come to us honestly. But you be the judge.

There are a wide variety of 'virtual tours' and '360 tours' on the market today. In the case of Photo Galleries and Online Tours, quality matters. The popular '360 virtual tours' do offer an inexpensive alternative tour, but the presentation is distorted with a fish-eye view that is not true to how a room, lobby or meeting space really looks. The '360 virtual tours' also only feature one area at a time, and rarely do they feature marketing text or other marketing triggers.

Symbolic was one of the earliest developers of Online Tours and Interactive Photo Galleries. When we created our format we brought many years of broadcast production experience to create the best visual and marketing focused presentation possible.

Our Interactive Photo Galleries and Online Tours feature high-quality animated images, animated graphics, music and descriptive text, and link to relevant areas of your Website. These are great tools for converting visitors into paying guests.

Now you may be saying, "Of course you think your Online Tours are better; you don't sell the '360 tours!'" To set the record straight, producing the '360 tours' is a simple process and virtually anyone can produce them, so it is not a matter of not being able to offer the '360 tours,' it is a matter of offering the most effective Online Tour product.

If you currently have 'Video Online Tours' or even '360 tours,' convert them to play with the Flash Player. Many times a Hotel's 'Video Online Tours' or '360 tours' play with Real Media or Windows Media Player. These are both good player tools, but there are still playback issues. With the Flash Player, however, the Tours will play seamlessly and instantly. If a visitor to your Website encounters problems in viewing your Tours, they are quick to not only stop trying to view your Tours, but they will likely leave your Website, associating a bad experience with it.

Strategy #10 - Become an Information Resource:
Prospective guests are looking for more than 'just a room' - they are looking for things to do in the area, attractions, restaurants and other activities. By providing your visitors with a 'Top 10' list of restaurants, tours, activities and other areas of interest, you will build loyalty with visitors by making them rely on your Website as a critical resource for information in planning their vacation or meeting.

The 'Top 10' lists can feature localized factual information, i.e. 'Top 10 Things to Do in ______, 'Top Golf Courses' etc. Provide sample 'Vacation Itineraries,' 'The Perfect 5-Day Itinerary,' etc. These are great utilities for visitors.

Strategy #11- Visitor Experience:
This is an excellent tool for building strong loyalty with your Website visitors by displaying offers and marketing messages specific to your visitors' specified interests. When a visitor indicates they are traveling to your area in October and they are interested in Spa Packages, the Visitors Experience console displays offers for Spa Packages in October.

Strategy #12 - Website Copy:
Web copywriting is a critical part of converting visitors into paying guests, in addition to being important for producing the best results with Organic Search Engine Optimization. It's not enough to simply have an agency or someone on your team cut and paste the text from your printed brochure onto your Website.

High Visitor Conversion is achieved when your Web Copy follows the proven laws of online copywriting:

Consumers do not read the text Web Pages; they scan for information, so writing the copy like brochure copy is a mistake and it will not be read.
Craft the copy in an editorial style and format. Use bullets, bold text and other text treatments when appropriate to slow down the visitor's scanning of the Web Page.
Feature text links to actionable items throughout the Web Copy.
Provide links to critical action items that you can't list in the Web Copy, i.e., 'Go here, to Take a Tour' on the Web Page.
Ask for the opt-in or the reservation in your Web Copy.

The best solution is the perfect mix of copywriting for the way Search Engines will rank your Website and the way consumers will read your Website.

Strategy #13 - Interactive Maps:
If your location is a selling feature, consider providing an Interactive Map with links to attractions, restaurants, landmarks, schools, theaters and other areas of interest visitors may want to learn about. Also, consider providing a 'Things To Do' page and list 10 - 20 things to do around your location that links together with an Interactive Map. Go here to view a sample: www.MarriottWaikiki.com - and see the link, "Oahu Interactive Map."

Strategy #14 - Giveaways:
Create an incentive for Website visitors to opt in with their Email address or to take other action you want them to take. Giveaways are relatively easy incentives to create. Simply contact local vendors, Hotels, nearby retailers, restaurants and attractions and put together a package of discounts to increase the value of the package. Announce the incentive and giveaway in a great looking Graphical Button Ad on each Web Page of your Website. Create a Web Page that features all the details of the giveaway, and loads when a visitor clicks on the Graphical Button Ad.

About Symbolic:
Symbolic is a unique multidisciplinary Interactive Agency. Since 1990 we�ve specialized in developing marketing tools that generate outstanding results for Clients from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.

From our start we knew the best results for any marketing effort are achieved only when all the critical elements come together: Creative, Direct Marketing, Design, Production, Sales Strategy and Analysis.

We�ve applied this formula to every project we�ve created from our early days of producing half-hour television programming in Los Angeles, to producing Documentaries, Multi-Media projects, Websites, Online Presentations, Email Marketing Campaigns, Online Commercials & Tours and much more.

Our commitment to push for better results from our Clients� projects has resulted in an industry high �Client Retention Rate� as well as having our Clients� projects recognized with over 125 'Awards for Excellence in Production' - including 54 Telly Awards, 11 Addy Awards and numerous Web Development Awards.

We are nothing if not innovators. Even though we have been at this for more than 17 years, we approach each project with the enthusiasm of a rookie, balanced by the experience and guidance of a seasoned veteran.

We don�t take on a Client unless we are convinced that our proven solutions will produce results beyond what they are experiencing now. Period.

We�ve only been wrong 4 times in 17 years.

Symbolic is the trusted partner for many companies including: Orlando World Center Marriott, Intel, Mercedes-Benz, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The Phoenician, Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, Amkor Technologies, JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa at Ko Olina, Marriott Hawaii, Starwood Hawaii, Sheraton World Resort, JC Resorts, Sheraton Wild Horse Pass, Team Fuerza Motorsports, Triton Realty Partners, Motorola and many more.