With in-person events back in full swing and resurgence in business travel, the importance of converting meeting planners on your hotel website takes on a whole new meaning.

This emerging scenario presents a golden opportunity to hoteliers whose properties have a dedicated space for meetings and events. So, if your hotel has meeting and event spaces, your website should absolutely cater to both business and leisure travelers. And here is where hotel website personalization comes into play.

After identifying the meeting planner on your hotel website, it is key to deliver the right message, to the right person, at the right time. By using targeting and personalization tools, you will be able to provide additional information to that available in your Meetings and Events page. Following such an approach guarantees you are delivering relevant messages at specific points of the booking funnel, helping to convert meeting planner lookers into bookers.

Today, we are bringing you some hotel website personalization tips taken from our latest MICE guide to boost meeting sales, and offer inspiration on how to secure these higher yield bookings.

1. Delivering a warm welcomeWhen a visitor first lands on your Meetings and Events page, you should give them a warm and personal greeting message from your events team. Provide your contact information, as well as including a CTA to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) - this is a great way to get the ball rolling! 

— Source: The Hotels Network— Source: The Hotels Network
— Source: The Hotels Network

2. Highlighting what makes your spaces uniqueAs a meeting planner scrolls down your Meetings and Events page, you can leverage personalized Smart Notes to highlight the unique features of your properties. But don’t limit your messaging. Make your notes clickable so users are redirected to other relevant pages - perhaps you want to encourage them to navigate through images or videos associated with your meeting spaces, rooms, or related food and beverage menus. 

— Source: The Hotels Network— Source: The Hotels Network
— Source: The Hotels Network

3. A win-win for planners and your databaseIf the meeting planner decides to visit the rooms page, dining page, or gallery page, you can utilize a form builder feature. A personalized form makes it easy for meeting planners to request more information from your property, while simultaneously boosting your marketing database. A key moment is presented, as the intent to know more is already demonstrated by advancing to this step, and allows you to capitalize on the moment by collecting their contact information for future opportunities.

— Source: The Hotels Network— Source: The Hotels Network
— Source: The Hotels Network

4. Sealing the deal with a limited-time offerFinally, if a meeting planner visits your Special Offers page, you can present them with a unique message that provides an exclusive discount and additional benefits based on their profile. Taking it one step further, establishing a time limit for the website visitor to benefit from these perks will create an additional sense of urgency. Be sure to include meeting and event specific perks such as wifi, food and beverage credits, or other benefits guaranteed to entice!

— Source: The Hotels Network— Source: The Hotels Network
— Source: The Hotels Network

So here you have it, four powerful strategies to engage with meeting planners on your hotel website. By leveraging targeting and personalization techniques, you can successfully convert the meeting planners that arrive on your hotel website and drive your direct channel to new heights by capturing your fair share of this rapidly recovering segment of the hotel industry.

At THN, we have carefully curated a guide on how to engage with meeting planners on your hotel website. Taking a deep dive into their booking behavior, we provide actionable tips on how to drive meeting planners towards a direct reservation. Download the full guide here.

About The Hotels Network

The Hotels Network is an innovative technology company working with over 20,000 hotels around the globe. Boasting an international team of specialists with deep expertise in hospitality, product design and consumer marketing, the company offers clients a full-stack growth platform to power their direct channel. By leveraging a series of integrated tools and analytics, hotel brands can attract, engage and convert guests throughout the user journey.

In addition to price comparison, reviews summary and a full suite of personalization options, THN's Predictive Personalization product harnesses machine learning techniques to predict user behavior and then automatically personalizes both the message and the offer for each user. The company's benchmarking product, BenchDirect, is the first of its kind for the direct channel, providing hotels with never-before-seen competitive data.

THN is proud to have been recognized for the company's product innovations, rapid growth, and unique workplace culture for the second year in a row, most recently named the Best Direct Booking Tool for 2024 in the prestigious HotelTechAwards.

For more information about THN, visit https://thehotelsnetwork.com/en or contact [email protected].