Create a sense of urgency and “fear of missing out” (FOMO) to nudge people to book faster.

People feel more compelled to buy if they believe they are about to miss out on a limited-time offer or a good deal. This type of urgency is about creating “scarcity value,” a concept that OTAs have mastered and implemented systematically on their OTA websites to stimulate purchase behavior.

One of the easiest ways to create a sense of urgency and make guests want to make quicker booking decisions is to program scarcity values into your hotel website and booking engine.

Ask your hotel booking engine provider if they can tag certain room categories with urgency and FOMO messages when inventory reaches predefined levels. Use copy that creates perceived immediacy and stimulates guests to act now:

  • Only 2 days left
  • Only available to the first 50 reservations
  • 35 people viewing this room now
  • Only 7 rooms remain for this date
  • Or, incorporate a countdown clock to an expiration date

Get More: The Surprising Psychology Behind Successful Hotel Websites