Driving Direct Bookings – An Intrinsic Requirement – Not Double Dutch!

GlobRes Business Development Director, Erwin Ten Kate, went back to school last week. Fortunately, for him, the experience was less about learning and much more about imparting his expertise and wisdom to hoteliers of the future. Erwin was invited by the Hotel Management School in Maastricht to deliver a guest lecture about how hotels can drive bookings directly without the use of OTAs. Says Erwin, “We are constantly learning and innovating at GlobRes and delighted with opportunities to pass on our expertise to future industry leaders.”

Over 30 third year students, studying Revenue and Real Estate Management as their specialist minor subject, gathered to hear Erwin’s key insights. His three stage, powerpoint presentation, supported with Sabre graphics and a host of online trend and demographic statistics, emphasized the need for hotel booking engines to be dynamic and fully responsive, using the latest GlobRes Booking engines (BE) as examples. He explained the need to optimize a BE effectively within a website and to make use of marketing support tools and add-on widgets such as PriceTease, quick book buttons and meta searches to attract more direct bookings and OTA bookings.

Students took full advantage of Erwin’s presence, keen to take away some noteworthy points – namely, what are the most important features a BE needs to have, what are key considerations when comparing website designs and what other tools can a hotel make use of to drive more traffic direct to its own website.

Steve Eijberts, Course Co-ordinator and Lecturer in Strategic Hotel Management at the Hotel School said, “ Erwin gave a very good insight how to drive business directly to their future hotels. The students were unanimous in their opinion that he left a strong message and that they learned new things they will be able to use in their upcoming careers. On a scale from 0 – 10 they rated him a 9, so that really says it all!”.

The Hotel Management School Maastricht has a rich tradition and has been supplying the international hotel industry with talented professionals for more than 60 years. The school has a focus on education – theoretical and practical. One of its important component parts is its Teaching Hotel. Situated in the school grounds, the centuries-old Château Bethlehem has been converted into a beautiful hotel with design with 26 unique guest rooms, a restaurant, a bar and various meeting facilities where guests from the Netherlands and abroad are welcomed every day.