Hotel metasearch platforms serve as an important distribution channel for businesses in the hospitality industry because many modern travelers will use the internet to shop around for the best rates and will turn to price comparison platforms to assist them with this. In this post, you will learn more about why the best hotel management strategies utilize hotel metasearch, and you will also find nine practical tips to help you increase your number of bookings.

Table of Contents:

What is Hotel Metasearch?

A ‘metasearch platform’ is an online tool used to retrieve data from several other search channels. Data is then aggregated before being presented to users in a simple format. A hotel metasearch platform focuses on the hotel industry and typically draws information from online travel agents and similar websites.

Hotel metasearch platforms commonly function as price comparison tools while presenting supplementary information, such as reviews. Modern travelers widely use them, who typically want to find hotel rooms for the best possible price. Hotel metasearch platforms also make it easier for customers to find your hotel.

Examples of some of the most popular hotel metasearch sites include Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor, and Trivago.

Hotel Metasearch vs. Online Travel Agents (OTAs)

People often confuse hotel metasearch platforms with online travel agents, and while they do share similarities, there are also significant differences. The most important distinction is that an online travel agent actually sells travel products – such as hotel rooms – on behalf of suppliers and then retains a commission fee for making the sale.

By comparison, hotel metasearch platforms present information that is taken from OTAs and other hotel websites. They are used to find information about availability, pricing, and customer opinions. Generally, they will link through to another booking platform and tend to make money through commission or selling ad space.

9 Tips to Increase Bookings Through Hotel Metasearch

For your property to show up in hotel metasearch results pages, you must first connect your rates and availability information to one or more online travel agents, including Booking.com and Expedia.com.

These OTAs will continuously optimize their hotel inventory strategies, offering different deals separately to each market. As a result, your hotel may appear on some localized hotel metasearch platforms but not others. Connecting to an increased number of OTAs can help to improve the chances of your hotel being discovered by metasearch websites, especially in your local market or the markets you are specifically targeting.

Some metasearch platforms allow those in the hotel industry to create and manage their own profile while offering access to performance metrics and direct advertising possibilities. Many of these platforms will also allow you to connect directly to keep room rates and availability up-to-date.

The nine tips below apply to hotel metasearch platforms but can also be applied to OTAs.

1. Find the Right Hotel Metasearch Mix

One of the first things to try to understand with hotel metasearch marketing efforts is that you need to connect with the right channels to make your room available and visible to the types of people you want to attract. This means connecting with metasearch platforms directly, when possible, but also connecting indirectly too.

The point to remember here is that connecting to OTAs will make your hotel visible through metasearch channels. Therefore, your OTA strategy will, generally speaking, also apply to hotel metasearch platforms. Connecting with OTAs that have reached your key markets and target demographics will help you find the right hotel metasearch mix.

2. Get a Distribution Channel Manager

As previously mentioned, some hotel metasearch platforms take all of their results from online travel agents, requiring you to connect with OTAs to boost visibility, while others also offer options to connect directly. However, effectively managing these distribution channels can be greatly aided by specialist software.

Distribution channel managers are software solutions that allow you to manage multiple distribution channels from a single place. Crucially, this can be especially useful when it comes to achieving consistency across different channels, not only in terms of pricing, but also in terms of descriptions, images, and marketing messages.

3. Use Astounding Pictures

Pictures can help you to make a great first impression, but only if you use high-quality photographs, which showcase the best elements of your hotel. Use the best equipment to take photos and try to capture ‘action’ shots that convey something about your hotel. Then upload these images so metasearch users see them.

It is important to understand that online travel agents and hotel metasearch platforms operate in tandem here, because the images you upload to OTAs will also be visible through metasearch platforms. However, some metasearch platforms also offer their own profile management options, allowing you to upload and edit photographs directly.

4. Create an Attractive Hotel Description

Travelers often decide by reading about hotels, so your hotel description can make a big difference. Try to draft a hotel description that clearly highlights the most attractive features of your hotel and the aspects that make it stand out from rivals. Think of the types of guests you target and what they want to read.

As with pictures, the hotel description you use for online travel agents will usually be visible on hotel metasearch platforms. Yet, some metasearch platforms will allow you to create a hotel profile and add your own description. There may be advantages to using different descriptions for channels that offer reach into different markets.

5. Understand Your Competitors

Competition within the hotel industry is fierce, and customers are often required to make decisions between different hotels in the same area. It is important, therefore, to know about these rival hotels, understand their pros and cons, and position your hotel to have unique selling points.

Hotel metasearch platforms can actually help with this because they allow you to see reviews and pricing information in one place. However, you should also carry out extra research too. Explore feedback from their customers, track their room rates, and avoid situations where you are making similar promises and charging higher prices.

6. Hotel Metasearch Advertising

When customers find a room via a hotel metasearch platform, they are usually directed to an OTA platform to complete the booking. If that customer subsequently does so, the hotel pays the usual commission fee that the OTA charges them for sales. In addition, many metasearch platforms targeting the hotel industry also sell advertising space on a cost-per-click (CPC) basis, with the advertiser paying a fee each time their ad is clicked.

This allows your hotel to bid for ad space and target specific keywords, such as city names or your own hotel’s name. Successful bidding means that your ad is displayed when a potential hotel guest enters that keyword into the metasearch platform. Of course, some keywords are more valuable and will cost more per click than others.

If the ad is clicked, the cost per click will be paid, but no commission is charged for the booking. Another similar option is the cost per action (CPA). This tends to apply when a direct connection with the hotel metasearch platform is possible, and with this model, a commission fee is often charged for eventual bookings.

Regardless of your approach, it is important to measure ROI for each advertising method and metasearch platform continuously. This will allow you to maximize your budget and maximize revenue per channel.

7. Set the Right Room Rates

Regardless of the distribution channel(s) you use, your pricing strategy will greatly affect whether or not travelers book rooms. There is much to consider when determining your room rates, such as forecasting to anticipate demand at different times and checking the room rates offered by rival hotels.

Generally, at times of high demand, you can afford to increase room rates and still fill your hotel. However, at times of lower demand, you may need to lower room rates to attract as many guests as possible and avoid vacancies. It is also important to be consistent with your prices across the different distribution channels.

8. Prioritize Review Management

Before booking a room, many customers will seek out online reviews to get an idea of what previous guests have thought of the hotel and the customer service. For this reason, it is important to adopt a review management strategy, and several review management platforms are aimed at the hotel industry that can help.

You should read reviews, identify common complaints and address them quickly. How you respond to feedback can also influence whether or not people will book a room with your hotel. Your reviews from OTAs will be visible on most hotel metasearch platforms, but some metasearch platforms also collect reviews directly too.

9. Analyze Hotel Metasearch Results

Finally, you will need to make sure that you monitor the results generated from your hotel metasearch strategy and analyze them so that you have an understanding of how the distribution channel is actually serving you.

As you analyze the results, you should start to build up a clear idea of the markets you are reaching and those you are not. That can help identify a need to reach out to other OTAs. You will also want to keep track of key metrics associated with metasearch platforms and ensure your room rates generate the maximum revenue possible.

List of Hotel Metasearch Platforms to Grow Your Hotel Bookings

Understanding how to capitalize on hotel metasearch platforms fully is imperative when optimizing your distribution and revenue management strategies. However, it is only part of the story, and it is equally important to identify the right metasearch platforms to focus your efforts on.

In our “List of Hotel Metasearch Engines to Grow Your Hotel Bookings” article, you will find a list containing some of the best hotel metasearch platforms around, complete with information about how they function.

List of Online Travel Agents to Increase Your Hotel Bookings

To maximize your visibility across hotel metasearch platforms, you will need to connect with online travel agents. Of course, rather than adopting a scatter-gun approach, it is best to think carefully about the best OTAs to target. After all, different OTAs will offer to reach different parts of the world and will appeal to different types of travelers.

In our “Online Travel Agents to Increase Your Hotel Bookings” article, you will learn more about online travel agents and find a list of 12 of the most popular OTAs to connect with.

Your Most Important Hotel Distribution Channel

Both hotel metasearch platforms and online travel agents represent essential distribution channels for those in the hotel industry looking to maximize bookings. Yet, the reality is that your hotel’s single most important distribution channel will always be your own website because direct bookings are not subject to commission payments.

Over the course of the article “Tips To Gain More Bookings With Your Hotel Website”, you will learn more about the value of your own website and find eight tips for increasing bookings via this key channel.

Hotel metasearch platforms are an important distribution channel, allowing you to reach more customers, and the nine tips provided in this article will assist you in optimizing your metasearch strategy and gaining more bookings.

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Revfine.com is a knowledge platform for the hospitality & travel industry. Professionals use our insights, strategies and actionable tips to get inspired, optimise revenue, innovate processes and improve customer experience. You can find all hotel & hospitality tips in the categories Revenue Management, Marketing & Distribution, Hotel Operations, Staffing & Career, Technology and Software.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.