By using the reporting data recorded with our Intell-a-Keeper (IAK) Booking Tracking system, we are able to provide a synopsis of exactly what referrals are converting into “Heads-in-Beds” Reservations!
We have broken these booking sources down into 7 categories and compared them to 2007. We chose 2007 because in 2007 booking statistics did not include Google Places Business Listings. IE: “The 7 Pack” that is displayed on organic searches, shown beside the Map in www.google.com.
Managing your Google Places is one of the MOST IMPORTANT THINGS you can do today to BE SEEN and increase your actual bookings (not just traffic) from Google!
Need more information on Google Places Business Listings?
Use our Online Interactive Guide (see links below) to walk you through step by step by first Claiming and Improving this placement.
Note: You should be updating your Google Places Business Listing Account at least once a month. So don’t just “Claim It” and forget it!
Google Places Online Interactive Guide
How to Claim: https://acorn-is.com/education-lbl-101.html
How to Improve: https://acorn-is.com/education-lbl-102.html
Prefer to Attend a Webinar to learn about Google Places Business Listings?
Click to Register: https://acorn-is.com/webinar/301
Remember, this is actual Booking Data. NOT Traffic statistics. Google Analytics provides you Traffic statistics but CANNOT tell you where every booking referral is coming from. That’s why we created Intell-a-Keeper. It tracks your booking referral sources for your online bookings, phone bookings and E-Mail bookings and rolls it up into an easy to read report that tells you each place a guest found you ONCE THEY BOOK A ROOM!
Want to Learn more about Intell-a-Keeper?
Watch the Educational Video at: https://acorn-is.com/ffa/ffa01
Remember, Intell-a-Keeper IS NOT a replacement for Google Analytics, it’s an add-on service to provide you information about your bookings that you simply cannot get from Google Analytics.
Notice that only 2 areas increased in number of bookings in the past 3 years. The first being the “Search Engine” category by a whopping 21% increase and second being the “Blogs / Niches / Social Media and Review Site” category with a more modest 2% increase.
Let’s break this chart down a bit further, starting with how the 44% of Search Engine bookings actual break down.
36% of Bookings came from Google
- 42% of Google Bookings came from Google Places Listings
- 58% of Google Bookings from Google Organic Listings
IE: Listings located below the Google Places Map
3% of Bookings came from Yahoo
3% of Bookings came from Bing
2% of Bookings came from "All the Other Search Engines"
And let’s also take a look at the B&B Specific Directories. This is a category that is dropping in number of booking produced, but NOT one that can be ignored! B&B Specific directories include Paid-For Directories, such as those listed below, and also state and regional directories.
We tracked approximately 25 Directory Services and 55 State and Regional Bed and Breakfast directories that made up these percentages of bookings.
The Top 3 of the 25 Paid Directory Services that produce the most bookings fell in order as follows:
Note: The remaining 22 Paid Directory Services also provided a percentage of bookings, though these 3 stood out as the largest providers of Bed and Breakfast Directory Referrals that converted to Bookings by a wide margin.
Wrapping it Up!
I hope you find this information to be as interesting and informative as I do. What is more important than knowing where your bookings are coming from? Without such data, how can you possibly make valid marketing decisions on what sites to renew for highest Return on Investment?
I’d love to hear your feedback and comments. Just click the comment button below to share your thoughts!
Note: The sample data set used in post contains approximately 15,000 Actual Bookings YTD, as recorded in IAK from Innkeeper bookings throughout the United States.
Lisa Kolb
President and Co-Founder
Acorn Marketing
Educating our Industry One Client at a Time!
Wonderful innformation as always, I would say on a one by one basis, for us with our statz, the organic listings are way up this year, the directories have never been #1, but they are not even in my top 5 now.
I would be happy to find out if there is a worthy return on the paid business listing (ie link) in Trip Advisor this year as well. I will keep reading your blog! Thanks so much.
TripAdvisor referrals now compete with BedandBreakfast.com. However, BBonline is still the #1 directory for us.
I think an established (meaning a significant repeat following) small inn could thrive with Places, TA, and maybe 2 directories. The rest are just a rabbit hole for money better spent on a vacation.