Metasearch: What it is and Why You Should Use It

Metasearch engines have quickly become an important player in the travel and hospitality industry and are rapidly becoming one of the more effective advertising options for small properties. In fact, properties that want to be competitive really should participate in metasearch. Below we discuss what metasearch is and why you should use it for your property.

What is metasearch?

A metasearch engine allows properties to display their direct rates and availability to acquire direct bookings. As soon as the visitor clicks on the direct rate via the metasearch engine site, that potential guest gets dropped into the property’s booking engine. In the end, it gives both properties and guests more options to book directly outside of the property’s website.

Common metasearch engines you might be familiar with include TripConnect, Trivago, Google Hotel Ads, and Kayak.

Metasearch platforms such as TripAdvisor’s TripConnect program are important for small properties because they allow potential guests to see your property’s rates and availability in direct comparison to OTAs.

Metasearch is trending up

Back in 2013 metasearch began with TripAdvisor offering the possibility of comparing hotel prices on multiple sites. Most couldn’t imagine the success they would have in the coming years, and today 72.5% of travelers use metasearch engines in their search process.

With numbers like that it’s clear that metasearch sites are on the rise and continue to grow, with TripAdvisor and Google hotel ads being the biggest players.

How can your property benefit from a metasearch engine?

Increase direct bookings

While an OTA sells your rooms via their website channel and charging you a commission for each of those rooms booked on their site, a metasearch engine allows properties to generate more direct bookings for a small cost per click resulting in a more affordable booking. Rates directly from your site’s booking engine are placed alongside OTAs, increasing your chances of a customer booking directly with you.

A booking engine like rezStream’s Cloud software will afford you the ability to provide real-time pricing and availability to meet the needs of today’s travelers.

Reach guests early in the travel planning process

It can also be argued that metasearch engines provide properties the opportunity to reach potential guests earlier in the travel planning process. For example, if a property is advertising on Google Hotel ads, visitors have access to the property’s details, including amenities, check-in/check-out times, room options and rates, all available at their fingertips – without having to visit the property’s website. With this immediate accessibility of information, it might prompt visitors to book on the spot.

Additional advertising opportunities

Add to your online presence with metasearch engines. Enhance your online community by showcasing your property on multiple platforms and engage with your guests through customer reviews, ratings, and photos.

Working on a Pay-Per-Click model

Metasearch is largely based on a pay-per-click model, an advertising model that, in general, costs less than the booking fees charged by OTAs. Your property might also be able to lure visitors into booking directly on your website, meaning a commission-free booking for you!

Tips for using metasearch

• Ensure your direct rate is the same if not better, than the OTAs so, you’re not encouraging people to book through those more expensive channels.
• Make sure your direct rate is showing prominently. Ideally, you want to show up in the first three positions.
• Don’t limit your budget in order to capture as much visibility as possible. The budget you start with depends on the competition, demand, and platform you’re working with.
• Ensure you have analytics tracking in place on your website so you can clearly understand the performance of the various platforms. Every property should have Google Analytics to help with reporting.
• Target your customers accurately. For example, don’t just spend a bunch of money on getting clicks from locations that don’t tend to visit your property. Use Google Analytics and your Property Management System to determine what locations make sense to get exposure from.

Connect your booking engine to your property’s metasearch site

In order to be effective in using metasearch engines, small properties need to be able to provide rates and availability in real-time to metasearch sites. Automatically update your rates, availability, and minimum night stays with rezStream’s Cloud property management system.