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The ABCs of SEO for hotels

At Simplotel we have built websites for over 2,000 hotels, and every single time we have been asked about how we drive traffic to a website. We have been asked by those who are usually suspicious of SEO because they paid for such services in past and may or may not have seen results. And we have been asked by our customers who see a 3x plus growth in their website traffic after coming to our platform – as to how we do it. While SEO can be a deep subject, today we will attempt to outline how one must think about SEO in this post.

At a high level SEO depends on three things –

Technology and layout of the website
The content on the website
Things happening outside your website

Technology and layout of the website

In order to determine the relevance of a website for a search term (also known as a keyword) search engines have a piece of software called a Bot (derived from the word Robot) that crawls (think of it as reads) content on your website. The Bot then stores the keywords that a website is most relevant for. This is known as indexing of a website.

Unlike users, bots see the code of the website and not what users see on a website (you can view the code of most websites by right clicking on a webpage and selecting view page source). The easier this code is for the search engines to understand, the better chance you have of conveying your content to the search engines and making sure that your content gets indexed correctly. Here again there are hundreds of things that matter. These include the load time of a website, the structure of website code, mobile friendliness, proper tags and sitemaps. Detailing these is a topic for a future blog.

The layout of your website also plays an important role in search engine optimization. Clean and simple navigation, easily readable content – they all add up towards SEO friendliness.
To get these things right a website must be built for SEO from the ground up – retrofitting these things can often mean redoing the website. The good news is that Simplotel, out of the box, takes care of all this for your hotel website.

The content on your website

Now that we have gotten the technical aspects covered, the next most obvious thing about SEO is the content of the website. If your website’s content is about ice cream cones then your site will be indexed for ice cream cone searches and not for hotels. If your content is about a luxury hotel, then you won’t be indexed for budget hotels and consequently it is unlikely that you will show up for searches related to budget hotels.

Content also comes in many shapes. It includes the text on the website, the images that you put, the links you provide and the various tags (page titles page descriptions etc.). Each one of these have a significance and how and where you place them also matters. Content that is higher up on a page matters more than the content that is below. On things like page titles, the content that is to the left matters more than the content that is to the right. How you structure your content with various Headers (much like a word document) matters. How you name your images, how you name the links – they all matter.

All content on your website should be original content – copying of content from another website hurts your traffic – as the search engines and users skip past you believing you have nothing new to say. Adding fresh and relevant content has also shown to impact the SEO of a website.

There is also data about your hotel (meta data) that you can provide on your website, it is not visible to your customers but tells the bots the location, name, etc. of your hotel. Once again, Simplotel does this out of the box for your site. Our experts write the content for your hotel website so that it is all set up well. This is another reason why our customers see a 3x plus growth in traffic.

Things happening outside your website

After the technology and the content on the website, there are things that happen outside your website that impact search engine optimization. These include your guest reviews, your listing on Google Maps and local listing sites, your mention in travel blogs, etc. – they all matter. Here are some suggestions,

Verify and own your Google My Business (GMB) page and make sure that the map marker is accurate.
Ensure that your hotel’s name, address and contact info is exactly the same on all online channels – your social media pages, local listings and classified listings.
Get good reviews by taking care of customers and encouraging customers to write a glowing review. Also, respond to your reviews on various review channels time to time.

There are few silver bullets in SEO – so you must skin it with a thousand paper cuts. Please let us know your comments, questions and feedback at hello@simplotel.com.

Home > Blogs > Beyond Parity: Using Email to Unlock Direct Bookings & Guest Loyalty

Beyond Parity: Using Email to Unlock Direct Bookings & Guest Loyalty

For hotels navigating today’s digital booking battlefield, rate parity with OTAs (Online Travel Agencies) is both a legal constraint and a strategic dilemma. While these clauses prevent hotels from offering publicly lower rates on their own websites, email marketing presents a powerful workaround. It's private, targeted, and not subject to public pricing rules—making it a perfect channel to reclaim guest relationships and drive direct bookings.

Let’s explore why email marketing is not just another tool—but a vital weapon against rate parity.

Email is a Private Channel—and That Matters

Rate parity clauses typically apply to public rates listed on websites and meta-search engines. However, email is considered a private, closed user group channel, allowing hoteliers to share exclusive deals, promo codes, and value-adds that wouldn’t be allowed publicly.

For instance:

A guest signs up for your newsletter and receives a “members-only” rate with 10% off.
A past guest receives a private promo code with free breakfast and flexible cancellation.

This helps hoteliers maintain good relationships with OTAs while still offering better value to loyal or interested customers behind the scenes.

Reduces OTA Dependency (and Commission Fees)

OTAs typically charge 15-30% commission per booking. Email marketing gives hotels a direct line to past guests, website visitors, and leads—cutting out the middleman and reclaiming that lost margin.

Using email campaigns, hotels can:

Promote flash sales to their database
Push low-season or weekday packages
Offer upsells (e.g. spa credits, room upgrades)

Each successful direct booking not only saves on commission but also creates a deeper guest relationship—something no OTA can offer.

Personalised Offers that Add Value, Not Just Discounts

Rather than simply undercutting prices, hotels can use email to promote exclusive perks:

Complimentary breakfast
Early check-in/late check-out
Free airport transfers
A complimentary dinner for long stays

These value-based incentives are far more appealing than slashed prices, and they help build the hotel’s brand experience. The guest feels special—and the hotel avoids a direct price war.

What’s more, email tools today (like Mailchimp or Klaviyo) allow segmentation by location, booking behaviour, and preferences. That means you can send highly targeted emails like:

“We miss you in Goa! Book your return trip and enjoy a free upgrade.”
“Planning your next business trip? Stay 2 nights, get 1 free.”

Email Automation, Retargeting & Recovery—Built for Conversion

Email marketing isn’t just newsletters anymore—it’s a conversion machine when done right.

Here’s what smart hotels are doing:

Abandoned search reminders: If someone visits the booking engine but drops off, an automated email reminds them to complete the booking—with a small incentive.
Pre-arrival upsell flows: Once a guest books, a follow-up email offers add-ons like spa deals or tours.
Post-departure loyalty offers: “Thanks for staying with us! Here’s 15% off your next visit.”

These automated journeys nurture the guest and keep your brand top-of-mind long after checkout. Platforms like Simplotel, Revinate, or HubSpot help integrate this into your booking engine and CRM effortlessly.

Building Long-term Loyalty & Beating Rate Parity for Good

Beyond individual bookings, email builds brand loyalty and lifetime value. By turning one-time guests into repeat bookers, hotels can reduce OTA reliance over time.

You can also create:

Loyalty clubs: Guests get better rates when they sign up.
Birthday and anniversary offers: Personalised gifts and staycation deals
Localised content: Recommend things to do nearby to engage and upsell.

In a world where OTA platforms control visibility, email lets you control the narrative, the brand, and the relationship. It becomes your strongest tool to bring guests back to your website—and keep them there.