Conversion-First Design: What Every Hotel Website Must Fix in 2025
Intro
In today's highly competitive hospitality market, a hotel's website is far more than a digital brochure. It is a key sales tool, brand ambassador, and often the first impression a guest has of your property.
This article covers common web design and content mistakes and offers practical solutions to improve conversions of your website and boost your online presence in 2025 and beyond.
Technical Foundations: Speed, Mobile, and Security
Ensure Fast Loading Time
Studies show that websites loading longer than three seconds experience significantly higher bounce rates. Many hotel sites still use large, uncompressed images or outdated booking engines that slow them down. Compressing images using modern formats like WebP and implementing lazy loading can speed up your site and improve guest retention.
Ensure Fast Loading Time— Source: Exely
Optimize for Mobile Devices
Over two-thirds of bookings in Asia come from mobile devices. Websites that are not fully responsive or hard to navigate on small screens lose potential revenue. That's why mobile-first design, with thumb-friendly buttons and simple booking steps, is extremely important. For example, some hotel groups saw nearly 20% more mobile bookings after making navigation easier to use.
Optimize for Mobile Devices— Source: Exely
Secure Your Site with Certificates
Security warnings scare off potential guests. Still, many hotel websites in CIS countries don't have proper SSL/TLS certificates. By automating certificate renewals and ensuring all third-party widgets use secure protocols, hotels can prevent browser alerts and build trust with visitors.
Secure Your Site with Certificates — Source: Exely
User Experience: Navigation, Booking Engine, and Scarcity Signals
Create Clear, Intuitive Navigation
Confusing menus make visitors give up. Research shows many hotel websites bury crucial information like room rates under multiple clicks. Using sticky menus with persistent 'Room Rates' and 'Special Offers' tabs helps guests find what they need fast and without hassle.
Integrate the Booking Engine
Booking engines that redirect guests to external pages or look different from the main site lead to lost bookings. Embedded booking widgets showing real-time availability and matching the website's style make the process smoother. For example, some hotels managed to increase booking by more than 30% after investing in a booking engine.
Use Genuine Scarcity Signals
Messages like 'Only 1 room left!' when plenty of rooms are available hurt trust. Synchronizing scarcity cues with PMS data makes urgency credible and encourages bookings without pushing guests away.
Content Strategy: Localization and Visuals
Localizate for Markets
Many travelers want to see prices in their local currency and read content in their local language. Offering geolocated content that switches currency and provides payment info based on where guests come from significantly improves user experience and boosts conversion rates.
Leverage High-Quality Visuals
Professional photos matter. According to the study, hotels that show more than 20 high-quality photos per room see up to 136% more bookings. Pictures help guests imagine their stay and often make them willing to pay more. Adding video tours and virtual walkthroughs further immerses visitors and deepens their interest.
How to Make Your Hotel Website Special
Even with a fast and easy-to-use website, standing out in crowded markets requires creativity. Here's how to make your property different.
Create Location-Specific Guides
Build free practical guides that solve guest pain points.
City hotels: Offer downloadable PDFs like '5 Hidden Cafés Locals Love' or 'Weekend Walking Tour Map.'
Beach resorts: Share guides on snorkeling spots, sunset views, or family activitie.
Example: A hotel in Baku increased bookings by 18% after adding a '24 Hours in Baku' guide with metro tips and restaurant highlights.
Highlight What Makes You Different
Most hotel websites use the same words like 'luxurious' and 'excellent service.' Instead, highlight what makes your hotel special.
Heritage properties: Share the building's history in a video.
Eco-resorts: Show certifications like Earth Check or Green Key and explain how guests support local communities.
Boutique hotels: Introduce staff, for example, with a 'Meet Our Chef' activity
Leverage Local Partnerships
Guests often book tours through others that you can offer yourself. Work with local businesses and share special deals.
Mountain hotels: Promote private hiking guides with lunch packs.
City hotels: Partner with museums for skip-the-line tickets.
Resorts: Offer discounted spa packages combined with nearby restaurants.
Conclusion
Improving your website's technical performance matters, but true success comes from creativity. Unique content, personalized experiences, and genuine local partnerships turn your site into more than a booking tool. They help you engage guests, build excitement, and earn loyalty. Focus on these elements to make your hotel stand out and attract more bookings.
At Exely, we specialize in creating hotel websites that combine effective conversion strategies with memorable branding. Whether you choose a template site or custom development, we make sure your website captures the unique spirit of your property.
Anna Belash
Chief Marketing Officer
Exely
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hospitality Net
8 hours ago
- Hospitality Net
Amadeus and UN Tourism report provides comprehensive look at Asia Pacific travel market
Amadeus, a leading provider of travel technology solutions, and UN Tourism, have released a new report with comprehensive data on travel in Asia Pacific. The Market Insights report – Asia & subregions offers in-depth insights into passenger traffic, hospitality market indicators, top-performing destinations, and new routes in the Asia Pacific region. The report presents a detailed analysis of passenger traffic and capacity trends from March 2023 to February 2025 and provides a forecast extending to August 2025. Notable growth rates include a 9.3% increase in air passenger volume and scheduled seats for Asia and the Pacific, derived from Amadeus Navigator360™ data. Market level hotel occupancy rates, average daily rates (ADR), and revenue per available room (RevPAR) across various regions are also detailed in the report. Top-performing destinations in terms of bookings and searches are explored, highlighting significant year-over-year growth for destinations including China, Macao, and Mongolia. Finally, the report details the introduction of new air routes in the region, emphasizing the potential for unlocking new market opportunities. Paul Wilson, Vice President of Hospitality, Asia Pacific, Amadeus says, 'This new report serves as a valuable resource for stakeholders in the travel and hospitality industry. It offers actionable insights and data-driven strategies to navigate the dynamic market landscape. By using detailed market insights, destination management organizations and hotels can enhance growth opportunities, improve customer experiences, and optimize their operations in the Asia-Pacific region.' 'At UN Tourism, we are committed to strengthening the capacity of our members to access relevant and reliable market intelligence that enable better tourism management and planning. That is why we are pleased to collaborate once again with Amadeus, one of our valuable Affiliate Members. Asia and the Pacific is a hugely dynamic and innovative region. In 2024, the region welcomed 316 million international tourist arrivals, 33% more than in 2023, making it the second most visited destination in the world, after Europe. 'I trust this report and its insights will contribute to a better understanding of the market dynamics of the APAC region and inform more effective decision-making by both the tourism public and private sectors,' says Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General, UN Tourism. You can download the full report here. About the data: All data in this report comes from Amadeus Travel Intelligence. The data was extracted from Amadeus Navigator360™ on March 16, 2025. Navigator360™ is the most comprehensive collection of hotel, air and sociodemographic travel data available today, empowering businesses to identify evolving travel trends. View source
Hospitality Net
17 hours ago
- Hospitality Net
Guest Experience: 10 Do's and Don'ts for a Great Guest Experience Strategy
If there's one takeaway for 2025, it's this: Guest experience isn't a department – it's a mindset. To deliver exceptional moments, guest satisfaction must sit at the core of every decision, across every department. From front desk to finance, marketing to maintenance – every action should be viewed through the lens of its impact on the guest. Want real transformation? Make guest satisfaction more than a KPI – make it a culture. If guest experience doesn't come up in every leadership meeting, you're missing the point. It's not about chasing trends or mimicking your compset. Memorable experiences are built through emotional connection, authenticity, and a deep understanding of your guests' evolving needs. Guests want more than a bed – they want a story, a feeling, a sense of belonging. When you design moments that matter, you don't just earn loyalty – you create advocates. Here are 10 guiding principles 'Do's and Don'ts' for a guest experience strategy that actually delivers: Do's to Deliver Great Guest Experiences: ✅ DO Treat guest satisfaction as a core metric. Every time you implement a new initiative (i.e. digital dining, upselling, automated check-in) don't just measure revenue or conversion. Ask: Did this enhance the guest experience? Did we move the satisfaction needle? ✅ Make guest intelligence relevant to every team. From housekeeping to F&B, tailor insights to be digestible and actionable. Empower teams to act on what they learn, not just observe from a distance. ✅ Push your vendors to be partners, not just providers. Ask them where guest intelligence is heading and how AI will shape experience. Choose partners who guide and evolve with you, not just those who tick a box. ✅ Stay plugged into product roadmaps and industry webinars. Hospitality tech moves fast. Tomorrow's winning experiences are being built today. Stay informed, curious, and engaged - it's not just sales fluff, it's your edge. ✅ Use AI for review responses, but keep it human. AI can support scale and consistency, but your brand voice still matters. Train it to reflect your tone. Tech should elevate your authenticity, not dilute it. ✅ Hire and train for emotional intelligence. Guests remember how you made them feel. EQ-driven teams read cues, respond with empathy, and create moments that stick. That's the secret sauce. ✅ Create local, brand-authentic experiences. From a curated neighborhood guide to a scent inspired by the region, guests crave stories, not sameness. These emotional touches forge deeper connections. ✅ Monitor your compset, but think beyond it. Benchmarking is important, but inspiration lives everywhere – retail, wellness, entertainment. The best ideas often come from outside hospitality. ✅ Build a communication strategy for the entire guest journey. Use email, SMS, WhatsApp, chat AI, and in-room tech to support – not interrupt. Be proactive, seamless, and human. Anticipate needs. Build trust. ✅ Make space for magic, surprise, and delight. A handwritten note. A Spotify playlist. Remembering their favorite drink. These moments create stories guests tell long after checkout. That's real hospitality. Don'ts – What to Avoid in Guest Experience:
Hospitality Net
17 hours ago
- Hospitality Net
Uncertainty Abounds: HVS Takeaways from NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum 2025
With contributions from Kannan Sankaran, Patricia Shih, Neil Flavin, Alice Sherman, and Cole Masler. The start of June always brings the industry together in New York City, and we enjoyed our time at the NYU International Hospitality Investment Forum this year. It was great to see many of you there and share our recent experiences in the industry. The conference was preceded by our webinar that provided an update of our forecast and views from HVS President – Americas, Rod Clough. You can view the webinar here. The conference brought forward a noticeable mix of contrasting viewpoints as to the state and near-term future of the industry. Some attendees were convinced that transaction activity will pick up in the next three to six months as we transition to a more balanced seller/buyer dynamic. Others expected transaction activity in major markets to be down for the duration of 2025, citing the recently instituted federal tariffs and government job cuts that have created some uncertainty in the levels of both domestic and international travel. They see these as factors that are causing capital to stay on the sidelines for the time being. Whether more positive or negative in their near-term future view, investor sentiment remained cautious in both camps. Luxury and lifestyle segments continue to outperform, and a stronger focus on acquisitions over development has taken hold. There appears to be a disconnect between media reports of low consumer confidence and the 2025 travel trends observed in several key markets. Industry participants are watching the summer travel season to see if the positive trend continues in these markets (or reverses the declines in others). These stakeholders are also keeping a close eye on inflation and unemployment levels, the two key factors that could affect discretionary spending. Group business has become a big driver of demand in the absence of the typical leisure and commercial sources. As a result, RevPAR is likely to stay stagnant or decline in many markets, as this supplemental group demand is typically lower rated than the leisure- or commercial-transient demand that is usually present. Operators appear to be showing more concern, as revenues, particularly from the leisure segment, have slowed this year. Hotel owners and operators are prioritizing operational efficiency over aggressive expansion, with technology and labor strategy emerging as key focus areas amid persistent cost pressures. These pressures include continued high labor costs (management and hourly), elevated insurance costs, brand-mandated PIP renovations, and deferred maintenance. While owners and operators are taking internal measures to control their GOP percentages, they are having to implement additional strategies to lessen the impact of increased insurance costs and taxes on EBITDA. In addition to the higher operating costs across the board, owners are feeling unsettled regarding the uncontrollable expenses. The cost of supplies is anticipated to be affected at some level by tariffs and potential trade deals. Development deals are generally more paused than outright canceled. Key money provided by brands has affected developer decisions, though many brands have elected not to engage in a bidding war, instead standing firm on their long-term value proposition. Representatives for all brands reported that they are extremely busy and appear optimistic; however, privately, they revealed that they are seeing a slowdown, albeit small, and deal closings in multiple segments have slowed due to owner hesitancy resulting from the economic conditions. Unless a project is located in a high-demand, impactful market, some owners are taking a 'wait and see' approach. Overall, the sentiment and outlook were generally neutral, with optimism from some balanced by caution from others. "Uncertainty" was the word that was used most often. There is currently a lot of macroeconomic-related noise. The prevalent tone was 'let's wait a few months,' both to gain some clarity once the tariff situation plays out and to see the final version of the One Big Beautiful Bill that may be passed by the U.S. Senate. Reach out to any of us to learn more. We are happy to do a deeper dive on our experiences and views on the current state of the industry. Let's connect! — Source: HVS About HVS HVS, the world's leading consulting and services organization focused on the hotel, mixed-use, shared ownership, gaming, and leisure industries, was established in 1980. The company performs 4,500+ assignments each year for hotel and real estate owners, operators, investors, banks and developers worldwide. HVS principals are regarded as the leading experts in their respective regions of the globe. Through a network of some 60 offices and more than 300 professionals, HVS provides an unparalleled range of complementary services for the hospitality industry. View source
