Booking tunnel: optimising and reducing basket abandonment
Why talk about the reservation tunnel?
You've worked on your site, invested in beautiful photos and taken care of your rates. Yet one person in two still leaves your search engine before confirming their room. That moment when the visitor leaves is called the’shopping cart abandonment. In the hotel industry, it can account for up to 80 % of attempted bookings: eight out of ten travellers leave without leaving their card number. mylighthouse.com
The good news? A clear, fast and reassuring booking tunnel can make all the difference. This article gives you a step-by-step guide to transforming your tunnel reservation on a smooth path, reduce abandonment and, above all, increase your direct sales. We'll look at :
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what's really at stake for your income,
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classic friction points,
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good practice ,
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inspiring examples,
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the way in which the booking engine & channel manager from’Hotel Web Design simplifies everything.
Understanding the booking tunnel from A to Z
Le tunnel reservation refers to the stages between clicking on “Book” and the “Thank you for your confidence” message. They generally include :
- Select dates and number of passengers
- Choice of room or offer
- Adding options (breakfast, cot)
- Basket summary
- Contact details + payment form
- Confirmation page
Each poorly designed step discourages the prospect; a useless field, a pricing surprise, or a page that takes more than three seconds to load, and they leave. According to Think with Google, Internet users give up twice as much when the page exceeds three seconds. thinkwithgoogle.com
Hotel Web Design is the web agency 100% dedicated to the hotel industryWe can help you with all aspects of digital communication for your accommodation: booking websites, natural referencing specialising in the hotel industry, Google Ads referencing and Google Hotel Ads, social networking campaigns, graphic charters and logos for hotels.
Make an appointment today for free advice on how to optimise the digital management of your accommodation.
The main causes of shopping basket abandonment
| Problem | Direct impact | Visible warning signal |
|---|---|---|
| Form too long | Fatigue, sudden departure | High exit rate at the «Customer details» stage» |
| Hidden charges revealed late | Loss of confidence | Where is this tax added?“ message in the chat window |
| Slow loading time | Impatience on mobile | Pages >3 s in your Analytics tool |
| Obligation to create an account | Frustration | Bounce peaks after the password field |
| Complicated mobile navigation | Missed clicks, zooms | Fingers tapping without success |
| Lack of means of payment | Final block | Can I pay with PayPal?“ |
Current best practice for a tunnel that converts
Get straight to the point
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Progress bar visible: “Step 2/4”.
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Basket summary glued to the side: total price always in view.
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Single field “Full name” instead of two first name/last name fields.
No more surprises
Display the final price on the first page, including taxes and fees. Google is reinforcing this requirement; platforms that hide costs are penalised or even suspended. en.roiback.com
Make the mobile king
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Large, well-spaced buttons, strong contrast.
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Automatic numeric keypad for card number.
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Apple Pay / Google Pay: one click and you're paid.
Give travellers control
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Flexible calendar allowing you to move dates backwards or forwards without starting from the beginning.
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Modify my selection« link still available.
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Save and resume later“ option sent by e-mail.
Reassure at every step
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Pictograms: “Secure payment” padlock, “Data protected” shield.
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Very short customer reviews (“Perfect, quick and easy - Claire, August ”).
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Reservable free of charge up to 48 hours before arrival“ badge.
The essential functions of a modern engine
| Function | Concrete effect on basket abandonment |
|---|---|
| Self-filling (name, e-mail address) | Gains 20 s; reduces fatigue |
| Dynamic rates | Prevents price differences when topping up |
| Real-time e-mail reminders | Recovers up to 30 % from dropouts revinate.com |
| Multi-device basket backup | Start on mobile, pay on PC |
| Multi-currency display | Fewer mental conversions → |
Why choose Hotel Web Design?
The Hotel Web Design incorporates these key points:
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Form in up to three screens
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Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal option
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Automatic restart after 30 minutes with a direct link to the reservation left open
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Guaranteed rate blocked for five minutes to prevent rising during input
Concrete examples of winning optimisation
Example 1: Hôtel Rivage & Spa, 35 rooms
Problem 72 % abandonment rate, especially on mobile.
Actions : no need to create an account, add Apple Pay, fixed basket summary.
Results drop-out down to 52 % in three months, gain of 30 direct bookings per month.
Example 2: “Les Vignes” guest house”
Problem cleaning costs added on last page.
Actions : costs integrated into the search, “No hidden costs” badge.
Results : “tariff transparency” review in 40 % of new reviews, Google rating +0,2★.
These improvements have been deployed via the reservation tunnel provided by Hotel Web Design.
Step-by-step instructions for optimising your tunnel (without numbering)
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Measure the starting point
Open Google Analytics → Multichannel funnels and locate the stage with the highest exit rate. -
Map your fields
Check which fields are really compulsory; merge or delete them if possible. -
Simplify design
Remove heavy background images and choose a single accent tone (e.g. red buttons). -
Accelerate your speed
Convert your images to WebP and activate server compression. -
Add an express payment method
Offer PayPal or a mobile wallet to reduce friction. -
Schedule reminders
Send an e-mail 30 minutes after the abandonment, then a second reminder 24 hours later. -
Test before the big day
Make a complete reservation on three devices and two browsers; also have a «non-tech» friend try it out. -
Track results for 30 days
Compare the new conversion rate and adjust just one element at a time.
The trends not to be missed
Payment in instalments
Travellers want to “book now, pay later”. Offering payment in two or three instalments provides reassurance without complicating the tunnel.
Integrated contextual chat
A tooltip lets you ask a question without leaving the tunnel. 22 % of customers cite an overly complicated process as the reason for abandoning the sale; a short exchange can save the sale. mylighthouse.com
Automatic customisation
If the customer is travelling with a child (indicated in the “Children's age” field), offer an optional baby kit before the payment page.
Ultra-short explanatory video
A 15-second clip shows the “click, fill in, validate” gesture: less doubt, more action.
Hotel Web Design is a Google partner with the Google Hotelsincluding our customers enjoy every day: information about your accommodation, availability and prices is sent continuously to the search engine, which displays booking links free from Google search, directly to your booking page. These free links represent around 15% of additional commission-free bookings for our customers in 2022! Read our article on free booking links from Google
How Hotel Web Design makes every trend easier
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Klarna instalments available in the back office.
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Live chat linked to WhatsApp Business, activated in one click.
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Multi-offer engine which automatically displays family rooms if the user adds a child.
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Video module insertable without encoding: you drag in your MP4, the system compresses it and serves up the best quality.
Discover also their page “Efficient hotel website”See how the overall design supports the tunnel. You can also read the post “Why every hotel needs to modernise its booking engine”to find out more.
Basket abandonment express checklist
Final price displayed on the first page
Form ≤ 3 steps
Express payment (Apple Pay / Google Pay)
Compressed photos < 200 Kb
Visible progress bar
Fixed basket summary
Automated e-mail + SMS follow-up
Clear thank-you page with "Back to home" button
Booking / reservation website
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Direct booking for your accommodation
- Bespoke booking/conversion site delivered turnkey, with training on the administration interface on delivery
- Adapted logo and graphic charter. Possibility of using your existing elements
- Specific referencing for holiday lets
- Integration of reservations module internal
- or integration of an external booking engine (Reservit, D-EDGE, MisterbookingRoomcloud, etc)
- Integration of specific HTML elements (review portals, customer reviews, weather, press, pop-ups, direct chat, etc.)
- Secure SSL / HTTPS
- Multilingual website & booking engine
- Simple, intuitive user interface
- High-availability hosting and domain name
- Delivery usually within 30 days
Conclusion: your tunnel, your hidden treasure
Optimising tunnel reservation is one of the most profitable actions for a hotelier. By streamlining the visit, eliminating surprises and reassuring guests at every click, you can turn hesitant visitors into enthusiastic guests.
The booking engine & channel manager from Hotel Web Design already includes all the recommended features: mobile-first design, record speed, express payment, automatic reminders and clear statistics. The result: fewer abandonments, more direct bookings, and a smile shared between you and your customers.
Ready to boost your sales? Contact us today and treat yourself to a tunnel that works for you, day and night.
