Latest news with #conversion
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Argentine Peso/Australian Dollar
Day Low0.00130 Day High0.00130 Open:0.00130 Price movement based on the high, low and last over the given period. Previous Close YTD High YTD Low Volatility (14d) Stochastic %K (14d) Weighted Alpha 5-Day Change Full ChartTakes you to an interactive chart which cannot interact. Currency Calculator Currency FromSelect the currency that you want to convert Currency From Amount 1 CAD = 0.73134 USD The amount of currency you want to convert Get currency conversion Currency ToSelect the currency to which you want to convert Currency To Amount 1 USD = 1.36737 CAD The converted value in the second currency. TOP STORIES: Argentine Peso/Australian Dollar
BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Reading office to be transformed into block of nearly 100 flats
Offices in Reading town centre are set to be converted into nearly 100 flats after plans were Abbey Gardens office complex stands seven storeys tall along Kings Road in the town office complex, near the Abbey Ruins, is due to be converted into 92 apartments, made up of 84 one-bed and eight two-bed project has been approved through permitted development planning rules that allow the conversion of commercial buildings and offices into homes. Conversions like the Abbey Gardens project require prior approval from the local planning authority to determine living standards are acceptable for future project was approved following an assessment by Reading Borough Council planning officer Nathalie wrote: "It is evident that the vast majority of habitable rooms will benefit from suitable access to natural light, given the size of the existing clear glazed windows and the configuration of the proposed units."The Abbey Gardens residences will be car-free, with the exception of three accessible disabled parking bays, with future occupants being able to make use of 48-cycle storage plans also said future occupants would not be entitled to an on-street car parking permit. You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Ex South Molton bank could be turned into flats and retail unit
A former bank building in a Devon town could be converted into flats and a retail unit under new Georgian building in East Street in South Molton was previously used as a Lloyds branch, until it closed two years developers want to create two flats, refurbish an existing apartment and provide a retail unit on the ground have applied to North Devon Council for planning consent, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The application said the 193-year-old building was in the conservation area of the town and the developers planned to retain as many features of the existing building as Kaufman Architects on behalf of CAI Property Ltd said the building had been neglected and underused for some planning application will be considered by North Devon Council at a later date.
Hospitality Net
26-05-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
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
Travel Daily News
23-05-2025
- Business
- Travel Daily News
Mirai launches ultra-fast booking engine to boost hotel conversions
Mirai's new booking engine improves conversion by 56% for multi-room bookings, which account for 18% of total hotel sales. The new architecture loads results in under 2 seconds, even in slow connections like airports or rural areas, minimising conversion losses. MADRID – Mirai, the hotel tech specialist focused on boosting direct sales, has launched a new global booking engine designed to transform the customer experience and maximise conversion. This innovative solution delivers ultra-fast load times – munder 2 seconds even on slow connections – and achieves 56% higher conversion rates for multi-room searches. One of the biggest improvements is optimising multi-room bookings. While they represent 9% of all bookings, they account for 18% of total sales. The new engine introduces a guided navigation system, allowing users to view all selected rooms in a summary cart and easily modify previous choices. The result: a 56% higher conversion rate compared to single-room searches. Another standout feature is the engine's ultra-fast architecture, which displays results in less than two seconds – even on low-quality connections such as in airports or rural areas. This speed avoids the typical conversion loss of up to 3% per additional second of load time, ensuring a smooth, frictionless experience. The engine's design highlights the most relevant information for users, including cancellation policies, final pricing, loyalty program benefits, and currency conversion options. All this is presented in an elegant and simple design and a clear visual interface that reduces scrolling by 90% through intelligently grouped rate cards. One platform, endless booking engines. The new engine also offers key functionalities including: Automatic removal of redundant rates and rate mixing, enhancing competitiveness against OTAs. Calendar with minimum prices shown from the first step to help drive quicker decisions. Fully integrated into the hotel's domain and design – no redirects or subdomains – ensuring a seamless experience. Support for hotel chains, with searches by brand, destination, or concept. Smart filters that never return empty results and an OTA price comparison tool with rate-matching capabilities. Visualisation of unavailable rooms to create urgency and improve conversion. The engine also strengthens sales recovery in cases of unavailability, offering users alternative dates, waitlists, direct contact options, or suggestions from other properties in the group. These features help recover an additional 0.6% of bookings that would otherwise be lost. In terms of customisation, hotels can tailor everything from the number of results per row to how prices are displayed, including highlighting premium rooms or applying specific promotions. This visual and functional flexibility makes the engine a perfect fit for each property's strategy. 'The booking experience is one of the most critical moments in the guest journey. It must be fast, clear, and reliable – but also intuitive, personalised, and built to convert. Our new engine not only meets these demands – it redefines them,' says Pablo Delgado, Managing Partner & CEO America at Mirai. 'This is the result of years of observation, development, and active listening to our hotel partners. We've created a solution that truly makes a difference: more sales, a better experience, and seamless alignment with each property's identity.' Mirai's new booking engine is now available for implementation across all types of properties – from independent hotels to large chains.
