If you’re a hotelier struggling to improve your website conversion rates, you’re not alone. Maximizing hotel revenue through direct bookings is crucial, and a little something known as “dopamine” could be the key. In this article, we’ll explore the connection between dopamine and positive online experiences and how personalization can help you create a memorable guest experience that boosts conversion rates and revenue.

What Is Dopamine?

But before diving in, let’s understand what dopamine is. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain often associated with gratification and reward. It is released when we experience something pleasurable, such as eating delicious food, having fun with friends, or accomplishing a goal. Researchers have recently found that dopamine can also be triggered by positive online experiences, including browsing or shopping on a website.

Now let’s explore some effective personalized techniques that have been tried and tested to trigger dopamine in your hotel website visitors. This approach lets you discover the secret to creating a winning hotel website that keeps your visitors returning for more.

5 Dopamine-Inducing Website Personalization Techniques

1. Reassuring Potential Guests

Showcasing what guests love about your hotel during the booking process is crucial. By providing a review summary tool on your website, potential guests can easily view your hotel’s average rating and read guest reviews. This helps to establish trust and credibility with your audience, eliciting a dopamine response and ultimately resulting in higher conversion rates.

How to Trigger Dopamine to Maximize Your Hotel’s Direct Revenue Reassuring Potential Guests
Inliner displaying a review summary feature

2. Offering the Best Available Rate

One of the most powerful ways to boost direct bookings is by allowing guests to compare prices directly on your hotel’s website. By ensuring you are offering the most competitive pricing, you can convince potential guests that booking directly with your hotel is the most cost-effective option, all without them having to leave your website. This approach unleashes the power of dopamine, making visitors feel empowered and in control of their booking decisions.

How to Trigger Dopamine to Maximize Your Hotel’s Direct Revenue Offering the Best Available Rate
Price match feature displayed on the BE

3. Improving Homepage to BE Conversion

Crafting a personalized message tailored to your guest’s preferences, such as their membership in your loyalty program, can make them feel recognized, heard, and valued. This feeling of belonging triggers dopamine release and encourages visitors to click on a call-to-action and move down the booking funnel. By highlighting the benefits and perks of your loyalty program, you provide a sense of exclusivity for members who are rewarded for their loyalty.

How to Trigger Dopamine to Maximize Your Hotel’s Direct Revenue Improving Homepage to BE Conversion
Message aiming to increase visitors to BE conversion based on dates entered

4. Improving Booking Engine Conversion

Tailoring your website content to each user is proven to increase conversion rates. One of the tools that can help you achieve just that is THN’s innovative personalization platform. By presenting targeted offers based on a visitor’s search date, for example, you can improve the uptake of special offers and increase reservations. Moreover, presenting a discount based on their booking intent can create a sense of urgency and stimulate the release of dopamine, which can encourage visitors to finalize their booking. This results in higher conversions and direct bookings.

How to Trigger Dopamine to Maximize Your Hotel’s Direct Revenue Improving Booking Engine Conversion
Message on the BE targeting low-intent users

5. Retaining Users Who Are About to Leave the Website

Capturing visitors’ attention before they leave your website is key to boosting conversion rates. One effective technique is to incorporate exit messages that offer enticing incentives to encourage them to stay on your website. These can include exclusive deals, discounts, or other compelling benefits that are hard to resist.

How to Trigger Dopamine to Maximize Your Hotel’s Direct Revenue Retaining Users Who Are About to Leave the Website
Exit message highlighting direct booking benefits

So, hoteliers can leverage five personalized communication tactics to trigger dopamine in their website visitors and increase direct channel conversion rates. Personalized messages create a feeling of exclusivity and satisfaction, leading to higher guest engagement and loyalty. 

Free Case Study: How Silken Hotels & Condes Hotels Increased Web Conversion of Their Paid Traffic by 31%

Frequently hoteliers believe that increasing their site traffic would result in more direct sales. This, however, is merely the first step. Complementary efforts may be performed to maximize the conversion of additional visitors to your website and considerably increase direct bookings.

Click here to download the hotel case study “How Silken Hotels & Condes Hotels Increased Web Conversion of Their Paid Traffic by 31%”.

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This article is written by our Expert Partner The Hotels Network

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