Direct channel benchmarking for hotels

A strategic approach to understanding and improving direct booking performance

Direct channel benchmarking has become a crucial strategic practice for hotels seeking to improve direct bookings and better understand how their website and booking engine perform relative to competitors. Rather than evaluating performance in isolation, benchmarking compares key direct channel metrics against a defined competitive set, offering context and actionable insight. Hotels can uncover performance gaps across conversion, demand, revenue, rate parity, and visitor behaviour, and use these insights to target improvements. The guide outlines common weaknesses, metrics to track, and practical strategies for closing performance gaps to strengthen direct revenue.

Key takeaways

• Purpose of benchmarking: Direct channel benchmarking measures your hotel’s website and booking engine performance against a competitive set to identify performance gaps and opportunities for growth.
• Essential metrics: The most valuable benchmarking insights come from conversion rates, revenue and booking metrics, demand indicators, rate-parity data, and visitor profile trends.
• Conversion focus: Metrics like total website conversion and visitor-to-booking engine conversion help pinpoint where users drop off in the booking process.
• Revenue and booking insights: Tracking number of bookings, average booking value, and length of stay shows whether direct channels drive both volume and value.
• Demand patterns: Analysing how and when users search helps anticipate booking intent and identify opportunity windows.
• Rate parity importance: Monitoring rate competitiveness and disparity frequency protects trust and prevents bookings from shifting to third-party channels.
• Addressing common gaps: Common performance gaps include below-average conversion, low booking value, weak search initiation, high rate disparities, and poor mobile conversion; each requires targeted strategies to improve.
• From data to action: Benchmarking is valuable only when competitive insights lead to strategic action, continuous learning and optimization of the direct channel.

Source: The Hotels Network

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