How to audit your hotel's inquiry form to maximise valuable requests

Wording, required fields and placement matter.

With all the constant, fast-paced changes to both paid and organic search engine optimization, and now the need to monitor your GEO (generative engine optimization), there’s no doubt your digital marketing rep is busier than ever.

Yet one often-overlooked task is arguably the most important of all. It is auditing the inquiry or “contact us” form that prospective buyers use once they've reached your site and want more information.

While all “contact us” inquiry forms are important, in the hotel business the most important of all is the form used by those planning weddings and group events as they are typically the highest revenue-generating bookings.

For that reason, there’s no better time than right now to pause for a brief moment to audit your current booking inquiry form used to request pricing, ask questions or receive details about your hotel.

In addition, I also suggest you ask two of your contacts who do not work in hotels to test your form and share their feedback. Or even better, grab them for an online meeting and watch how they navigate the form in real time.

Based on my experience, most hotels could benefit from conducting this audit.

Prior to presenting our on-site hotel group and event sales training programs, I always take a moment to check out the clients’ inquiry forms. I nearly always find opportunities to make it better. Plus, a well-designed form also makes it easier for salespeople to reply with messaging that is personalized, contextualized, and that does not feel generic or automated. Here are some suggestions and insights:-

• The inquiry form should be easy to spot without blocking key images. Be sure to check form placement on both mobile and desktop version.
• Number of mandatory fields. This one always spurs debate. Having too many required fields may increase form abandonment or bounce rates for the page. One recent client’s wedding inquiry page I visited had 22 required questions to complete, but another’s only had six, which was too few to identify the hottest prospects.

Consider wording

Is the label on the inquiry button enticing or a possible barrier? The website of one recent client had an inquiry form labeled with a “book now” button, potentially scaring off those who were still doing top-of-the-funnel searches. On the other hand, a “request proposal” label feels generic. How about “learn more” or “connect with us”.

Include the option to upload an RFP if they have one prepared. This is especially important for the “meetings inquiry” page at larger, full-service properties that host a lot of professional meetings planners.

Relabel the “comments” heading over the text box to avoid being generic, but also to encourage them to share key details that salespeople can use to respond with personalized voicemails and emails. Example: “Tell us more about the (meeting/event) you are envisioning.”

I am not a fan of the “select preferred contact method” option because if prospects select something other than “phone call,” they may feel they are essentially opting out of a call. Alternatively, responding to all “right-size” leads with a phone call is a great way to stand out in the current era of automated responses, even if you get voicemail.

Make sure the labels on all fields make sense to a non-industry person using the form. For example, a heading reading “Other destination options?” is currently used on a popular lead-capture program offered by a top digital marketing company. I feel that this could potentially be confusing to some. A better question might be “what other hotels, locations or venues are you considering?”

Avoid asking “weird” questions. For example, visitors to the wedding page of an iconic, historic, ultra-luxury hotel in Pennsylvania will find a mandatory field on their inquiry form requiring them to enter their birthday. Evidently, I am not the only person to question this, as they have added hyperlinked text that says “Why do we ask this?” Being curious, when I clicked the link no explanation was given; it just sent me to a very long privacy statement.

Doug Kennedy is president of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc

Contact him at doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com

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