Customer loyalty programs are used to recognise and reward repeat guests who Book Direct with the hotel. Loyalty programmes incentivize guests to Book Direct and to receive special perks/discounts or essentially more value immediately during their future stays. Also, loyalty programmes forms an important part of a CRM (customer relationship management) strategy allowing hotels to better personalise the experiences for guests.

When promoting Book Direct benefits, hotels should utilise their existing social media; and Search and Display presence on Google via savvy pay-per-click campaigns and remarketing tactics to draw attention to these messages. Hotels can also list these benefits on their TripAdvisor page by using Business Advantage/Business Listing.

Alongside the message about the perks of direct bookings, independent hotels can also place a cherry on top of the deal by offering incentives. For example, in addition to matching the basic room rate with OTAs, hotels could offer some extras such as free room upgrades, inclusive breakfast, a drink from the bar, late check-out, or a bottle of wine or box of chocolates. These benefits must be listed on the hotel website.

Hotels could also consider creating their own bespoke packages, only available to book via their websites. Example of packages on Hotel ICON’s website include the Very Hong Kong, City Girls Getaway, Free Tesla Transfers with Suite and Club Stays on https://www.hotel-icon.com/offers. The hotel can then send out email newsletters to their database to promote these offers that are only available on their own websites.