You could be losing precious direct bookings because of some common website and booking engine mistakes. Let’s find and fix them.
Running a hotel is no small task. Between managing staff, pleasing guests and juggling bookings from all directions, your plate is more than full. But here’s something many hoteliers miss: your website and booking engine might be quietly costing you bookings.
Let’s walk through some of the most common website and booking engine mistakes we see —and how to fix them, without needing a tech degree or hours you don’t have.
7 most common website and booking engine mistakes and how to fix them:
1) Your website takes too long to load
In today’s fast-paced world, no one has time for a slow website. If your hotel site takes more than a few seconds to load, chances are guests are hitting the back button and heading elsewhere — maybe to an online travel agents (OTAs) or a competitor down the street.
If made on a progressive platform such as STAAH InstantSite, it is relatively simple to improve website load time. Compress your large images. Choose simple designs and invest in reliable, speed-optimised hosting. STAAH booking engine is also designed to neatly slot into your website and load fast to avoid traffic leak.
2) It is not mobile friendly
Mobile friendly is no longer a nice to have. In fact any good website should be designed as a mobile-first site given the bulk of traffic this device attracts. Think of all those guests planning their next holiday while on the train, during lunch, or while binge-watching Netflix. If your website or booking engine isn’t mobile-friendly, you’re making it hard for guests to book… and easy for them to give up.
In addition to smart design, ensure you make it a habit to browse your own website on mobile. It is also important to keep the path to booking short and clear — fewer clicks, better results. STAAH’s three-step booking engine is responsive by design. STAAH’s Smart Pricing capability allows hoteliers to target mobile users, further improving direct bookings.
3) Booking is too complicated
Have you ever tried booking a room on your own site just to see what it’s like? If you’re asking guests to jump through hoops, fill out endless forms, or dig around for room options, they’re probably not making it to the finish line.
With STAAH’s booking engine design, guests can complete a booking in three steps. Ensure you make the “Book Now” buttons clear and easy to find. Avoid surprise charges at the last step — transparency builds trust. STAAH’s three-step journey to book seamlessly allows you to upsell extras or highlight your best packages, improving direct revenue.
4) Hidden rates and availability
If your guests can’t quickly find out what rooms are available and at what price, they’ll leave. Simple as that. Transparency wins every time.
To fix, display room types, rates, and availability clearly. Avoid “Call to Book” unless absolutely necessary. Use real-time syncing with your channel manager to avoid showing wrong info, eliminate overbookings and avoid guest frustration.
5) No direct booking incentives
If guests can get the same deal (or better) on an OTA, why would they book direct? Direct bookings save you commission costs, but you’ve got to give guests a reason to click “Book Now” on your site.
Fixing this is simple. Offer small perks — like free breakfast, a room upgrade, or flexible cancellation. Highlight these benefits clearly on your homepage and booking engine. Use promo codes (a very popular STAAH booking engine feature) or exclusive offers for repeat guests. STAAH’s WatchMyRate is another feature to help customers compare your direct price to other OTAs and competitors, giving confidence to book direct if the rate is same.
6) Your booking engine doesn’t talk to other systems
Your booking engine shouldn’t be doing its own thing. If it doesn’t integrate well with your Property Management System (PMS), Channel Manager, or revenue tools, it creates more manual work and room for error.
It is important to choose a booking engine that plays well with your other tools. STAAH has earned its stripes through its integrations with both large and niche tools allowing properties of all sizes to benefit from an integrated tech stack. It is also prudent to ask for integration support — most good tech partners (like STAAH) will help get you set up.
7) No tracking = missed opportunities
If you don’t know where your bookings are coming from or where guests drop off, it’s hard to improve your website performance. Use tools like Google Analytics or your booking engine’s dashboard to monitor conversions. Track what campaigns are bringing traffic—and which pages are turning people away. Test and tweak regularly. Small changes can lead to big results.
With STAAH’s built-in reporting tools, you can see which offers, OTAs, or referral sites are driving bookings—and adjust accordingly.
Final thoughts: small fixes, big impact
You don’t need to rebuild your entire website or overhaul your booking engine overnight. But fixing just one or two of these common mistakes could make a noticeable difference in your bookings — and your revenue.
If you’re wondering how your current setup stacks up — or you’re ready to make your booking engine work harder for you — book a free demo with STAAH today. We’ll walk you through it and show you exactly how to boost direct bookings, without the tech stress.
Your website should be your best salesperson. Let’s make sure it’s doing the job right.
