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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 > Is Your Hotel Tech Stack Holding You Back? It’s Time for an Upgrade

Is Your Hotel Tech Stack Holding You Back? It’s Time for an Upgrade

If you’re still running your hotel operations on spreadsheets, phone calls, and a patchwork of disconnected tools, it’s time for a reality check: today’s guests expect more and they expect it fast.

In 2025, hospitality is no longer just about a clean room and a smile at check-in. It’s about delivering seamless, digitally connected experiences—from the first website visit to the post-stay email. And the only way to do that consistently is with a tech stack that’s built for modern hospitality.

So, how do you know if your hotel’s technology is helping you grow or quietly holding you back?

Here’s a guide to what a future-ready hotel tech stack looks like, with tried-and-tested tools that can help you run smoother operations, boost revenue, and deliver the kind of guest experience that builds loyalty.

Your Website + Booking Engine: The Digital Storefront

Let’s start with the basics: your website is your hotel’s digital face. And if it doesn’t look good, load fast, and convert on mobile—guests won’t stick around.

A modern website isn’t just a portfolio of rooms and amenities. It’s a 24/7 sales tool that tells your story, inspires travellers, and nudges them toward booking directly. That’s where your booking engine comes in.

Recommended Tool: Simplotel

Simplotel’s Website and Booking Engine is designed to convert visitors into bookers especially on mobile, where most travellers now make decisions. It’s built with hotelier-friendly tools that don’t require you to be a tech expert, and it integrates well with PMS and channel managers so your systems actually talk to each other.

Pro Tip: Add upsell options during booking like late checkouts, breakfast add-ons, or curated experience packages. Simplotel’s engine makes that easy.

Property Management System (PMS): Your Operational Command Centre

If your front desk still relies on a whiteboard and manual ledgers, your team is doing way more work than they need to.

A good PMS helps you manage everything from reservations and housekeeping to check-ins, room allocation, and guest profiles. It keeps operations running smoothly and ensures your team spends less time on paperwork and more time with guests.

Suggested Tools: Hotelogix, eZee, StayFlexi

These cloud-based PMS solutions are user-friendly, scalable, and ideal for independent hotels or small chains. Most also come with mobile dashboards, which means you don’t have to be at the front desk to manage your hotel.

Channel Manager: Consistency Across All Platforms

Manually updating inventory on multiple OTAs (Booking.com, MakeMyTrip, Agoda, etc.) is exhausting and risky. One missed update, and you’re dealing with overbookings or price mismatches.

A channel manager automates all of this. It syncs your availability, pricing, and restrictions across all platforms in real-time.

Suggested Tools: STAAH, RateGain, AxisRooms

These tools are known for strong integrations and reliability, so your listings stay consistent everywhere and your team avoids last-minute surprises.

Payment Gateway: Simplify and Secure Transactions

Today’s guests expect seamless, contactless payments. Whether they’re booking online or settling bills at checkout, the experience should be quick, secure, and flexible.

A good payment gateway ensures you can collect payments digitally (including UPI, cards, net banking) while staying compliant with financial regulations.

Suggested Tools: Razorpay, Stripe, PayU

These Indian payment platforms are widely trusted, easy to integrate, and support features like payment links, subscriptions, and auto-settlement great for reducing payment errors and improving cash flow.

Revenue Management: Price Smarter, Not Just Higher

If your pricing strategy is based on gut feeling or competitor snooping, you’re leaving money on the table.

A revenue management system (RMS) uses real-time data like local demand, market trends, and booking pace to help you set prices dynamically. This means you can charge more when demand is high and stay competitive when it’s low.

Suggested Tools: RoomPriceGenie, GameChanger, IDeaS

These tools range from simple dashboards to advanced AI-driven pricing engines. Even a basic setup can help you spot patterns and optimize rates better than manual guesswork.

CRM & Email Marketing: Keep Guests Coming Back

Once a guest checks out, don’t let the relationship end there. A good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool lets you stay in touch with your guests through personalised emails be it offers, feedback requests, or birthday wishes.

The result? Better guest retention, repeat bookings, and higher lifetime value.

Suggested Tools: Mailchimp, Zoho, Salesforce

These platforms allow you to create automated email journeys, segment your database (e.g., couples, business travellers, long-stay guests), and run effective marketing campaigns without much effort.

POS System: Streamline F&B and In-Room Dining

If your hotel has a restaurant, café, or in-room dining service, your POS (Point of Sale) system is just as important as your PMS.

An integrated POS lets you manage orders, print kitchen tickets, track inventory, and post charges directly to a guest’s folio all in real time.

Suggested Tools: POSist, Petpooja

These are India’s most popular F&B POS systems, trusted by thousands of restaurants and hotels alike. They’re cloud-based, mobile-friendly, and built for high-volume environments.

Why It All Matters Now

The hospitality landscape is changing fast. With India becoming a hotspot for both leisure and bleisure (business + leisure) travel, guests are looking for properties that offer both comfort and convenience on their terms.

This shift means hotels need to go beyond clean rooms and room service. It’s about creating end-to-end experiences that are fast, connected, and thoughtful. And none of that is possible with outdated tech.

A modern, integrated tech stack helps you:

Boost direct bookings and reduce OTA commissions
Provide faster check-ins and smoother operations
Upsell packages and experiences that increase revenue
Stay in touch with guests and drive repeat business
Make data-backed decisions instead of flying blind