Explore Leading Solutions for Metasearch Management in the Hotel Industry and Discover How They Streamline Your Presence Across Platforms. Metasearch engines have evolved into strategic tools, offering insightful comparisons and serving as vital distribution channels in the hospitality sector. To excel in metasearch management, marketing, and advertising, establishing a presence on popular platforms like Google, Tripadvisor, and Trivago is crucial.
Direct engagement with metasearch engines can be time-intensive, requiring simultaneous management of availability and prices across diverse channels. Many metasearch engines recommend integration with connectivity partners to simplify this process, benefiting both hoteliers and users searching and booking accommodations.
By collaborating with a connectivity partner, you gain the ability to efficiently oversee multiple campaigns, schedule bids, save time, and minimize errors. As you refine your bidding and pricing strategy, expanding your connections to other platforms becomes integral to broadening your reach.
What is Metasearch Marketing
Metasearch platforms serve two primary purposes – they act as comparison tools for travellers and distribution channels for hoteliers. Metasearch marketing is all about leveraging the former to generate maximum revenue from the latter.
If you’re a hotelier, you should know that a successful marketing campaign on a metasearch engine can increase your visibility and give you a chance to generate more profits than ever before.
Metasearch engines let property owners market their hotels on the platform via two different models – PPC (pay-per-click) and CPA (cost-per-acquisition). In this article, we talk in detail about both these business models, along with a hybrid model that accounts for the best features of both.
Best Metasearch Engines to Connect To
As a hotelier, there are several metasearch platforms that you can connect to and generate revenue. However, before you get started, you should be aware of some of the best metasearch engines in the market. Listed below are some of the top names in the industry when it comes to hotel comparison and distribution:
- Google Hotel Ads
- Tripadvisor
- Trivago
- Kayak
- SkyScanner
- HotelsCombined
- Wego
To learn how to connect with these metasearch engine platforms, read this article.
Effective Metasearch Management Strategy
Considering there are so many metasearch engines where you can list your property, it can get quite daunting to update rates and availability, along with constant bidding and cost management. However, there are ways by which you can optimize your metasearch management strategy.
When you get started, the first thing you should do, regardless of the engine you use, is to update your profile information and add hotel details.
Once your property is visible on the listing page, you should ensure that you show all room rates, reply to reviews, and take care of advertisements.
To learn more about metasearch management, check out our top 7 tips to optimize metasearch management.
Advertising on Metasearch Engine
One of the most essential aspects of marketing your hotel lies in the fact that you utilize all available comparison and distribution options. When advertising on metasearch engines, you have two options. You can either opt for the pay-per-click business model or the cost-per-acquisition model.
Whichever one you choose, you will get two benefits – better visibility and higher direct bookings. In this article, we talk in detail about both these advertisement options so that you can make an informed decision about your property’s distribution.
Metasearch Management Software, An Integral Part of your Hotel Tech Stack
When you decide to integrate your property with a metasearch engine, you will need the right tools to create an advanced tech ecosystem that decreases manual work and increases productivity. Listed below are a few distribution and management tools that can ensure a seamless pivot to metasearch marketing and booking:
- You can connect with a website booking engine that integrates with your PMS to drive bookings directly.
- You will need a Channel Manager to manage inventory, availability, room prices, etc. on different distribution platforms.
- You can also connect with a Revenue Management System to ensure your hotel displays the optimal price at any moment.
Top Picks: Leading Metasearch Management Software for Hotels
- Cloudbeds
- Expert Partner
- Award-winning Cloudbeds Hospitality Platform for global property management.
- Recognized by Hotel Tech Report and World Travel Tech Awards.
- Exclusive Offer: $200 free credit with a demo.
- RateTiger
- Expert Partner
- Leader in Hotel Channel Manager, Rate Shopping, CRS, and Metasearch management.
- Over 450 distribution and technology partners globally.
- Exclusive Offer: 14-day free trial, free set-up & 30% discount on annual subscription.
- RoomCloud
- Real-time rate and inventory updates on 400+ portals with RoomCloud Channel Manager.
- Increase direct conversions with RoomCloud Booking Engine.
- Over 5,000 clients in 80+ countries worldwide.
- WuBook
- Premier Partner
- All-in-one software for PMS, Channel Manager, Booking Engine, and Restaurant Management.
- Native cloud technology for easy management from anywhere.
- Exclusive Offer: Free Trial and 6 months of Free Booking Engine.
- myhotelshop
- Metasearch agency offering consulting and direct traffic management.
- SaaS solution for managing metasearch campaigns.
- Optimizes campaigns individually, focusing on better performance for less.
These software solutions cater to various hotel sizes and types, providing features like real-time updates, seamless integration, and exclusive offers to enhance your metasearch presence.
The Future of Metasearch: Unlocking Direct Bookings Metasearch engines serve as a bridge between a hotel’s website and Online Travel Agents (OTAs), allowing even small hotels to compete effectively. Leveraging metasearch’s potential can significantly boost direct bookings, reducing reliance on third-party promotions and embracing a future technology that is here to stay
Tools like PMS (Property Management System) and CM (Channel Manager) only assist lodging establishments in operating more simply, saving time, and being more efficient compared to not using them. However, that is not the root of growth or the challenges faced in the accommodation business. If you want to effectively manage OTA channels and create stable growth, you should have a clear understanding of how OTA platforms operate, such as their nature, operational models, and how they display, calculate displayed prices, and collect prices (after deducting commissions). Of course, larger hotels that want to approach it systematically will do it synchronously from the beginning, but smaller lodging establishments wanting to reduce operational costs should overlook it and focus on optimizing display and providing outstanding customer care.
Synthesized by: OTA Lyst
