Hospitality isn’t a beautiful room and good room service. It starts as soon as a potential guest reaches your website.
The problem is that most websites are only in English (and only offer payment in US dollars).
This is very off-putting to international guests who don’t speak the language. And, for those that don’t have US payment methods, it excludes them completely.
If you want to cater to your global guests, you have to make it easy for them to understand your offerings and pay for their bookings.
Let’s explore howthe top ways you can localize your website for global travellerstravelers.
Why Is It Important for Your Hotel Website to Be Globally Accessible?
To stand out in the saturated hospitality industry, you mustneed to be more accessible than your competitors.
Potential guests want to feel like it’s easy to interact with your business.
For example, your website must work in the other countries you target. If international visitors can’t even visit your site, you’re already losing customers.
Your website also needs to be multilingual and accept multiple currencies.
More than 55% of websites are in English. However, only 5% of internet users speak English as their native language.
This needs to be improved, which is problematic for businesses targeting global travellers.
76% of online shoppers prefer buying in their own language. Furthermore, 40% will not even consider booking if the site is in a foreign language.
A multilingual website improves the guest experience by making it easier for international visitors to understand what you offer.
When combined with multi-currency options, this speeds up purchases. Users can see prices in their local currency and understand the costs, reducing. This reduces hesitation during the booking process.
When you don’t offer these options, guests feel uncertain about pricing and are frustrated by language barriers.
As a result, they abandon their online bookings.
Beyond guest satisfaction, localization also improves search engine rankings. This leads to more online visitors.
Localized keywords are one thing. However, translating websites also shows Google that you cater to local needs. This improves your trust and credibility, which also helps your search rankings.
Are you wondering which nationalities to focus your localization on? Hotel business intelligence software can help. It will give you a clear idea of which nationalities visit your website and book a room in your hotel.
With this information, you can concentrate your resources on your target audience and avoid wasting. You won’t waste time and money on unnecessary localization solutions.
International Hosting for Hotel Websites
It doesn’t matter if your hotel website has the most elegant design in the world. If your international customers can’t access it, you’ll lose business.
Here are some of the best international hosting options for amazing hotel websites:
Managed WordPress Hosting Providers
Are you using WordPress to build a custom website? You’ll need a hosting solution that provides global accessibility. Here are the top two.
1. Kinsta
Kinsta is a premium managed WordPress hosting solution known for being fast, secure, and scalable. Its global data centers allow global visitors to enjoy lightning-fast load times.
Some of its top features include:
- Free Site Migrations: Easy site transfer from your existing WordPress website
- Free SSL Certificates: Good website security with an SEO boost
- Technical Support: WordPress experts to offer expert assistance
- CDN Integration: Quicker load times and improved performance
- Automatic Backups: Daily backups to prevent data loss
2. Cloudways
Cloudways is a customizable managed cloud hosting platform. It supports many content management systems (CMS), including WordPress.
It also has global data centers. This means speedy performance and excellent scalability for international hotel websites.
Some of its top features include:
- Easy Management: Straightforward control panel for easy web management
- Customizable Servers: Configure servers based on your needs
- CDN Integration: Reliable performance and reduced load times
- Free SSL Certificates: Strong security with SEO benefits
- 24/7 Support: The support team is available at all times
Website Builders with Built-In Hosting
Don’t have a development background? Try using a hotel website builder with built-in hosting. These platforms simplify the design process. They also offer good hotel website design examples to base your site.
3. Wix
Wix has plenty of features and hotel website template options, so it works for hotels of all sizes. It also has a user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop features, making. This makes it simple to create customizable websites for international audiences.
Some of its top features include:
- Wix ADI: AI-generated websites based on your preferences
- SEO Wiz: SEO tool to optimize your site for search engines
- App Market: Library of apps to extend website functionality
- Mobile Optimization: Responsive design for any device
- Wix Editor: Drag-and-drop editor for easy site creation
4. Squarespace
Squarespace is famous for its sleek, clean design and professional templates.
It’s a great choice if you’re a hotel with an eye for aesthetics. The platform offers built-in SEO tools and e-commerce features. These tools turn your website into your very own booking platform.
Some of its top features include:
- Social Media Integration: Easily connect your website to your social accounts
- Professional Template Library: A broad selection of high-quality templates
- Built-in SEO Tools: Optimize content during the design process
- E-commerce Features: Take bookings directly from your site
- 24/7 Support: Support is available at any time
5. Weebly
Weebly is a simple website builder that feels intuitive to use. It offers a good range of templates and customization options and is very well-priced. This makes it ideal for hotels that need a basic website to showcase their rooms.
Some of its top features include:
- Easy-to-Use Editor: Create a website without any technical skills
- Customizable Templates: Broad selection of editable templates
- Built-in SEO Tools: Optimize for search engines as you create
- E-commerce Features: Supports bookings from your website
- App Integrations: Add to your website with third-party apps
How to Create a Multilingual Website
Multilingual websites offer a better experience for guests who don’t speak your language.
Here are some of the best multilingual solutions to translate your website.
WordPress Plugins
1. WPML
WPML is a multilingual plugin offering many features and customization options. It handles all translation elementselements of translation from one interface.
Some of its top features include:
- Translate All Content: Translates all content, including posts, pages, menus, and custom fields
- Multilingual SEO: Optimize for local SEO in many different languages
- Language Switcher: Visitors can switch between languages easily
- Translation Management: Manage your translations in one place
2. TranslatePress
TranslatePress is exceptionally user-friendly. It offers a simple, intuitive interface but is less comprehensive than WPML. It’s a good choice for hotels that need a basic multilingual solution.
Some of its top features include:
- Language Switcher: Visitors can switch between languages as they use your website
- Customizable Translation Interface: Customize the interface to meet your needs
- In-Context Translation: Translates content on your website’s front-end
- Multilingual SEO: Optimize for search engines in different languages
Multilingual Website Solutions
3. Weglot
Weglot is a powerful tool. It offers a plugin for WordPress but also works with other CMS platforms. It integrates seamlessly with your website, and the translation process is smooth.
Some of its top features include:
- SEO Optimization: Automatically optimize translated content for search engines.
- Automatic Translation: One-click translation into many different languages
- Customizable Translation: Editable translations to make sure they’re right
- Real-time Switching: Visitors can switch between languages on the fly
4. Smartcat
Smartcat is an AI-powered translation platform known for its translation speed. Offering 10,000 words of free translation per month, it’s a cost-effective option.
Some of its top features include:
- Translation Quality Assurance: Trained by 500,000 linguists to improve accuracy
- Team Collaboration: Collaboration features for translators and project managers
- Translation Memory: Reusable translation keeps costs low
- Machine Translation: Fast, AI-powered translations
5. Transifex
Transifex offers real-time localization using AI. You can translate content already on your website or. You can also feed it new content to translate before you design your site. Its API also makes it a great addition to existing workflows.
Some of its top features include:
-
- Brand-Aligned Translations: Human-quality translations that match your brand voice
- Quality Assurance Tools: Customizable glossary, linguistics checks, and translation quality checks
- API and CIL: Seamless integrations with existing workflows
- Transifex Live: Real-time in-context website translations
Multi-Currency Options for Your Hotel Website
Make it easier for visitors to book and pay for their rooms by offering local currency options.
Here are the top three ways to take payments in different currencies.
1. WP Simple Pay
WP Simple Pay is a WordPress plugin that helps you accept payments through Stripe. You can accept payments in 35 currencies using 13 different payment methods.
Some of its top features include:
-
- Customizable Checkout: The checkout process is tailorable to match your branding
- Multiple Currencies: Prices automatically display in the local currency
- Tax Calculation: Automatically apply local taxes to transactions
- Premade Templates: Library with payment form templates
2. Currency Switcher for WordPress
Currency Switcher for WordPress is an easy-to-use plugin.
It helps you display prices in various currencies. You can choose from the manual conversion option or connect the API for real-time conversions.
Some of its top features include:
- Customizable Currency List: Choose the currencies you want in your dropdown menu
- Integration with Other Plugins: Easy to integrate with other WordPress plugins
- Automatic Conversion: API automatically converts prices in real-time
- Currency Selection: Visitors can choose their preferred currency
3. Stripe
Stripe is a popular payment gateway. It offers a wide range of features and supports multiple currencies. It’s reliable, scalable, and relatively easy to add to your website.
Some of its top features include:
- Lots of Currencies: Stripe accepts 135 different currencies
- Global Tax Compliance: Makes sure you’re compliant with international tax laws
- Customizable Checkout: Tailor your checkout process to match your hotel’s color schemes
- High security: Very secure with excellent fraud prevention
Open Your Hotel to Global Visitors
Want international guests to make faster, more confident booking decisions? Offer them localized service.
Your guests’ journey should reflect their culture and location. Offering various currency and language options is one of the most effective ways to do this.
But remember, it’s no use offering multilingual content if your guests can’t access your site.
Always make sure your website’s hosting works with the countries you’re trying to access.
Need help getting your hotel website up to scratch? Contact our expert team at Mallee Blue Media today for support.
Jeremy is co-founder & CEO at uSERP, a digital PR and SEO agency working with brands like Monday, ActiveCampaign, Hotjar, and more. He also buys and builds SaaS companies like Wordable.io and writes for publications like Entrepreneur and Search Engine Journal.
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