April 19, 2024

How to Solve the Problem of OTAs Masking Email Addresses

Are you irritated with OTAs providing an alias e-mail address when delivering a scheduling to your hotel– and then modifying them once youve managed to get the real address?

NB: This is a post from Guestline

Heres how you can occupy your system with the correct guest e-mail address– to improve the visitor journey, drive direct bookings and improve visitor interaction. OTAs argue that it provides a better visitor experience, routing correspondence through their own platforms. Nevertheless, they supply you with a temporary e-mail address (which expires after the guest stay) and they likewise have a habit of stripping the content of emails, removing hyperlinks and trimming URLs so they no longer function.

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This presents apparent obstacles– guests cant complete the digital registration procedure (when the hotel sends an interaction asking the visitor to check-in online, the visitor is not able to gain access to it) and it prevents any future correspondence direct with the guest.

Guaranteeing the right e-mail address remains in your PMS

OTAs have a routine of sending adjustments. The update logic will find that adjustment has different profile details (e-mail address) and will dutifully unlink the adoringly updated one and replace it with a glossy new, inaccurate, profile. Youve now lost the true visitor details and triggered a duplicate. Even if that adjustment didnt happen, the next time they remain, the system would not discover the existing “real” profile and would trigger a duplicate.

Hoteliers are a tenacious bunch and often find ingenious methods to circumvent the barriers positioned by their so called “partners”. Whether it be throughout the digital registration or the check-in procedure, they will obtain the guests genuine email address and diligently input this into the PMS.

What do you do when the OTA then customizes the email address?

When the “real” e-mail address has been recorded, we no longer unlink that profile. Well for that reason only use the masked e-mail address if we cant make a match to a profile that has a “real” email address.

How this benefits both you and your visitors

With a correctly populated PMS, your marketing team now has an accurate email database to which they can send advertising and news-worthy details.

By remaining in routine interaction with your guest, you can build loyalty and keep them up to date with all your latest news– not only will this improve visitor interaction and drive sales however these reservations will be made direct consequently lowering your costly OTA commissions and enhancing the relationship with your visitors.

Additionally, your database will be uncluttered, and your guest profiles will be proper and safe and secure– indicating your marketing will be more effective, you can personalise your visitors experience and you can reward their loyalty.

A win in win all round in our book!

Learn more articles from Guestline

Heres how you can occupy your system with the right guest e-mail address– to improve the guest journey, drive direct reservations and boost visitor communication. OTAs argue that it provides a much better guest experience, routing correspondence through their own platforms. They provide you with a momentary email address (which expires after the visitor stay) and they likewise have a practice of removing the content of emails, eliminating hyperlinks and cutting URLs so they no longer function.

Youve now lost the true visitor information and triggered a replicate. Well therefore only utilize the masked e-mail address if we cant make a match to a profile that has a “genuine” e-mail address.