Hotel Websites Are Tops in Customer Satisfaction

Recent studies in the US show that hotels' web sites have finally overtaken online agency portals in terms of customer satisfaction. This has been accomplished with a lot of hard work on their websites by the hotels, who can now enjoy a level of independence from the online travel agencies to develop their services for customers and increase their customer loyalty.

The Market Metrix Hospitality Index (MMHI) is a quarterly study that is the largest and most in-depth measure in the US of hospitality company performance. What the data reveals is the increasing popularity of hotel website usage and satisfaction with the online experience. More people are researching their trips online and more people are booking online.

Another significant trend is that people who book online in the US are looking to make their booking directly on the hotel’s website rather than a travel portal. In 2004 and 2005, travel portal sites like Yahoo Travel outstripped hotels sites for satisfaction with the online booking experience. Since then hotels in the US have worked hard on improving their navigation, design, usefulness of information, ease of booking and other critical components of the online experience. As a result of this, hotels are less dependent on the travel site portals, are paying them less and are establishing a relationship directly with their guests.

The message for South Africa is that international customers expect an online experience that is of international standards. If a site doesn’t meet their expectations, they can (and do) quite easily move on to the ones that do - all with the click of a mouse. Online customers expect that they can book easily, safely and securely online, and the US experience shows that customers would prefer to deal directly with hotels for their bookings. They may research, shop around and compare prices and packages in multiple places on the web, but when they come to book, their preference is to book with you directly.

And the reasons are multi-fold. Customers prefer hotel websites because:

• they can earn rewards points in the loyalty program
• there are no additional/hidden fees
• it’s easier to cancel and change the booking
• they already have an account with the site
• the hotel site provides true availability
• they get better customer service
• they feel hotel websites are more trustworthy

Online travel agencies have the edge when it comes to the selection of hotels on offer, they frequently offer cheaper hotels and the customer can get the best rate guaranteed, and they offer bookings for flights, cars and other activities.

The 5 most important factors that would most influence a US consumer to make a booking on a hotel’s website would be:

• if hotels offered best rate guaranteed
• offers of specials and promotions
• the ability to earn points and rewards
• making it easy to make, change or cancel reservations
• to provide better descriptions of rooms on the sites

Loyalty is the big buzzword at the moment. Everyone is trying to develop relationships with the customers and this is more so online than anywhere else. Studies show that certainly in the US, customer loyalty is on the rise. Guest loyalty is important because satisfying and retaining customers helps companies grow revenues, reduce costs, generate referrals, and enjoy price premiums. But loyalty is not rising for all hotels. People tend to be more loyal to the higher priced hotels and less loyal to the lower priced. This is because higher-priced hotels generally offer more attractive loyalty programs, and have a better online booking experience. People booking lower priced hotels tend to be price sensitive bargain hunters who are therefore less loyal to a specific brand.

For more on the above, check out the following links:
Loyalty is the Key to Online Travel Market
Are Online Customers Less Loyal?
Hotel Web sites scroll to the top in customer satisfaction
Hotel Web Sites Now Score Higher In Satisfaction Than Popular Travel Sites