More direct bookings for your holiday park
Tour operators are valuable. They provide reach, attract new guests and increase visibility when people are actively searching for a holiday. The key is to use them strategically without becoming entirely dependent on them.
The best outcome? A guest finds your holiday park through a tour operator, then searches for your brand and books directly. And if their first booking does come through a tour operator, we help you build a direct relationship with that guest afterwards.
Use the reach of others to strengthen your own brand
- Tour operators increase your visibility
- Guests find your holiday park
- Your own website converts visitors into direct bookings
- You collect valuable guest data directly
- You build relationships that encourage repeat bookings
- The next reservation comes directly to you
Tour operators are not the enemy of direct bookings
Booking.com, Airbnb, Vipio, Expedia, HeerlijkeHuisjes and other tour operators have one major advantage: guests are already actively searching for accommodation on their platforms.
Found via a tour operator, booked via your own website
Many guests use large platforms as a search engine. That creates opportunities. As soon as your park stands out, you need to make sure the guest remembers your brand and can easily continue searching directly.
The guest starts searching
Through a tour operator, the guest compares destinations, accommodations and prices.
Your park stands out
Images, reviews, positioning and your offering ensure that your holiday park is remembered.
The guest searches for your brand
The guest visits your website directly to view more information, conditions and prices.
The booking is direct
The guest books directly with the park, and the relationship, guest data and future communication remain with you.
Give guests a reason to book directly
Once a guest visits your own website, it should be immediately clear why booking directly makes sense.
Discounts aren't the only way to achieve this. Better booking conditions, flexibility, additional benefits, loyalty rewards and trust can all encourage guests to book through your own website.
Reflect distribution costs in your channel pricing where possible
Where commercial agreements and conditions allow, rates offered through a tour operator can be higher than direct rates. This allows part of the distribution costs to be reflected in the price paid through that channel.
This means the park doesn't automatically have to absorb the full commission from the same net revenue, while direct booking remains attractive to guests.
Bookings with the same revenue don't always deliver the same return
A €1,000 direct booking and a €1,000 booking through an external sales channel are not financially equivalent.
Commission, payment processing, promotions and other distribution costs affect how much revenue you actually retain. That's why we focus on net returns per sales channel, rather than just revenue and occupancy.
- Revenue per sales channel
- Commission and distribution costs
- Net revenue per reservation
- Booking pace and occupancy
- Average booking value
- Share of direct bookings
- Share of repeat bookings
Pricing strategy goes beyond setting a nightly rate
The right price depends on demand, occupancy, booking pace, competition and the sales channel through which the reservation is made.
Keep booking through your own website attractive
Booking directly should remain an attractive option for guests. That's why we consider pricing, booking conditions, loyalty benefits and the overall offer presented on your own website.
Use each channel with a clear purpose
One channel may be particularly effective at attracting international guests, while another performs better for last-minute demand or a specific audience. We continually assess where additional reach delivers real value.
An attractive website isn't necessarily an effective sales channel
When a guest visits your website directly after finding your park through a tour operator, you have one important opportunity to secure the booking yourself.
Your branding, availability, pricing, presentation, trust and booking process all need to work together.
- Clear positioning of your holiday park
- High-quality photography and accommodation presentation
- Availability clearly displayed
- Clear and transparent pricing
- A straightforward mobile booking process
- Positive reviews and trust signals
- A clear benefit for guests who book directly
Guest booked through a tour operator? Build a direct relationship from there
A first booking through a tour operator isn't necessarily a problem. The missed opportunity comes when you have to pay that channel to acquire the same guest again for their next stay.
That's why we develop processes that help holiday parks build direct relationships with guests during and after their first stay. This way, a booking through an external channel can become part of your own guest database.
- Collect guest contact details directly
- Communicate directly before arrival
- Request reviews after the stay
- Include guests in your loyalty programme
- Encourage guests to book their next stay directly
Stay in direct contact with guests, even when they book through a third party
For reservations made through platforms such as Booking.com, Booking Experts often receives only a masked email address. As a result, initial communication remains within the platform.
That's why Meer Leisure has developed a module that allows guests to provide additional contact details before arrival through a page designed in the holiday park's own branding.
- Guests automatically receive an invitation
- Page fully customised to match the holiday park's branding
- Email address, with optional mobile number and vehicle registration
- Marketing consent is only recorded when guests explicitly give it
- Details are processed directly in Booking Experts
- No manual data entry required by reception staff
The first booking brings in a guest. The next should come directly.
Tour operators are effective at attracting new guests. The loyalty programme helps you bring those same guests back directly for their next stay.
Meer Leisure connects guest data and booking history with targeted loyalty benefits. This allows you to automatically reward guests based on their relationship with your holiday park.
- Unique discount codes for each guest
- Rewards based on the number of previous stays
- Personalised offers
- Rewards towards future bookings
- Targeted communication with returning guests
- Make booking directly more attractive
A satisfied guest can help secure your next direct booking
Reviews are more than just feedback. They also influence how much trust potential guests have when they visit your holiday park's website directly.
Once you have the guest's correct email address, Meer Leisure can help your park request reviews directly. This means the relationship no longer remains entirely within the platform where the first booking was made.
Turn reviews into concrete actions
- Request reviews directly from your guests
- Make use of positive guest experiences
- Identify negative feedback early
- Automatically organise guest feedback
- Use review data to further improve the guest experience
After booking, guests should increasingly connect with your holiday park
A tour operator can bring in the first booking. From that point onwards, you want to build a direct relationship with the guest.
That starts with collecting your own guest contact details and continues throughout the entire guest journey. Before arrival, during the stay and after departure, your own brand should take centre stage. This helps build trust, strengthen your guest database and increase the chances of another direct booking.
Look beyond the percentage of direct bookings
More direct bookings are valuable, but the ultimate goal is higher net returns and stronger direct relationships with guests.
Turn tour operator reach into stronger direct sales
Increasing direct bookings isn't a matter of switching on a single feature. Pricing strategy, website, distribution, guest data, communication, reviews and loyalty need to work together as part of one commercial strategy.
Meer Leisure helps holiday parks set up this entire process professionally and continually optimise it on a daily basis.
- Revenue management and pricing strategy
- Strategic use of tour operators
- Booking Experts and software optimisation
- Direct booking optimisation
- Online check-in and guest data
- Guest communication
- Loyalty Programme
- Review Studio
- Data and commercial analysis
Common questions about increasing direct bookings
The goal isn't to eliminate third-party sales channels. It's about finding the right balance between reach, direct guest relationships and net returns.
Below, we answer the questions we most frequently receive from holiday parks on this subject.
Should I stop using tour operators to increase direct bookings?
No. Tour operators can play an important role in your marketing strategy. They provide visibility and introduce new guests to your holiday park. The main goal is to avoid becoming entirely dependent on third-party sales channels.
Why are direct bookings more financially attractive?
With a direct booking, you don't pay commission to an external sales channel. This means your holiday park can retain a larger share of the revenue at the same selling price. However, you also need to account for your own marketing and sales costs.
Can my own website offer lower prices than a tour operator?
That depends on the commercial agreements and conditions of the relevant sales channel. Where permitted, a holiday park can choose to offer more attractive direct rates or additional benefits for guests who book directly. Meer Leisure considers both the applicable conditions and the net returns.
How can you encourage guests who find you through a tour operator to book directly?
Your holiday park needs to stand out, be easy to find and present a compelling offer on its own website. This includes strong branding, high-quality photography, clear pricing, a straightforward booking process and benefits for guests who book directly.
What happens when a guest books through a tour operator anyway?
We aim to turn that first booking into the start of a direct guest relationship. Through guest communication, the Online Check-in module, reviews and the loyalty programme, your holiday park can build direct contact with the guest afterwards.
How can you obtain a guest's actual email address?
Meer Leisure has developed an Online Check-in module for this purpose. Before arrival, guests receive an invitation to provide additional contact details through a page designed in the holiday park's own branding. Their email address and any other details provided are processed directly in Booking Experts.
How does a loyalty programme help increase direct bookings?
A loyalty programme allows you to give previous guests a personal reason to book directly again. This could include unique discount codes, benefits based on previous stays or rewards towards future bookings. That way, you don't have to pay a tour operator to acquire the same guest again.
Are more direct bookings always better?
Not necessarily. A booking through an external channel can be highly valuable when it reaches new audiences or generates additional occupancy. That's why Meer Leisure considers the overall result: revenue, distribution costs, reach, occupancy and the likelihood of future direct bookings.
How does Meer Leisure help increase the share of direct bookings?
Meer Leisure combines revenue management, pricing strategy, tour operator distribution, Booking Experts optimisation, guest communication, Online Check-in, reviews, loyalty and data analysis. This allows us to focus on more than the first reservation, taking into account the total value of a guest across multiple stays.
How many more bookings could you generate directly?
We analyse your current sales channel mix, pricing, website, guest data and repeat bookings. This helps identify where you're missing out on direct revenue and which opportunities could be relatively straightforward to pursue.
What we look at
- Current share of direct and third-party bookings
- Price differences across sales channels
- Conversion rate of your own website
- Available guest data
- Repeat bookings and loyalty
- Net returns per reservation