By Peter E Inyang

To create a website is a simple task. To create a website which generates revenues, builds your customer-base, increases ROI and builds your brand is a completely different ballgame. For hotel owners, the option of having a website for the sake of it is increasingly becoming a non-option.

In today’s economy and with more and more customers going online, the hotel website must:

1. Support and Sell your brand 2. Sell your products (and special offers) 3. Be easy to Use 4. Allow users to book and pay online 5. Allow users to contact hotel

Now, let’s take these in turn.

Support and Sell your hotel brand

First off, your website is not a separate entity from your hotel in the users’ mind. It is part and parcel of your business and if users are getting the wrong impression about your brand from your website, then you clearly stand to lose out on a very lucrative market. The website must boldly declare your brand for all to see. You don’t want your customers coming to your site and wondering whether they are really at the right place.

For added comfort, why not go one step further and provide your customers with location information. If you hotel is close to the train station or 10 minutes from a popular, cosy restaurant for couples, why not share that information. Oh and how about information about local transportation services and how you can help your customers find whatever information they are looking.

Tips for building your hotel brand through your website:

(1) Feature highly informative and persuasive content

(2) High-resolution images of your logo, your offerings (rooms and other amenities), and possibly your staff (with smiley faces). For an added touch of class, you might want to add photos of happy customers (not necessary).

Both these two working together must answer basic questions about your brand: why should people want to stay at your hotel? What makes it unique? What kind of experience should they expect? Your website should make me want to visit the hotel. That’s the whole point of persuasion.

Websites generally are highly effective branding tools (or maybe not) depending on how much attention you pay to planning.

Sell your products and any special offers

A superb brand-building website with scarce product information is akin to a well-groomed, well-dressed and well-spoken salesman without knowledge about the product. Quality information on your products is one major key to selling online. Whatever it takes to persuade your customers about your products, the website must take care of it. Photos, reviews (if you customer expects that), videos (if you can afford it), and as much content as is necessary (but not more).

In addition to selling your product, the hotel website must highlight special offers to website users. Don’t make them grovel before you present your tantalising offer.

Two simple tips apply here:

(1) Provide comprehensive, accurate and relevant product information (including images and video if appropriate) (2) Make the product information easy to find through easy and clear navigation systems

Customers have a right to know what they are buying, and especially with the unique (intangible) nature of hospitality products, it is important that your website users can picture what they are getting so they can make an informed decision.

Be easy to Use

Your website is designed for human use and as such, you really cannot substitute usability with flashy designs. For a website which is serious about making money, your customers must be able to use it. Navigation, accessibility, functionality are all part of the big usability picture.

This is one area in which you need significant investment. You don’t need to add new features, just make sure that the features on your website work in the way they are supposed to work; how your users expect them to work. Links must work as links (not colored text). Speaking of, links must show up as links (different from the rest of the text).

Tip:

(1) Hire a web designer who knows a thing or two about user-centred design

Must allow users to book and pay online

This one is tricky. If you haven’t got the budget for an online booking system, your website must have at the very least, information on how to book or purchase products on offer. If you have the budget and resources for an online booking system, I urge you to spare no expenses in getting the very best within your budget. Consult widely on what technologies are available and go for the very best you can afford.

Online booking systems come in all forms. You can choose to subscribe to a service like Pegasus or Synxis (now part of SABRE hospitality solutions). You also have the choice of installing one for your organisation where you control everything about the software. The options are many.

Tip:

Consult widely on what options are available to you.

Provide contact Information to your users

Your website cannot answer every question your customers may have. One thing is guaranteed. Your customers will have questions and you are well-advised to provide useful and accurate contact information.

It goes without saying (but it still must be said), customers like it when a vendor responds promptly to inquiries. Also, the responses are better appreciated when they are relevant to the question.

Tip:

(1) Provide a contact form to make contact via email easy or provide an email address (2) Provide one (or preferably) more telephone numbers to comfort those customers who may feel apprehensive otherwise.

So there you go… simple tips to improve your hotel website and make it tick. There are more than a hundred ways to improve hotel websites. If you’d like to learn more about web and content strategies, head over to Joom Advisor and sign up to our bi-weekly newsletter.

Peter Inyang is the publisher of Usability Extra, a web design and usability blog where you can find useful and practical advice on how to improve your website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5408164

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The worst thing that can happen in a business is competition. This may lead to decrease in profits and worst is bankruptcy. These can be avoided as soon as sustainability planning should be reinforced. Part of the planning should be focused on the society. The society is your client and your business partners make sure that your plan should give emphasis on the benefits that your clients get.

Another part of your planning should give importance to the environment. This will be a ways for you to contribute to the environment at the same time attract more clients. With these plans in mind start thinking about the other benefits that your company can acquire. Questions may arise like: how long will the planning succeed? Are there any options if you fail? These are some questions that have to be answered and anticipated to create a much stable business. Sustainability planning should always be a part of every business to avoid any major problems in the future.

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Nowadays more people are concerned about the environment that they create efforts to be involved in saving it. Big businesses take part in conserving the environment through corporate sustainability. This act of concern for the environment does not only apply to the factors concerning the environment but also to the society, the economy and the cultural factors. Here are some reasons why this act should be practiced by big businesses or corporations. Workers are now looking beyond big salaries and benefits from the company that they will be working. The company’s environmental concern will definitely attract good employees at the same time a good effect on the customers as well. Most people would prefer products or services that care for the environment over products which do not. They believe that in their own simple way they can be of help to the environment. Corporate sustainability is playing a big role in the environment as well as in the society.

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It is common knowledge that most women have a fascination for bags and shoes. And when it comes to bags, a discerning woman is likely to own any of the Leather Handbags that fits her taste and budget.

A handbag made of leather is one of the most favorite accessories of women because it never goes out of style. No matter how fashion trends change, leather remains timeless and as such every woman should have at least one of these handbags that she can use when all else fails. In addition a handbag made of leather can be a good investment because it is durable. If proper care is employed it is sure to last for years. Thus, when shopping for handbags, it is important that you look into the quality of the leather bag you will buy.

You will also find a wide range of styles, sizes, colors and shapes. With the passing of time, leather bags have become more and more fashionable, but you can always go for the classic style if you want one, which can be easily matched with your outfit. Of course, when shopping, any woman can’t help but widen her eyes at designer handbags. But buying this is usually unaffordable for the majority.

And so a woman’s best bet is to look for Designer Inspired Handbags. These are exact replica of designer handbags but they come in cheap. If you can find one, which is of good quality then you should not miss the opportunity. Buy it at once. A discerning woman like you has keen insight and good judgment and these abilities can be used to find the handbag that can complete your nice outfit to an important event. Whether you have a place in the corporate world or are just focused in homemaking, you would have to attend an important occasion once in a while.

Thus, you should have at least one good handbag handy.

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The vast majority of men first look to Google to discover locally based establishments they are able to connect with, in person. The unfortunate part of it all is the inconvenience, in relation to both travel as well as expense. It might be fine if you’re living close by to a bricks and mortar dating business but for the rest of us, it’s just plain impossible. It’s doubtful these businesses will be around for much longer, in my opinion.

So what’s next? Online avenues are where it’s definitely going. Consider this: We’ve become a connected society. Facebook has amassed a community approaching 650 million people. There are online dating communities geared around connecting people in ways never before imaginable. All you need is an internet connection, a computer and the will to join and participate with people just like you.