How to Increase Your OTA Conversion Rates

Did you know that two out of three travelers use OTAs to plan or research their trips?

That’s a huge chunk of potential guests! So, if your listings aren’t converting, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity to boost your hotel’s revenue.

But here’s the good news—optimizing your OTA conversions doesn’t have to be complicated.

With a few smart adjustments to your pricing and listings, you can turn those lookers into bookers and see a serious impact on your bottom line.

Ready to learn the simple strategies that’ll help increase your OTA conversions and drive more revenue? 

Let’s dive in!

1. Optimize OTA Ranking to Get Seen First

How do you get more potential travelers to visit your site over a competitor’s? It’s all about being seen where it matters most—on Google. 

Let’s explore two key strategies to help your OTA rank higher and attract visitors with a high likelihood of converting.

Paid Advertising: Want to grab the attention of travelers quickly when they’re searching for accommodations? Running paid ads on Google puts your OTA at the top of search results and helps increase traffic to your site. This paid advertising method is called Pay Per Click. You only have to pay when someone visits your website. Apart from these, you can also run social media ads, these ads will allow you to reach to your potential customers in the form of a video or an image, and you can lure them to book from your OTA by offering them some irresistible offers. 

This is particularly effective for high-demand periods, like holiday seasons, where travelers are ready to book. The investment in paid ads helps you to easily target people actively searching to book which makes it a fast-track solution for higher conversions.

SEO for OTAs: Beyond paid efforts, building a strong organic presence on Google is crucial for sustainable growth. To achieve higher rankings on organic search. You need to focus on creating valuable, keyword-optimized content that travelers are searching for. 

This could be destination guides, travel tips, or curated property lists. When your OTA ranks highly on relevant searches like “best hotels in New York” or “affordable family vacations,” you’re attracting users who are closer to booking. 

Studies have shown that organic searches are 8.5x more likely to be clicked, while paid search results are 1.5x more likely to convert through the search engine. Hence, engaging, SEO-friendly content helps build authority and trust with search engines which results in drowning in visitors with a higher intent to convert. 

By combining strategic paid advertising with effective SEO, your OTA can boost visibility, attract more qualified visitors, and increase conversion rates. 

2. Implement a Smart Pricing Strategy

A smart pricing strategy is essential to boosting OTA conversion rates and maximizing revenue. By frequently adjusting your rates to match market demand helps your OTA to remain competitive.

If your prices are too high, you risk losing visibility on OTAs. If it’s too low you may undercut your profits. During peak periods, increasing room rates can raise your Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue per Available Room (RevPAR), but it’s important to avoid pushing prices so high that guests turn away.

To figure out the best possible prices, you can use the Hotel Price Comparison API by Makcorps. This API provides real-time hotel price comparison data from 200+ OTAs which allows you to optimize hotel prices on your OTAs that convert.

To know more about Makcorps API and how can you use it, watch the following video:

3. Enhance Your Property’s Visual Appeal

When it comes to grabbing attention and increasing your OTA conversion rates, visuals are super important. High-resolution images showcase the best features of listed properties and create the kind of emotional connection that turns potential guests into confirmed bookings.

Because, travelers are drawn to properties that evoke an emotional response, and nothing does that better than stunning visuals that make them imagine themselves enjoying your amenities.

For Rooms and bathroom images, 60% of travelers say these are critical factors in their booking decision. 

Apart from that, images of clean, inviting spaces combined with appealing shots of your property’s top amenities, like pools, restaurants, or spas, can make all the difference. The more you can bring your property to life visually, the more likely you are to inspire that all-important booking decision.

4. Create Clear & Engaging Descriptions

Want to make properties stand out on OTAs? How you describe it matters. Guests don’t just care about what your property offers. They also want to know what they’ll experience. Instead of listing features like “free Wi-Fi” or “breakfast included,” paint a picture of the benefits. 

Let them imagine sipping their morning coffee on a serene balcony, or lounging in a spacious, modern room after a long day of exploring. Keep your copy straightforward and skip the fluff. 

Overly complicated descriptions will only lose their attention. Instead, focus on clear, engaging language that emphasizes the guest’s experience. It will make properties listed on your OTAs more appealing and bookable. 

To get compelling descriptions, consider hiring a skilled copywriter who can blend valuable information with persuasive storytelling and turn facts into experiences that captivate and convert potential guests.

5. Leverage Your Best Amenities to Stand Out

Any property’s amenities are powerful tools to attract travelers to OTAs. Ever notice how reviews tend to rave about specific things? Fast Wi-Fi, unbeatable central location, or even the convenience of free parking? Well, don’t let those perks go unnoticed! Highlighting what guests already love can make your listing pop.

The key here is to weave these unique selling points into property listings. Think about what makes those properties different from the other OTAs described and showcase them. 

Whether it’s a rooftop view that wows or a pool that’s perfect for lazy afternoons. These small details are exactly what travelers are looking for. So, highlight them and watch your conversion rates soar.

6. Engage with Guest Reviews

Guest reviews directly impact booking decisions. According to TripAdvisor, 93% of travelers book hotels online after reading reviews on OTAs, with 70% of people checking at least 6–12 reviews before making their decision. Clearly, reviews hold immense sway over whether a traveler chooses a property.

But here’s where it gets even more interesting: 89% of consumers are more likely to book with a hotel that responds to reviews, both positive and negative. That means OTAs need to encourage properties to actively engage with their reviews. A well-crafted response, whether it’s a thank-you for praise or addressing a concern, demonstrates that the property cares about its guests’ experiences.

As an OTA, this is your opportunity to strengthen relationships between guests and properties. This provides an easy-to-use interface for review management and encourages timely responses that will not only enhance the guest experience but also improve conversion rates. The more properties are engaged the more confident travelers will feel booking through your platform.

7. Plan Availability in Advance

Having a long-term inventory strategy is key for OTAs to maximize visibility and capture early demand. By encouraging properties to open their rooms for booking up to 12 months in advance, you help them tap into travelers who plan ahead. This gives those properties a better chance of being found by guests who prefer booking far ahead of their trip, particularly for high-demand periods like holidays or events.

Maintaining long-term availability is also crucial, even when bookings are slow for dates further out. Properties that have rooms listed well in advance appear more reliable and attractively positioned when key travel dates approach. This not only keeps them visible but also helps your OTA stay competitive which offers more choices to travelers planning months ahead. By making this a consistent practice, you can build trust with both properties and guests drive more conversions, and boost overall booking volume.

Conclusion:

To effectively boost your OTA conversion rates, focus on three crucial elements: smart pricing, strategic inventory management, and engaging content. 

By setting the right prices at the right times, optimizing your room availability across channels, and detailing the unique perks of your property, you’re setting the stage for increased bookings. 

Applying these strategies diligently will help your OTA to enhance both your visibility and profitability.