Hotel software companies are proving to be a cost and time effective solution when it comes to hotels’ website design
by Pedro Colaco
In 2011, Marc Andreessen proclaimed that software was eating the world, with a global technological and economic shift in which software companies were prepared to take over large swatches of the economy. Some of the biggest companies in the world were – and still are – software companies. Google, the world largest direct marketing platform and Skype, the fastest growing telecom company (which was bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion), are some examples of major business being run on software and delivered as online services.
This software-based transformation has also swept over the hospitality industry and software companies are taking over design agencies when it comes to developing hotel websites. Hundred of high-end hotels like The Wood Norton, Demetria, El Palauet, and Chateau Eza rather work with a company that combines software that adapts to user preferences with the expertise to increase their bookings and avoid design agencies that end up overcharging for custom-built websites that become obsolete quickly.
Contrary to what many may think, hotel software companies do not provide design templates; they offer tailored design solutions (created at an incredible speed) that have award-wining quality, recognized by organizations like the Web Marketing Association (WMA), the International Academy of the Visual Arts (IAVA) and the Interactive Media Council, Inc. (IMC). In addition of that, the Software as a Service (SaaS) model enables hoteliers to change their website whenever they need and respond to the latest technology and user trends without having to rely on never-ending design agencies projects.
Hotel software providers have the exquisite knowledge of how the hotel industry works and understand better travellers’ behavior when looking for hotels online; thus, they know exactly what works in hotel website design in order to engage users. Combined to these skills, they are able to offer a large range of products, maintaining a high quality level. Their services can embrace branding design, website design, booking engine software, web content management and channel manager tools. With an all-in-one digital marketing solution, hoteliers save time and money by having all the solutions with one provider.
The SaaS model provides hoteliers with all the essential tools they need for succeed in the digital marketing field, including award-winning websites that translate into direct reservations. The website is one of the main sale channels for hotels and when it comes to developing it, hoteliers are making sure to look for hospitality industry specialists in order to have a sales oriented website, aligned with their revenue strategy. The software-based revolution is a reality and web design agencies better watch out, because hotel software is proving to be a cost and time effective solution that fits perfectly hotels’ needs.
