8 Must-Have Elements Hotel Websites Need in 2023

Do you need a new website or a refreshed one? Do you know what elements hotel websites need?

 

Your hotel website is the window to your brick-and-mortar location. It’s the first place people are going to look to find your hours, your location, and your online ordering feature. 

 

Your hotel website is also the centerpiece of your digital marketing. Therefore, it should be simple to navigate, fast, and have several other important features. Let’s look at the eight must-have visual and functional elements hotel websites need in 2023.

 

#1: It Must be Mobile Friendly

You might think this is given in the 21st century, but this isn’t always true, but it is essential.

 

If you’ve put off redesigning your website, which is not mobile-friendly, this is the first thing you must do. Because Google is demanding this, it’s vital. 

 

Make your website responsive, which means it resizes depending on the browser. You want desktop, phone, and tablet users to have an easy-to-use, great viewer experience. Don’t bother creating two sites: one for mobile and one for desktop. You only need one website that is mobile-friendly.

 

#2: It Must Have Clear Navigation 

People visit your hotel website looking to see photos of your rooms, amenities, and the ability to make reservations. Your current and future customers want to view your website without having to think too much about how to get around. 

 

You want to include easy navigation so people can find information about your room descriptions, packages, prices, amenities, location, and booking information. So, it’s essential you organize your website well. 

 

Your navigation should be intuitive. You should lead them on the path to making a reservation.

 

Don’t forget about calls to action. There should be one per page, and they should all look similar for ease of use.

 

#3: It Should Have Reviews

Reviews and customer testimonials are among the most helpful things to have on your website. For the reviews, you can grab a plugin that brings these into your website for you. (tweet this)

 

Ask your happiest customers for testimonials if can do a short video interview. Video testimonials are quite powerful. 

 

Since people are virtual voyeurs, and social proof is critical to getting bookings, reviews on your hotel website are a definite must-have.

 

Make a dedicated reviews and testimonials page for them and host them together on this page. You can add both Google and Facebook reviews.

 

#4: It Must Be Fast

People today want something when they want it, and they don’t want to wait for your website to load. How fast a page loads on your hotel website matters to visitors. 

 

So, make sure your website loads within three minutes, or you risk people bouncing off. Check out Page Speed Insights to see how fast your website loads.

 

#5: It Must Have a Booking Engine

You don’t want to make people call you to make a reservation. You want to make it easy, which is why this is one of the elements websites need. Today’s hotel guests want to go online, find out what’s available, book your property, and move on with their lives in less than 10 minutes. 

 

Plus, adding a booking engine to your website will increase your bookings. It’s the ease of use and the ability to bypass a person that counts today. (tweet this)

 

You’ll find this is crucial for increasing your business and improving the customer experience.

 

#6: It Must Have a Blog

This is one of the most underappreciated aspects of a website. But it plays an important role in your branding and your search engine optimization. By offering fresh content weekly, you are increasing your overall website authority. This plays a part in moving your hotel up the page in the Google search engine results pages.

 

Tell your story and provide information to your visitors. Some hotels even find their blog posts showing up when web users are searching for something. Blogs offer added value for website visitors.

 

These can be both written, audio, and video posts. Share the time on your blog with insider looks at your hotel as well as info about area attractions. For example, you might share a local’s favorite restaurant.

 

#7: It Must Have a Local Attractions Page

You have a couple of options here. You can create one page with information on local attractions, things to do, and local restaurants. Or you can create a category on your blog called local attractions. You can write many articles, with each blog highlighting a different place. Consider linking to an outside website (the attraction itself) to increase your search engine optimization efforts.

 

Tell your lodgers what they can do, see, eat, and visit during their stay. They’ll love that you thought of this.

 

#8: It Must Have Security

Google is adamant about website security, going so far as to reward sites with SSL certificates. If your website address is HTTP, you need to add security so you get the HTTPS in front of your website host.

 

You also want a secure host, you want to limit login attempts, perform routine backups, and add a firewall. 

 

Final Thoughts

Your website is the centerpiece of your hotel marketing, and now you know the elements websites need. Not only do you want to provide information about your hotel and your rooms, but you also want to create clear navigation, a great user experience, a speedy website, and a booking engine.

 

You have just seconds to grab your user’s attention, so don’t forget the visual look of your hotel website. Harness your brand, use high-quality photos of your website, and think through the aesthetic and functional aspects of your hotel website.

 

There are two vital qualities of your website. It should have a strong visual appeal, tantalizing website visitors. It should also be functional and accessible to all, mobile-first, and fast.

 

Marry the visual and the functional for the perfect hotel website to provide a positive, memorable experience that carries over into your hotel or bed and breakfast.

 

We are your hotel’s digital advertising specialists and can help you position your hotel for success and attract guests to your inn. As experts in website design and redesign, we can create a new website or refreshed one that is accessible to all. And we can also help with search engine marketing, online booking, online listings, and social media marketing. We are here to help. Contact us today for your consultation!

 

Image: Alesia Kazantceva and Vojtech Bruzek on Unsplash