by Riana Frahm

We recently reviewed websites for all Reservation Nexus users and sadly have found that some inns have removed their "Check Availability / Make Reservation" buttons.

Placing an attractive large availability button on your homepage can be the difference between thousands of dollars each year in revenue. It's one of the secrets to success that we have seen for six years now. A text link is a terrible idea. A small button that blends in at the top of your homepage will cost you a lot of reservations. Unfortunately, many web design companies, even big names like Acorn Internet and InsideOut Solutions still struggle with this concept. It's easy to get caught up in aesthetics but it's more important to provide clear direction for guests and encourage them to make reservations online or call to make reservations. That's the ultimate goal of a website, right?

A large button is many times more effective than a text link.

Over the last six years we've observed that a large button in the middle of the homepage and room pages is the most effective manner of capturing more reservations online. It's many times more effective than using links or buttons at the top or sides of the webpage. Over time, as web hosts are switched and new websites are created these buttons get left out of the design process. Our goal here today is to help you get your buttons back on your website and to understand the importanace of having a "Check Availability / Make Reservation" button.

If you use Google Analytics or any other type of third party tracking software, look at your bounce rate. The bounce rate tells you the number of people who visited your website briefly and then went elsewhere. Having a significant bounce rate is usually bad since you want people to stay on your web site and make a reservation. The homepage for your business needs to encourage and provide clear instructions for people to go and book with you.

A button is designed to catch the interest of visitors to your website. Think about the last time you spent forever on a website trying to figure out which tab or link would get you where you need and ended up just using the search bar to get to what you wanted faster?

See for yourself in the following example:

Where would you click on the page? Not sure...		Where would you click on the page? The button!

When a new guest visits your website...

Here is what happens when a new guest visits a new website. Without clear directions they begin clicking on the first link in the menu bar. Less than half of your guests will click on the second menu link from your home page. What does this mean? You bought a website so that you could capture guests from the start and in a few seconds the guest will decide whether to stay on your site or not. Placing a button on your website encourages guests to at least click on the "Check Availability / Make Reservation" button before potentially leaving. What's great about Reservation Nexus is that once a guest clicks on your button they will see all of your room pictures, descriptions, rates and room availability. Even more so, the guest can easily engage in the booking process.

Reservation Nexus Return on Investment guarantees promise to capture you more reservations only as long as a "Check Availability / Make Reservation" button can be clearly seen on the home page.

For these reasons Reservation Nexus ROI guarantees can only protect you if you have a large button or a Reservation Nexus approved button on your website, preferably on the center of your home page.

Samples of some approved Reservation Nexus

If you need any help or want to inquire to see if your custom reservation button qualifies for our return on investment guarantees, please contact your Red Carpet Professional.