Metasearch connects travellers to their perfect hotel, while hoteliers get their property showcased through competitive marketing channels with a wide audience. — Photo by Base7booking.com
Metasearch connects travellers to their perfect hotel, while hoteliers get their property showcased through competitive marketing channels with a wide audience. — Photo by Base7booking.com

It's in posts, in blogs, promoted in social media, and almost everyone in the travel industry has heard about 'meta'. But what is metasearch exactly and how can it help your hotel?

Metasearch sites have been a constant topic in their own right. The numbers tell it all : 54% of Chinese, 36% of American, and 35% of British travellers use meta search engines to compare rates.

What is a metasearch?

A metasearch site is, in simple terms, a website helping travellers to find hotels by comparing prices and availability from different websites and displaying them in one place. A metasearch uses other website's data to produce a result list based on specific characteristics, like price or location. By combining information from multiple websites, metasearch sites can offer custom results. Hotel rooms, cars, flights, and other products have their own metasearch. Some popular examples are Amazon, Tripadvisor, Google, Kayak, trivago, and Skyscanner.

Metasearch engines help guests with the price shopping process, while hoteliers promote their properties in several platforms with competitive prices. It is not a secret that the travel, shop and buy process is becoming increasingly complex. With multiple channels and devices to maintain, hoteliers should aim to maximise exposure and improve their marketing strategies.

Some metasearch sites have started to facilitate direct booking and payment functions within their website, blurring the lines of online distribution channels. Therefore, metasearch sites go from marketing channels or distribution channels into a direct distribution and marketing channel, if we can call it that.

Tips to manage you meta-campaign

  • Understand your guest's travel behaviour and factors influencing their decision-making process. If you want to know more about it, read our article about the decision process.
  • As a marketing channel, having your own marketing strategy deployed is vital. From photos to reviews, metasearch considers all available information about your property and presents it.
  • Having your own website and booking engine can boost your occupancy rates and bookings, facilitating direct bookings.
  • Maintaining occupancy and rates can be hard, but they surely pay off. A clear pricing strategy can help increase revenue based on identified behavioural guest patterns, especially during holidays or high season.
  • Offer competitive rates and use extras as added value proposition.
  • Follow changes, track, analyse and optimise your strategy to make the best of metasearch.

At the end, metasearch offer users organised data. In order to maximise the benefits, hoteliers should identify and fully display their value proposition to potential guests. The real value is what your guest is looking for, and metasearch is one additional tool to reach out.

Do you have any questions related to metasearch? Let us know in our social media in Facebook or @Base7booking, and we'll give you great tips and advice about.

Base7 Booking
Hotel technology company
Base7booking.com