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 > Boost Direct Revenue and Maintain Channel Parity with Flexible Payment Options on Your Hotel Website

Boost Direct Revenue and Maintain Channel Parity with Flexible Payment Options on Your Hotel Website

In today’s global, digital-first hospitality landscape, every detail of your hotel’s booking journey can make the difference between capturing or losing a guest. While design, rates, and room photos matter, the flexibility and trust created by multiple payment options can be a game-changer, especially when it comes to maintaining robust website traffic and achieving true channel parity.

The Booking Barrier: What Causes Guests to Drop Off?

The path from browsing to booking is cluttered with drop-off points. Even when guests love your property and your price fits their budget, hesitation often arises at payment.

According to industry data, nearly70% of users abandon online bookings, one major reason being a lack of preferred payment methods or trust in the transaction’s security. Travelers who find their chosen payment method missing are more likely to leave your site and complete their booking through OTAs or competitors who meet their needs.

What Do Modern Travelers Expect?

Diverse payment choices:Credit/debit cards are essential, but mobile wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay), UPI, PayPal, and even BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) are growing in popularity, especially among younger and international guests.
Local currency and language:International travelers seek payment in their currency and prefer familiar options based on region.
Security and transparency:Guests assess trustworthiness based on known, secure payment providers and visible encryption or anti-fraud mechanisms.

How Multiple Payment Options Drive Traffic to Your Website

Higher Completion and Conversion Rates:Offering an array of payment methods removes friction and appeals to a broader user base. By meeting guest preferences, whether they rely on digital wallets, bank transfers, or even installment payments, you reduce abandonment and keep more visitors engaged through the final step.
Expanding Your Guest Demographic: International and next-gen travelers (Millennials, Gen Z) expect modern, simple, and fast payment flows. If your hotel website supports local wallets and global options, it gains an edge over generic OTA payment checkouts. Guests are then incentivized to book direct, knowing the transaction will be as smooth as on an aggregator.
Building Trust and Repeat Traffic: Transparency around payment (clear pricing, no hidden fees, payment confirmation emails) builds confidence, turning one-time guests into loyal direct bookers. A seamless, secure payment experience increases guest retention and encourages referral traffic from positive reviews.

Why Payment Options Are Crucial for Parity

If an OTA offers PayPal, local wallet options, or currency conversion, but your direct website only supports standard credit cards, guests will see OTAs as simpler, more reliable channels. This “parity gap” tilts bookings (and their vital guest data) away from your platform, despite your competitive pricing.

Conversely, parity in payment flexibility ensures that your website stands on equal footing with, or even exceeds, major OTAs, giving guests every reason to book directly. Hotels that fall behind in payment innovation risk losing out, even if their website ranks high in search results or offers the lowest price.

Direct Bookings: Where Payment Options Make the Difference

Providing flexible payment options is among the lowest-effort, highest-impact upgrades a hotel website can make. When guests know they can use their preferred method, they’re less likely to abandon their booking for an OTA, which can siphon up to 20–30% in commissions on each reservation.

By adopting leading payment gateways and integrating with regional solutions, hotels boost not just conversions but also lifetime value and repeat booking rates. A higher percentage of direct bookings means richer guest data, fewer commissions paid, and greater brand control.

Key Payment Solutions to Implement Now

Global Cards: Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, and UnionPay.
Local Wallets:e.g. Apple Pay/Google Pay in the West; PhonePe, Paytm in India; Alipay or WeChat Pay in China;
Direct Bank Transfers:For European guests, SEPA transfers are valued.
Buy Now, Pay Later: Services like Affirm/Afterpay can increase average booking value and attract budget-conscious travelers.
Cryptocurrency: Some forward-thinking properties are even experimenting with bitcoin or other digital assets.

Payments, The New Battleground for Conversion and Parity

The hotel industry moves fast, so should your payment options. As digital wallets, mobile-first checkouts, and flexible financing become the norm, hotels that neglect these innovations will lose traffic to better-prepared competitors and OTAs.

By expanding your payment ecosystem, you not only future-proof your direct channel but also erase a key advantage of external partners. The result? Higher conversion rates, greater guest satisfaction, and true channel parity that keeps revenue exactly where it belongs: with you.