“The only people who still call to book a reservation are older folks who are not good with technology.”
“Millennials and Gen-Zers prefer self-service booking options because they grew up with tech and hate making phone calls.”
How many times have you heard or read comments such as these from conference speakers or in lodging industry articles? These myths are also pushed in sales meetings by technology providers or digital marketing companies, oftentimes backed with survey results backed with little or no details on sample size or methodology.
Because part of my job involves listening in to actual recordings of calls to hotels, resorts, and lodging companies of all types as part of our KTN training services, I have the unique advantage of hearing not only who’s calling, but what they are asking and saying. My observations may be called anecdotal, because some may wonder how accurately age can be estimated from hearing a voice. But based on the context and conversation, I can say for sure it’s easy to see that people of all age groups are still calling these days.
Indeed though, the questions callers ask are different now. Whereas in the past, most calls presented as obvious booking inquiries, such as “I’m calling to book a room…,” many of today’s callers start with some version of “Hi, I just have a quick question about…” In the end though, it’s clear that the generational biases that prevail in marketing conversations are simply not true.
Instead, we at KTN find that the likelihood of calling is more influenced by the situation or circumstance of the caller. In other words, the more important the trip, the longer the stay, the more people traveling, and most importantly, the more emotionally engaged they are with their travel plans, the more likely guests are to call at some point in their booking journey.
No doubt, online bookings have grown over the years, while voice bookings have declined. I’m surely not saying that voice will suddenly bounce back to being the predominant booking method. But I am saying that leaders of lodging companies of all types have significant opportunities to capture more direct bookings by focusing the staff’s attention on properly handing incoming calls.
Now, some hotel leaders are no doubt thinking: “Well, those voice bookings cost an awful lot of payroll dollars.” But well-trained reservations and front-desk staff who know how to control the “call flow” can complete a booking with only a few more minutes than they need to answer the “I just have a quick question” call.
Yet, let me concede for a moment that additional staffing is warranted to properly field voice leads. OK, then let’s compare the cost of a 40-hour workweek’s worth of payroll with the “hard costs” of online bookings, such as online travel agency fees, and then factor in hidden distribution costs associated with website direct bookings, such as central reservation systems or Brand.com fees. Then also consider what other work the additional staff member could do between incoming calls, such as:
- Fielding “reconfirmation” calls from those who booked online, potentially upselling them to higher-rated accommodations or packages.
- Calling those who booked online to welcome them, to ask for arrival times and potentially encourage guests to book directly next time.
- Following up personally with those who entered the booking funnel but abandoned at the shopping cart stage.
Consider also that OTA bookings typically have very high cancellation rates — as much as 20% or even 40% — whereas direct bookings typically cancel at 8% or less. Finally, ask yourself “Which booking channels generate the most guest complaints?” Take a moment to skim through your one-star reviews and see how many mention having booked through an OTA.
If capturing more direct bookings is on your list of goals at this moment, here are some action steps and training tips.
Make sure you are accurately tracking direct voice bookings with a distinct source code that is not shared with other bookings that are manually entered by on-site staff, such as rooming lists or extra-net bookings.
Port over your existing 800 (or local) phone number to a telecom provider that offers call recording. Email me for a list. There will be a small additional cost, but the insights you can gain by listening in will be well worth the investment. Plus, it’s always a good idea to record calls anyway for use when resolving guest disputes about what was said or not said. Remember, it’s easy to switch back later if you don’t find value.
Train your team to recognize that questions callers ask are usually signs that they are actively shopping online. Examples: How much is parking? Do you have gluten-free options? Are there baby cribs available? Callers are not just bored and curious!
After answering these questions, train them to always ask “Have you made a reservation yet?” and when guests say they are shopping online, ask “Can I double-check those dates for you and see if we have any specials or promotions?”
If your revenue strategy allows, offer a small discount, amenity, or service to those who book online. The savings in online travel agency and central reservation system fees will easily cover this.
Offer an incentive for employees at the front desk and in reservations. Obviously, the front-desk staff has lots of other tasks to focus on and may not see closing bookings as part of their job. Similarly, the admin work of a reservations office has grown over the years. Therefore, even a small incentive helps remind everyone that phone calls are opportunities not interruptions.
Encourage phone calls from website visitors. Make sure your phone number is posted prominently on both mobile and desktop versions of your website.
If you have in-house or on-site reservations staff, indicate such at the website such as by adding “Call Us Directly” next to your phone number.
If your reservations agents are local, be sure to also indicate this, as many guests assume reservations agents are offsite if not off-shore. Example: "Call Our Local Booking Experts Now."
Especially if you are in a resort market, where guests typically have the most questions and concerns, promote the “call us directly” option in your follow-up email drip campaigns and social media retargeting ads.
Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.
The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Hotel News Now or CoStar Group and its affiliated companies. Bloggers published on this site are given the freedom to express views that may be controversial, but our goal is to provoke thought and constructive discussion within our reader community. Please feel free to contact an editor with any questions or concern.