As of 2019, there were over 700,000 resorts and hotels worldwide. And, the count hasn’t been lowered in the past three years. So, it is evident that every new small hotel business is about to compete with many other hotels in their city, state, and nation. Amidst all of that competition, it becomes really important for them to stand out and run their business on profitable grounds. A website is the primary necessity of any hotel business. Following that, you need to decide what content goes into your website to increase hotel guest engagement. You need a proper system to create, monitor and manage your website’s contents, such as images, text, videos, and pages. And a hotel Content Management System (CMS) helps you achieve that purpose by giving you control over your hotel website content.
Why is Content Management System Important for Hoteliers?
A hotel content management system (CMS) is a tool that gives you the flexibility to add engaging elements to your website. With such a tool, you don’t have to write code to integrate plug-ins or aesthetic elements into your sales channel. You can use the pre-created templates or plug-ins to quickly build the website’s contents.
Whether you choose WordPress or any custom CMS will help your hotel business with an interactive website that will drive your brand reputation and increase direct bookings.
With access to a proficient CMS, you can make changes to your website on the go. You don’t have to run to a developer to look after your hotel website in case of any sudden changes or trend upgrades you want to make.
Moreover, a small hotel business wants to save money in every possible aspect. One area where they can cut down on their management costs and take the effort into their own hands is their website.
Your website needs to be updated with the latest content, service offers of your brand, and new informative blogs as per the trend. This can be expensive if you run to website developers or professional agencies whenever you need a change.
You can use a CMS to have the authorized ID to make those changes from your central dashboard. It helps the hoteliers cut down the outsourcing cost for the management of hotel websites and keeps them maintained and attractive simultaneously.
Benefits of Using a CMS for your Hotel Business
Some practical benefits of using a CMS for your hotel business are that it helps your brand get more exposure and increases the guest engagement ratio. The benefits include:
1. Ease of Use
Hoteliers don’t have to invest much time in training to use a hotel content management system. It comes with an easy interface and pre-set templates for you to understand the functionality easily.
Over time, you can try different templates to add a unique touch to your hotel website. Moreover, you can also tweak some functions within a particular template without the fear of breaking the code.
If you have a blog section on the hotel website, you can post new informative blog content on the dedicated page in just a few clicks.
2. Faster deployment
Any changes you make to your website through the CMS portal are updated within a few minutes. It reduces the deployment and publishing time for the contents. The quicker you publish your content across the website, the more value you will earn for your business.
With proper utilization of CMS, you can get rid of the old data or information on the website. It will help you keep your customers checking the latest offers and brand information only.
3. Mobile Friendly
As a hotel business owner, you might be urged to make changes to your website at any time. You might not have access to the system or laptop at all times. Therefore an optimal CMS solution will give you accessibility to manage your hotel website from your mobile phone.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
A CMS provider will take care of your website’s loading speed and will check your web pages’ optimization. But to rank on Google or other search engines, you need to fulfil the algorithm set by them.
CMS allows you to keep your website updated with SEO measures. Google likes to crawl through websites that add fresh content on a periodic interval and ranks them on the top results.
With CMS integrated into your website, you can publish new blogs and offer content to the hotel website over time. As a result, your hotel brand will maintain the SEO rankings on Google and be found more frequently by potential leads.
5. Integration with Booking Engine
The CMS vendor you hire should offer you a feasible integration with your hotel booking engine. In this way, the potential guests can check the availability of rooms and reservations in your hotel to proceed with direct bookings.
How Can You Choose the Best CMS for your Hotel Website?
Now that you know the potential of CMS for your hotel business, you must be aware of the consideration factors before choosing one. Consider these factors below to get assistance in making a decision:
1. Evaluate What you Need
You must be clear about what you need from a content management system for your hotel business website. Some of the things you should consider for the same are:
- The integrations that you might need for running and managing your hotel operations for increased revenue.
- The level of analytics integration you need for your content management system.
- The amount of user engagement you expect to gain after integrating your website with CMS.
Determine all such necessities and expectations to find yourself a good CMS to integrate your website.
2. Calculate your Budget to Invest in CMS
Running a hotel business demands a lot of capital investment. So, you need a proper plan to invest funds in your website and CMS. Prepare a CMS hotel website budget by considering the below aspects:
- Choose between a custom or templated website design.
- Does your website need a developer in the long run?
- Do you have to hire someone to change the website on CMS?
- Is there a need for new videos and photos?
Even with the CMS service costs, you might have to spend a little more on organizing the overall elements for streamlining your website management. So, plan out a complete budget on what you intend to spend on your website and CMS tool.
3. Compare the Efficacies of Various Content Management Systems
Pick some of the best options, such as WordPress, SquareSpace, Wix, or any custom CMS provider, and compare their service features to determine the best option for your business.
Parting Words
CMS is a modern way of managing the website for growing your hotel business. You will have better control over what your target audience sees and responds to on your website and its contents.
It is time you think about advancing your business from an online marketing approach rather than focusing on improving your services. Initially, you will build the business, so it is time for you to be versatile and improve your brand’s online exposure with an efficient CMS.
This article was originally published on partner sites.