Billboard effect
The billboard effect is the extra direct bookings a hotel receives because it is listed on an online travel agency: guests find it on the OTA, then book on the hotel’s own website, by phone or by message.
Where the term comes from
It was named in a 2009 Cornell Hospitality Report by Chris Anderson, which found that hotels listed on Expedia also saw more reservations through their own channels. The listing works as a billboard as well as a sales channel.
How a hotel spots it
It is hard to measure in a single hotel. Useful signals: searches for the hotel’s own name rising while it is promoted on an OTA, direct bookings from guests who mention the OTA, and the answer to one question on the booking form or the phone, “Where did you first see us?”. The answer costs nothing to collect.
What the hotel controls is what happens when that guest arrives at its own door: whether the website answers their question, and whether a message sent at night gets a reply.
Where Wizorks fits
When a guest who found you on an OTA writes to your WhatsApp or opens the chat on your website, Sarah answers in the language they wrote in, so the booking can finish on your own channel.