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Top-end hotels are missing out on sales due to badly designed websites

Published 03/09/2010 ago by Admin

The research also found economy hotels, including Best Western and Holiday Inn Express, have better sites than the premium hotel brands like Le Meridian and Radisson.

The latter “must upgrade their online marketing” if they’re to remain competitive with their mid-market and economy rivals, it said.

Novotel, Best Western and Holiday Inn Express are the three best performing hotel brands online, while Le Meridian, Ramada and Radisson were at the bottom of the rankings, falling well below the average standard. The hotel sites were assessed on ten areas including how easy it is to find information, obtain pricing and book without unnecessary repetition or confusion. Hilton’s site scraped just above average.

Louis Halpern, CEO of Halpern Cowan, said, “With one in three Britons booking their holidays online, consumers have grown increasingly demanding about finding the deal they want as easily as possible.” He said consumers have grown “wary” of potential online scams, adding, “Trust is much more easily lost than it is earned online.”

“Hotel brands need to ensure their sites not only reflect their brand values clearly but that there’s no opportunity for confusion, and that information can be found and bookings made in as few, simple stages as possible,” Cowan said. The report found one of the key failings of top-end hotel sites is the lack of easy-to-find information, clarity of pricing and a confusing booking process.

The consumer survey was carried out online and had 1,095 respondents.

Source: new media age