Commission, staff time and guest loyalty all affect your return. See how a branded guest app helps you win more direct bookings, cut commission and encourage repeat stays.
Filling future stays can be costly when you rely on third parties. Direct bookings are one way to change that.
Here is how adding a guest app to your strategy can support your direct bookings and guest relationships.
There are two big benefits to getting guests to book direct. You cut the cost of each booking, and you get the details of the people who stay, so you can market to them yourself. It is a win for your margins and a win for your guest relationships.
Holiday park operators often feel the squeeze from commission. OTAs now take up to 20% commission on bookings. Direct bookings through your own app help you cut that commission out.
Your app can help push more direct bookings, cutting out the commission fees that eat into your profits. Booking links sit inside the app, extras can appear alongside the booking, and confirmations come from you, not a third party. You keep a bigger share of the revenue and you can see who those customers are and speak to them again.
Think of the app as a way to keep in touch with guests. Encourage guests to download it when they book, and you can talk to them right from the start, before, during and after their stay, not only while they are on site.
When you win a direct booking you hold that guest’s details, which supports rebooking and loyalty campaigns. You can reach them through your own channels, such as social media, your newsletter and your app.
Holidaymaker connects with a range of PMS platforms, so bookings can flow into the systems you already use. See the PMS integrations in the Help Centre.
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Your staff are the main way guests get information before and during their stay. That is great for loyalty, but it takes up a lot of their time. An app can take on some of the admin and the information giving, so your team can do what they do best: give guests a great stay.
Guests can find activities, maps, offers, FAQs and park information in the app, and your booking links sit there too. That means fewer printed materials and fewer repeat questions.
Your app can also act as a loyalty hub. Holidaymaker’s Loyalty features include guest and owner logins, gated content, exclusive offers and engagement data. Loyal guests are more likely to book again and to recommend you. See how Skelwith Fold built an Advantage Club in its app.
Your app can be a sales tool. Home Sales gives holiday home listings and enquiries their own sections in the app, and enquiries go to your sales team to follow up. You can also share offers in the app, including savings on future bookings, while guests are still having a great time on site.
A branded guest app can pay back through more direct bookings, lower commission, repeat stays, holiday home enquiries and guest data that helps you decide where to spend your time and money.
Your guest app also tells you what guests do. Holidaymaker’s Guest Intelligence tracks bookings, offer views and redemptions, app usage, feedback and survey responses, and engagement with maps, routes and events. Its built-in dashboards let you compare sites and export data for planning.
With that picture you can put your effort where it counts, which helps your return as well as guest satisfaction.
Building your own app is a big project. Low-cost guidebooks and web apps can cover the basics, but they may not give you your own branded app, or the ability to understand and engage your guests. See how building, buying and subscribing compare.
Every Holidaymaker guest app includes a branded native app, the CMS and access to the XPH Community. For anything about what suits your park, contact us.
One extra holiday home sale or one extra family week can go a long way towards covering the cost.
Adding a guest app is not only about savings. It helps build loyalty too, with guests who come back again and again and, for some, make a second home with you.
Cover photo by Jonas Leupe on Unsplash.
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