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April 2024 Newsletter

April 2024 Newsletter

Introducing the April 2024 release of the GuestPoint Newsletter! We welcome you to explore insight into the effects of URL customisation and what this means for you. Gain insight into how your local competitors set themselves apart and better your property, with this month’s blog on competitor analysis. Get more control of your PMS with our how-to change user access levels. Tips and Tricks, how a cloud-based system can enhance your management. Lastly this month’s did you know? 

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Industry News

URL Customization

With the current digital age, there has never been a greater importance for having a strong online presence. An engaging website design is a key tool for attracting, converting and retaining many guests. Your online presence plays a significant role in the initial stages of the consumer journey, having an optimised platform only benefits your property. A simple yet overlooked aspect of enhancing your online presence is how people find your website if you are using a ‘www” URL or a non ‘www’ URL. 

Why Are They Different

Initially when the internet started the required domain of ‘www’ stood for ‘World Wide Web’ but as technology evolved the ability to get rid of the ‘www’ became possible. However, many older properties with websites may run into the problem of having both a ‘www’ URL and one without. Why may this be a problem? 

With the ability to access your property through two different styles, it is thought that this could benefit your property. Although this may not be the case. If your website can be accessed through both, then both website designs need to be properly managed. Because, if search engines index your properties differently this can lead to a variety of SEO issues, potentially diluted traffic and inconsistencies for users. 

Why Customise Your URL

When assessing your online presence, consistency is key. And being coherent on even the smallest things can help. So if you are using both types of URLs choose which one you would like to continue with then go with that. It is suggested that you choose the one without ‘www’ due to being easier for consumers. Here is how a URL can benefit you in hospitality:

Improved SEO – Search engines help their users by providing the most relevant and valuable results. When your website is indexed multiple times, it traditionally can confuse search engines, which in turn affects your SEO rankings amongst competitors. By selecting one consistent URL structure this will help strengthen your SEO and maintain your optimisation. 

Clear Brand Identity – The little things count, many guests may not recognise it however, many might. The ability to be consistent with little things such as URLs may reflect attention to detail within your business. It shows the guest that every aspect of your business matters to you and they can feel comfortable knowing you are consistent. 

Marketing – When displaying your URL on content either from social media or on OTAs eliminate the guesswork for potential guests. If you are collaborating with other local businesses for promotions they will also display your URL making it clear what needs to be searched will help you not lose potential guests. 

Best practices to Customise your URL 

 

  1. Select your preferred URL format: Choose between the ‘www’ or non ‘www’ version to establish your primary URL, taking into account your brand identity, user preferences, and industry standards.
  2. Update internal links: Ensure all internal links direct users to your preferred URL format within your website. This fosters a seamless browsing experience and minimises confusion.
  3. Implement canonical tags: Embed canonical tags into your website’s HTML code to specify the preferred URL version for search engines. This serves as an additional safeguard to ensure proper indexing.
  4. Establish 301 redirects: Irrespective of your choice, configure permanent 301 redirects for the non-preferred version, directing it to your chosen primary URL. This communicates to search engines that your selected version is the authoritative one.
  5. Monitor and maintain: Regularly monitor URL behaviour for any irregularities and promptly address any issues that arise. Adapt your URL customization strategy as your website evolves to maintain optimal performance.

 

Although this may seem like a minor technical detail, this could be the difference between securing a booking and not. For a technical change that could take you a few minutes to an hour to change, the trade-off is only positive. In a highly competitive industry like hospitality, any benefits help. Don’t let a simple fix be the reason you are missing out on bookings. 

Blog Article

How to Conduct a Competitor Analysis

To truly understand how to stand out amongst competitors within your area you must first understand what you’re up against. The best way to get a good idea of local competition is through a competitor analysis.  After you have completed this then you can assess what your property brings to the market.

team viewed from overhead undertaking a hotel competitor analysis

What is a Competitor Analysis? 

A hotel competitor analysis allows your property to compare strengths and weaknesses against other local properties. Allowing you to find what your point of difference is against your competition and use that to potentially increase your market share. 

Be Critical 

The best way to understand how you shape up against other properties is by being hyper-critical of your property and the properties around you. Don’t fall into a false sense of perfection. The best way to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your property is through customer reviews. By getting the honest opinion of your guests can identify what they look for in a holiday destination and what makes your property stand out. Take negative reviews graciously, as this allows you to fine-tune areas of your service and product offering that may not be up to industry standards.  

What Purpose Does a Competitor Analysis Serve? 

Thoroughly analysing your competitors is a strategic imperative, offering a valuable lens through which to identify tactical opportunities for your business. Moreover, it unveils pathways for enhancing your services and refining your overall strategy.

Other benefits:

Identifying Your Point of Difference

 

Find what makes you different, this could be a variety of different things. It could include, unique architecture/location, a vibrant environment, or a personalised guest experience just to name a few. 

Compare Services

 Find what services and different amenities you offer compared to the local area. Do you need to remove or add anything to your property? 

Making Informed Decisions

By looking through reviews and exploring OTAs and other websites, you can begin to understand price points and other properties’ Points of Difference. This allows you to position yourself in comparison to the market. 

It’s now easier than ever to complete a competitor analysis. With a diverse range of different tools available for public use, it allows you to check rates and availability of properties. Making it highly accessible for you to identify strengths and weaknesses to target. In-depth competitor analysis creates the opportunity for you to maximise revenue. 

What Properties Should You Analyse? 

When analysing local competitors you should only be investigating properties similar to yours in star rating, size and pricing. It is still important to look into the bigger/successful properties in your area and see what is working for them and if you can implement similar services. However, when it comes to local analysis you should be analysing your direct close competition. Listed are some factors that can help assist in narrowing down your analysis: 

Price – Properties with similar pricing to yours are a good place to start. Analysing what services and room types they are offering for similar pricing to yours can give you a better understanding of your position in the market. 

Location – Properties that are in close proximity to yours are important to look into. Even if this means they may be different in size or pricing. Depending on the size of your town is what determines how many properties are included within your proximity. 

Experience – Properties that offer a similar experience to you, if you are a bed and breakfast are there other similar properties in your area? This allows you to take price out of the equation and look at the intricacies of their hotels. What services and amenities do they offer in compassion to your own experience? 

Discovering your direct competition is the beginning stage of your competitor analysis. Once this step is completed the competitor analysis truly begins. 

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GuestPoint Guide to:

How to Manage Users Access Levels

In the management tab, you can allocate which employees have access to different sections of the PMS. The benefits of this, it allows you to keep certain sectors of your business private from employees such as yield and revenue. 

How to manage access levels: 

  1. Click on the ‘Management’ tab
  2. Then into ‘Setup’ 
  3. Under ‘Configuration’ click on the ‘Users & Rights’ button
  4. From here you can add new users and set their rights, additionally, you can change passwords and user logins. By Clicking on the ‘Set Rights’ area
  5. You can adjust their level of access across your PMS remember to click ‘save’ when finished
Management Tips & Tricks

Moving To The Cloud-Based System

Changing from your local PMS to your cloud-based PMS may take some getting used to and could feel indifferent. However, it is suggested you make this move and start getting familiar with the cloud-based system. This is because of many exclusive features you can only access through the online option. Fully integrated within the cloud-based PMS is direct access to your GuestPoint Pay and GuestPoint  Channel Manager. Allowing you to manage different areas of each solution, also giving comprehensive reports within both sections. Not only are different reports available for Pay and Channel Manager but for a range of things such as room yield. Also instead of 7 days of dynamic rate inventory, there are 14 days, making it easier to plan.

Properties of the Month

Swagsman Motor Inn

Located in the small country town of Miles, the Swagsman Inn is a property that understands connections. Working closely with other local businesses to help enhance guest experience. Offering a variety of rooms tailored toward the different needs of families. With disability and family rooms on offer. 

 

Also on offer within the property is a swimming pool with a 19-metre lap lane, and a spa which are both heated. If you are looking to prepare your food every room has a kitchen additionally there is a BBQ area located outside which is the perfect spot for a nice meal.

Miles is located close to the Condamine River, where fishing is encouraged if you are looking to catch Yellow Belly or Cod. Also close by is the Dogwood walking track, where you can experience the simplicity of the QLD countryside. Miles has a variety of restaurants and bars. 

The Swagsman Inn expressed the simplicity of using GuestPoint as it’s an “easy to use system,”  with a variety of benefits tailored to helping run a property. Since this property had a GuestPoint choice-made website they have experienced an increase in direct bookings. Due to an improved SEO and Mobile-First-Indexing. An added benefit of a GuestPoint website was that “all guest details are prefilled into the system making check-in effective”

Swagsman Motor Inn

GuestPoint Did You Know

Tasmania Has The Cleanest Air In The World

Tasmania Is known for having the cleanest air in the world, monitored by the Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station. The lack of pollution is due to the position of Tasmania in the Southern Ocean, far from other landmasses. By boat, it takes approximately 9 to 11 hours to travel to Tasmania from Main Land Australia.

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