When a consumer searches for a hotel on any online travel agency (OTA), the order in which hotels appear is determined by the OTA. The traveler is unaware that the ranking rewards some and punishes others, but, the order matters because consumers generally pick their hotel from the first two pages of their search results.

Scores are used by OTAs to rank properties on various attributes like reviews, commission, conversion and the quality of their content – primarily visuals and text descriptions. Several OTAs allow hoteliers to log in and see their how they rank and what they can do to rank higher. Besides commissions (which is a whole other story), here are six things you should consider t o improve your content score and ranking:

1. Visuals

Simply put, high-quality visuals are a must. Hotels should display a variety of different high-resolution photos. Visual quality and quantity both play a role in your quality score ranking – the more, the better. Expedia's research shows higher resolution photos convert more bookings.

2. Tags

The visuals should be appropriately organized with metatags. Those are tags that add relevance and context to each image. It may be cumbersome to tag all your images on all the major sites, so if you can, you should ensure your content management system maps their tags to the tags on the OTAs. This will also allow for greater personalization when consumers are browsing travel on the site.

3. Descriptions

Keeping fresh, relevant, comprehensive and regularly updated descriptions on your property will also improve your content score. Be sure to be thorough and include information that will entice travelers to book.

4. Room Types

Ensure that each room type sold on the OTAs has four or more photos. Consumers want to see visuals of the various room types being offered. This also increases the chances they will book upsell rooms.

5. Rates & Offers

OTAs compare your rates on their site to that of those on your brand.com site and also to that of competing hotels to help determine your content score. Offering packages, deals and value-add services factor into your score as well.

6. Reviews

Encouraging guests to leave reviews can boost your score as can responding to complaints in a timely manner. Positive comments can sway a customer's decision to select a pricier hotel than a cheaper option with negative reviews. And if both hotels have the same price, the hotel with higher rated reviews has a greater probability of getting the booking.

These factors affect every property listed on OTAs. In o rder to be easily found amongst thousands of competing hotels, hoteliers should be sure to allot enough time and resources to improve their content score.

About IcePortal, a Shiji Group Brand

Ice Portal, a Shiji Group Product is a technology company that helps travel suppliers manage, curate and distribute their visuals to thousands of online travel websites - including major OTAs, GDSs, Wholesalers, Search Engines & Local Directories, and Social Networks. To find out more about ICE Portal please visit https://www.shijigroup.com/brands/iceportal.

Brianna Wenner
Curator, Manager and Distributor of Visual Content