But for that, certain conditions have to be fulfilled. It is not sufficient just to create a nice website optically and wait for success in a form of increased booking figures. "You should understand your own homepage like a car. To make sure everything works it has to go every two years through an MOT check up", explains Rüffert. A homepage should be worked on and be updated regularly with the latest information. That means the homepage must on one hand side have an appealing design and on the other have been technically designed in order to gain higher search engine results to get so called rankings. "Search engines check on a continuous basis how popular a page is."
Your biggest aim should be to make the looker into a booker. "The first step in this direction can be made by the hotelier if the homepage is created into a selling platform for the hotel", says the hotel professional. Referring to this the design of the page has to orientate itself. Online booking possibilities have for example to be instantly visually available. Most of these technical solutions are as well affordable for small hotels. Logical navigation and page links are important. "The service has to be put into the forefront", Rüffert points out. It is crucial that good photos and concise texts are in place displaying, on one place, the facilities, location, unique selling points and other facilities in the area. "The main criteria for the room sale does not change through electronic distribution." But you should be aware of your target group and aim at them directly and "talk" to them.
The hotel expert of the company revway gives the advise that the website optimization is as important as the search engine optimization. "If your website is not being properly displayed, so called Pay-per-Click advertising is not always the solution and can be a waste of time and money." Through "Pay-per-Click" advertising a hotelier can reach for payment a better placement in the search engine positioning "Just because the client is coming on the website does not mean that they are booking more often." It would be more advantageous to invest in search engine optimization.
Rüffert also has some advise for those hotels who think their own website is not reaching expectations. "Ask an independent hotel eMarketer to check your internet pages. Many sites can be worked on without any cost intensive programming or redesign." Those hoteliers who want to completely build up a new website should address their requirements to a Hotel Marketer Professional and a programmer who are aware of the demands of search engine requirements advises Rüffert. Often Rüffert has experienced that service providers want to sell an increase of website visitors as their success. "You are only successful, if the number of reservations are increasing."
The hotel professional from Dinslaken Hans Jürgen Rüffert aims with his company "revway" to show new ways of consultancy to the hotel industry on revenue maximization. He is specialized in the area of electronic distribution, revenue management, hotel (interims-) management and channel marketing consulting.
Further details on the subject can be obtained directly from the company revway under telephone
+49 (0)2064-601161, per E-Mail info[at]revway.com or in the internet on
www.revway.com.