Elements of a
Property Detail Page How They Can Make or Break Your Bookings
By Chris Johnson, ICND
P
roperty detail pages (PDPs) on your website, as well as the vacation property’s assets you provide to your channel partners, are crucial aspects for a renter’s shopping and booking experience. Potential guests scour these pages one by one seeking the perfect lodging accommodations for their vacation destination. These pages serve as the fulcrum point between completing bookings and losing visitors altogether.
Key elements need to be in place. These elements are what either convert a looker to a booker or cause frustration and send them instead to an OTA listing or a competitor’s website.
Mobile-First Design and Avoiding Tension Points on All Layouts Whether you encompass all possible features or create a lean, mean PDP machine, the focus should be on how this looks and works on both mobile and desktop devices. Pay particular attention to each must-have and feature functionality on all devices, such as calendars, photo galleries, and so on. For example: • If the calendar is small and hard to use on a mobile device because of “fat finger syndrome,” you’re creating higher exit rates (visitors leaving the site) on your PDPs (as well as anywhere else calendars are utilized). • If your filtering mechanism is clunky and makes it hard to refine the results, you are losing people. • Is your pricing structure transparently stated? Are you showing the full price versus the base rates?
• Do you have a gallery player on your website that is unique to mobile use? Do your gallery images on the PDPs open and cascade down the page to allow users to easily thumb through (literally, with their thumbs)? Sounds neat, and it’s possible too! 66
VRM Intel Magazine | Fall 2020
A Mobile-First Design Mindset should govern your creation of an effective PDP. If you make it a priority while evaluating your website, you will discover any tension points in your existing site or in one you hope to develop. Although users are not yet booking as often on mobile compared to desktop, the mobile experience is your first touchpoint as a company. Do not blow it.
The Must-Haves of a Property Detail Page (PDP) There is not one solution to the perfect PDP, and there’s plenty of opportunity to differentiate your PDPs from your competition’s. However, there are some cornerstone facets of a well-done PDP you should not ignore.
Quick Availability Search Your website should function at or above the level of an OTA website. This means the PDPs should allow for date selection, showing available dates and providing instant quotes. Calendars are one of the main tension points for website visitors using the website. Do not overlook this crucial aspect.