To help hoteliers readjust their strategy as the hospitality industry faces declining occupancy rates, HeBS Digital will host the third webinar in the “Direct is Always Better” series, “Key Tools to Optimizing Direct Bookings and Lowering Distributions Costs,” on November 17th at 2:00p.m. EST (11:00a.m. PST). Key members from HeBS Digital, a leader in helping hoteliers drastically increase direct bookings and lessen dependency on the OTAs, will provide a roadmap for hoteliers to lower distribution costs and increase direct bookings as 2016 closes out and the new year begins.
As supply is predicted to outpace demand, and as Airbnb looks to continue stealing share from hotels (STR and CBRE), hoteliers could find themselves in a challenging scenario for the year ahead. According to STR’s 2017 projections for the United States, occupancy is expected to decrease by 0.3%, while ADR is expected to increase by 2.8%. In total, 24 out of 26 major markets are likely to experience higher supply vs. demand growth, inevitably leading to occupancy declines due to both over-supply and the negative effect of Airbnb.
With little leverage over primary cost drivers such as labor costs, franchise fees, real estate taxes and more, hoteliers only realistic option for improving the bottom line in the face of such a scenario is to lower distribution costs by focusing on and investing smartly in a direct booking strategy to shift share from OTAs to the direct channel.
The webinar will cover how to:
- Adopt a “Direct is Always Better” Top-Down Strategy
- Start Treating Direct Online Distribution Costs as .. Distribution Costs
- Invest in Direct Booking-Generating Technology and Marketing:
- Website Revenue Optimization Best Practices
- Smart Data Marketing
- Smart Personalization
- Reservation Abandonment Applications
- Instant Rewards
- A/B Testing
Webinar Speakers:
- Sara O’Brien, Associate Director of Marketing
- Jen Alberts, Manager of Client Services
- Sabrina Alba, Account Executive
“In the face of some rather bleak predictions for the hotel industry in 2017, now is the time for smart hoteliers to get serious about the direct channel,” says Sara O’Brien, Associate Director of Marketing at HeBS Digital. “A successful, top-down direct booking strategy will be a hotelier’s greatest tool to compensate for oversupply and decreasing occupancy rates, from now through next year.”
Hoteliers are encouraged to join the webinar on Thursday, November 17th at 2:00 p.m. EST to learn more.
