Hotel Copywriting: This One Word Might Be Holding Your Online Bookings Back
What does the main headline of your hotel’s homepage say? Does it read a little like this:
Welcome to The Blue Fish Inn.
Or
Welcome to The Sunny Beach Resort.
If so, you’re missing out on a major opportunity to better engage your customers, lower your website’s bounce rate and build online bookings. And it’s all because of the word ‘welcome.’
You see, the homepage headline is the first chunk of text your audience reads when they arrive at your site. On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. In fact, some eye-tracking research has shown that headlines are the most viewed component of any homepage.
So yeah, these 6-12 words are pretty important. If they’re written well.
Your homepage headline must tell people that you’ve got what they’re looking for. It should clearly spell out your property’s strongest and most unique selling point(s) while enticing readers to click deeper into your website. And it also needs to be memorable because most people will visit multiple websites before finally booking.
But simply welcoming people on your homepage doesn’t do any of these things. In fact, a ‘welcome’ headline doesn’t really say anything.
And yet, countless websites craft headlines around the word ‘welcome.’ It certainly isn’t just hotels and resorts that do this, however, I do see welcome-based headlines far more often within the hospitality sector. Perhaps that’s because it seems like such an obvious word-choice at first – hotels should be welcoming their guests, after all.
To better understand why ‘welcome’ doesn’t work, you need to understand the mindset of your prospects as they arrive at your homepage.
They’re not ‘inside’ your website just yet
Here’s what one client told me when I recommended re-writing the ‘welcome’ headline on his website:
Hey, you said we should use a more conversational style for our copy. Well, that’s what we’d say to guests when they come inside our hotel: welcome.
He made a great point and I completely understood where he was coming from. But the thing is, when a customer lands on your homepage they’re not in your hotel’s website yet – they’re making a decision on whether to step inside.
Your homepage is not a highway welcome sign. If you don’t convey value in your main headline, customers are more likely to whip past your website. Photo: Oregon Department of Transportation_CC
Think of them as window shopping. They’ve simply landed on your homepage after clicking a link (likely from a Google search) and are now wondering if they should head in and maybe browse your accommodations or amenities page.
So to encourage them to explore your website, you need a headline that communicates your hotel’s value proposition. What makes the property unique? Why is your hotel better than your competitors? Who is your hotel for?
If it sounds tough, you’re right. Perfecting your homepage headline is no easy task.
Highlight benefits for better bookings
So if the word ‘welcome’ isn’t going to cut it, you’re probably wondering exactly what you should put in your main homepage headline. Well, that’s an article in itself. Getting headlines right takes time, research and an in-depth understanding of what your prospects want.
I don’t have space to get into everything here. (But I do plan on writing more about headlines in the future, so sign up for my newsletter if you haven’t already.) However, I will offer a few quick pointers on what to focus on.
As I already mentioned, your headline needs to quickly communicate your hotel’s value proposition. Think about:
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What makes your property unique?
What’s the main benefit your hotel offers?
Why should readers delve deeper into your website?
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For example, say you’re running a cool hotel in downtown L.A. that caters to young people. What do your happiest customers like best about your hotel?Your location to all the bars? Your swanky décor and hipster vibe? Whatever it is, you need to communicate that in your headline in a way that connects with your target audience. And that also means ensuring your brand voice shines through.
But above all else, your homepage headline needs to be clear and easy to understand. If your customers don’t feel confident that they’re in the right place, they’ll bounce within seconds.
Ensure your headline works with the images
You probably know that compelling images are essential to a strong hotel website. But while those enticing photos will certainly grab the visitors’ attention, it’s the copy that entices them to click deeper and provides that final push to reserve a room.
So your images and headline must work together to communicate your message. If your headline talks about your hotel’s funky style, then your main homepage image probably shouldn’t be the outdoor pool. Unless it’s a very funky pool, I guess.
Combining images and effective hotel copywriting is also a great way to foster a more emotion-driven message, which is far more persuasive than hitting the reader with a bunch of facts.
What about the SEO factor?
Often, slipping a keyword phrase into your main headline will improve your SEO. Sometimes, this can be done without reducing the impact of your message; sometimes it can’t.
So you might have a decision to make: use a headline that is SEO-optimized or one that better connects with your customers.
Is a better search-engine ranking more desirable than reducing your bounce rate or increasing conversions? That’s up to you. But remember that Google is always changing the rules on what does and doesn’t work for SEO – a persuasive headline will be effective no matter what the search engines do.
Thinking about revising the copy on your website or developing a new site soon? Click here to contact me for a free, 30-minute phone consultation. You’ll get a few more hotel copywriting tips from a professional travel copywriter and then you can decide if we should work together.
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Yes, figuring out exactly what your homepage headline should say isn’t easy. It takes a bit of time, which is why I think a lot of people skip it and use more generic language.
It really comes down to focusing on your value proposition and making a connection with your audience.
In terms of examples, I had one client whose LA hotel had a great waterfront location that put it close to attractions & restaurants, but the property still had that peaceful vibe to it.
And while doing research on TripAdvisor, I noticed that a lot of past guests referred to the property as ‘more relaxing’ than other nearby hotels. So that eventually formed the basis of the headline: A More Relaxing Way To Experience LA.
I also like this headline from Choice Hotels, which provides LGBT-friendly accommodations: http://tinyurl.com/nf2c7af
