User Experience for Travel Websites

At 6'7", business travel is torture. But cramped airline seats taught me the most important lesson about user experience design. Every flight is a nightmare. Knees jammed into the seat ahead. Shoulders pressed against strangers. Neck bent at impossible angles. I travel constantly for The Good | Digital Experience Optimization client meetings, industry events and peer groups. Each trip reminds me how poorly designed systems fail people like me. But here's what I realized during a particularly brutal flight to a client meeting. Airlines have no idea I'm suffering. Their metrics look great: on-time departure, full capacity, and revenue targets hit. Meanwhile, I'm in physical pain for three hours straight 🫠 The disconnect is invisible to them. Your users are having the same experience with your website. They're struggling with confusing navigation. Fighting unclear error messages. Abandoning frustrated halfway through checkout. But your analytics show traffic, engagement, time on site. So, you think everything's working fine. The pain points that matter most to users are often invisible to companies. But your dashboard shows behavior... it doesn't show suffering. Users are struggling with your digital experience in ways you can't see from your analytics. Start measuring friction, not just flow.

We all consume short form video content every day. Why would booking a hotel be any different? The Modern Hotelier partnered with Hovr and Hotel Polaris, a CoralTree Hospitality property, to integrate video onto their website to improve the guest booking journey. The result? $239,000 in influenced revenue. Not views. Not impressions. Actual revenue. Guests who engaged with the video experience were also more than 2x more likely to book, with a 15.9% conversion rate. This is not just for hotels. The hotels and companies that learn how to visually tell their story online are going to win more than those who don't, moving forward. Hotel tech companies and vendors, what if your website had product demos, customer testimonials, or short videos explaining your solution? As someone who sold in hotels for nearly a decade, anything that speeds up the sales process and creates a warmer lead is a game-changer. Check out the study below and see how Hotel Polaris is incorporating video directly into its website experience.

Rosewood Hotel Group just launched a rebrand and their new website is actually worth looking at. New visual identity (green color scheme, refreshed logo) and a rebuilt site where you can book everything; rooms, restaurants, spa and activities, all in one flow. Reads more like a travel magazine than a hotel website. How I see it? 1. The website sells a experience, not a room. You're reading a story and can book right there. 2. They're merchandising everything. Wellness programs, art installations, local partnerships, bookable like room upgrades. 3. They're at 41 properties with interesting stuff coming: Courchevel mountain hotel with an Olafur Eliasson piece, Blue Palace Crete (2026), Red Sea (2026), Calistoga and Seoul (2027). Positioning hotels as cultural entry points, not just places to sleep. Takeaways that you could test at your property: - Make 3 signature add-ons bookable online with instant confirmation (late checkout, chef's table, etc.) - Add 100-word stories to key landing pages with booking links underneath - Create a simple experience catalog your team can reference (photos, inclusions, pricing, availability) - Track where experience bookings come from (basic UTM tags) - Check if your website, signage, and printed materials actually match your brand guidelines People want to book experiences, not just beds. Make it easy or they'll book something else. Is your website telling a story or just showing rooms?

Confession time: After 250+ calls with travel marketing teams, I've seen the SAME 7 problems destroying profits and stunting growth. How many of these sound familiar? 1. ADDICTION TO GOOGLE - When 80% of your bookings come from a single channel, you're not running a marketing strategy - you're running a risk management problem. One algorithm update away from disaster. 2. BLIND MARKETING - Teams spending $30K+/month on ads without proper conversion tracking. "We think it's working" is not a data strategy. Your CFO deserves better. 3. THE EXPERTISE GAP - That marketing coordinator who "knows a little SEO" isn't equipped to compete against OTAs spending millions. The DIY approach is costing you more than hiring experts. 4. TECHNICAL SEO NIGHTMARES - I still see $10M+ travel companies with no-indexed product pages, duplicate content issues, and site structures from 2015. You're literally invisible. 5. FALSE BUDGET LIMITS - "We can't spend more than $X on marketing" even when ROAS is 500%+. Math doesn't lie - if you're making $5 for every $1 spent, why stop? 6. COMMODITY SYNDROME - Your tours/hotels look IDENTICAL to competitors. "Best [destination] experience" isn't a positioning statement - it's white noise. 7. CREATIVE POVERTY - Stock photos and generic copy don't convert. Period. Yet somehow the industry that sells EXPERIENCES uses the most uninspiring assets. The frustrating part? Most of these are FIXABLE. Companies that address even 3-4 of these issues typically see bookings jump significantly within months. But here's what no one wants to admit: travel marketing in 2025 requires specialized expertise. The days of the all-in-one marketing person handling everything from Instagram to technical SEO are OVER. #travelmarketing #touroperator #tourismmarketing #hotelmarketing

Why Hotel Bookings Fail — And What OTAs Can Do About It? After 15+ years in travel tech, I can confidently say: Booking failures are one of the biggest silent killers of conversion and trust. - Rooms that appear available but can’t be booked. - Prices that change mid-checkout. - Technical errors that frustrate users and flood service teams. Most OTAs treat booking failures as a “supplier problem.” But in reality, they’re often preventable—and recoverable—with the right tech, process, and ownership. In my latest article, I unpack: - The 8 most common reasons bookings fail - What’s considered an acceptable failure rate - Practical strategies that reduce failures and improve customer experience - How some companies are turning recovery into a competitive advantage This isn’t just a checklist—it’s the perspective of someone who’s seen these issues play out across OTAs, hotel wholesalers, and tech platforms. Let me know what you’re seeing on your end—failure trends, pain points, or ideas. Always happy to exchange notes. #traveltech #revenuemanagement #conversion

Hotels keep talking about storytelling, but very few understand how deep real storytelling actually goes. They create campaigns instead of narratives. They focus on highlights instead of arcs. They chase attention instead of earning loyalty. The future is long form storytelling that unfolds over days, not seconds. And hotels that learn how to build multi day digital arcs will own the next generation of travelers. This is why I’m all in on the Creator-in-Residence model for hotels. I’m not talking about flying someone in for two days to post pretty sunsets. I’m talking about embedding a storyteller inside the property, someone who lives it, breathes it, observes it, feels it. Someone who can capture the rhythm of the hotel the same way a documentary captures the soul of its subject. That’s how you build emotional connection. That’s how you build digital loyalty. That’s how you create content that people actually care about. This is personal for me because I already live in hotels full time. This isn’t a program I have to rehearse. It’s my real life. My entire world moves from one lobby to another. My morning routine is shaped by the hotel kitchen. My nights are shaped by the lobby energy. I know what a hotel feels like at 5am when the first shift arrives. I know what the hallways feel like late at night when the energy sinks. I see the patterns, the micro interactions, the emotional beats that the average guest never notices. This is the stuff that makes a hotel unforgettable, and this is exactly what I want to capture in long form storytelling. Imagine documenting a hotel like a living character instead of a product. Imagine taking people behind the curtain across multiple days so they see the soul of the property, not just the aesthetics. Imagine showing the morning setup in the restaurant, the quiet moments the staff shares before service, the way the lights shift in the lobby as the day evolves, the small details that define the guest experience. When you tell stories like that, people don’t just want to stay at your hotel. They want to feel part of it. I’m already in deep conversations with three hotel groups that understand how powerful this is. They see the shift. They feel where the attention economy is going. They know travelers connect with real lived experiences more than polished marketing. And for me, stepping into a Creator in Residence role is the most natural thing I’ve ever done because this is who I already am. I’m not visiting your hotel. I’m living in it. I’m studying it. I’m telling its story from the inside out. The hotels that embrace this will change how their audiences see them. They won’t just promote stays. They’ll build digital emotional equity. They’ll turn their property into a character people want to root for. And in a world overflowing with content, that’s the only thing that will truly set a hotel apart. --- If you like the way I look at the world of hospitality, let’s chat: scott@mrscotteddy.com

In the ever-evolving hospitality industry, direct bookings are the key to building long-term guest relationships while optimizing revenue. While OTAs play an important role, having a strong direct booking strategy ensures hotels can offer personalized experiences, better rates, and greater flexibility to their guests. Here’s how we focus on driving direct bookings at Summit Hotels & Resorts: ✔ Website Optimization – A seamless, fast-loading website enhances the guest experience. ✔ Direct Booking Incentives – Exclusive rates and member-only perks make booking directly more rewarding. ✔ Personalized Experiences – From cart capturing to tailored greetings, personalization creates loyalty. ✔ Flexible Payment Options – Options like "Book Now, Pay Later" ensure convenience. ✔ Remarketing Efforts – Strategic emails, SMS, and WhatsApp reminders re-engage potential guests. At Summit Hotels, our goal is not just to fill rooms but to build lasting relationships with our guests. Direct bookings allow us to deliver unmatched value, service, and hospitality. What’s your take on the future of direct hotel bookings? #hospitality #summithotels #OTA #directbookings #tourism

Tourism marketing is not like any other industry. And most marketers who enter this space figure that out too late. I remember sitting in a social media training some months ago. The trainer was explaining marketing funnels. Problem → solution → purchase. Classic. But I kept thinking: this doesn't apply here. Because the person booking a trip to Costa Rica? They don't have a problem. They're not suffering. They're not lying awake at night, desperate for a fix. They want to feel something. They want to come back different. That's not a pain point. That's a desire. And desire works completely differently. Here's what makes tourism marketing structurally different from almost everything else: The audience is already self-selected. Nobody stumbles into a booking page for an eco-lodge by accident. They searched for it. They've been dreaming about it. They're already motivated. Your job is not to convince them they need a holiday. Your job is to make them feel certain that your experience is the right one. That shift from persuasion to confirmation changes everything about how you communicate. And then there's the second layer. Every traveller is different. Not just demographically. Emotionally. Psychologically. Motivationally. One person wants silence. Another wants adventure. One wants to disconnect from everything. Another wants a community to connect with. Same lodge. Same week. Completely different needs. Which means generic content "beautiful nature, authentic experience, sustainable values" doesn't land for anyone specifically. It registers as background noise. The brands that convert don't speak louder. They speak more precisely. They've identified the emotional state of their ideal guest, and they create content that meets that person exactly where they are. That's not copywriting. That's psychology. Tourism marketing doesn't sell a product. It sells the version of yourself you could become. The traveller who finally disconnected. The one who found something real. The one who came home knowing something they didn't know before. If your content doesn't speak to that it's just noise with a nice photo. What's the biggest mistake you see tourism brands make in their content? Drop it in the comments, I read every reply.

The Price is the Same. So Why Book Direct? Hotels want for guests to book directly- but in 2025, asking isn't enough. Travelers usually don't see a reason to skip the ease and benefits of OTAs. The reality is the value for booking direct often falls short. We need to shift this mindset. Here are a few key areas where hotels can make a significant impact: 1/ Clear Communication: Showcase the benefits of booking directly throughout the entire online customer journey, especially when users are selecting room options on the hotel's website. Make the "why" crystal clear. 2/ Exclusive & Tangible Benefits: Go beyond vague promises. Offer real advantages like guaranteed free upgrades (subject to availability), flexible cancel not offered elsewhere, & complimentary breakfast for direct bookings. 3/ Unique Perks: Create 1 of 1 experiences that are exclusively available to direct bookers. Think curated perks that tap into the hotel's unique offerings or local culture: a master chef cooking class, a historical tour of the property, early access to hotel amenities, or personalized local recommendations. Booking direct needs to be more than just a preference; it needs to be a a better experience with real rewards. Let's move beyond simply wanting direct bookings and start offering great value. What was the last reason you booked a hotel directly? #luxurytravel #luxurytraveladvisor #hotels

Increasing website conversion rates - top priority in 2024 What are the main factors determining hotel website conversion rates? These factors fall into the business, revenue management, marketing and technology categories: Business Factors: * Who “owns” the property website? Who is held accountable for the results and production of the property website: bookings, referrals, RFPs and group bookings, social events leads, etc.? Whose compensation is directly affected by the website revenues? Revenue Management Factors: * Market parity: Are your rates comparable to your competition? * Rate parity: Are the property rates in parity across all distribution channels, including OTAs? Does the hotel website have a Best Rate Guarantee and “Book with Confidence” message to reinforce the rate guarantee? Marketing Factors: * Enticing promotions: How enticing are the property special offers, packages, and promotions? Are promotions unique, seasonal, and outshining the competition? * Credible content: The website content - both textual and visual - should be credible, mobile-friendly, engaging and unique, and of editorial-level quality. Technology Factors: * Quality of website design, technology and user experience (UX): The hotel website is 50% art and 50% science. Many hoteliers are obsessed with how beautiful their website is, completely ignoring the website UX, technology, functionality and content. * Mobile-first website design+architecture: With over 65%-70% of website visitors now visiting the hotel website via mobile devices, a mobile-first website is a must. How old is the hotel website? If it is older than two years, it’s already due for a re-design. * Website Download Speeds: Fast download speeds drastically improve the user experience and increase the user’s desire to transact on the site. According to Google, 53% of visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than 2.5 seconds to load. * Quality of the Booking Engibe: A weak booking engine with slow download speeds, and its lack of good product presentation and UX, hurts conversions and revenues. * Website merchandising technology: Does the website CMS technology enable the property to sell rooms and generate leads on every page of the website via a complete ecosystem of modules, functionality, and capabilities? * Reservation abandonment technology: Does your website feature reservation abandonment technology to win back users who start the booking process without completing it? * Website Personalization: Does the website deliver personalized promotional, textual, and visual content dynamically tailored to each visitor? Conclusion: Developing a robust website conversion strategy should be a top priority for hoteliers in 2024. This is a crucial step for improving direct bookings and lowering distribution costs. Any investment in your website conversion strategy will not only pay for itself, but will reward the hotel generously by improving the bottom line.