Online Booking Systems & What to Lookout For!
When looking for an online booking system for a Hotel, B&B, or Vacation Rentals, you will note 1000s on offer. From Hosted Solutions (also known as SaaS – Software as a Service), to stand-alone PC based, as well as those wrapped up with WordPress & Joomla Themes.
When looking for any business tool, you should first decide why you need to deploy the system, and what are the critical factors that could help you increase efficiency and improve customer experience.
This means you need to ignore the flashy, or prettified, booking systems. As with most software tools, Form and Function are inversely proportional!! Namely, the better looking the software, the more it lacks in function.
So what are the key elements you should look for when selecting an online booking system.
1. Rate Plans
An online booking system must be able to deal with multiple scenarios for any given stay. You should be able to set multiple conditional rates for a room, or a property, for any given date range. These conditional rates should include:
- Rates based on time before arrival (Early or Late Bookings)
- Occupancy Based (Number of people)
- Length-of-stay based rates (longer you stay, cheaper it is)
- Add ons (Activities, Optional Extras, etc.)
- Discounts (Voucher or Codes)
Yield Manager, or Automated Rates, are great for larger operations but if you are running a small operation, they might not be as useful as you may think. However, don’t be fooled!! Automated rates do not happen on ttheir own, as you still have to set rates, plus conditions that the system should apply to calculate the rate at any given time. It is not a magic!
2. Channel Management
These days it is impossible for any hospitality business to get away from OTAs (Online Travel Agencies or Channels) such as Booking.com, Expedia, AirBnB, Homeaway, etc.
The chances are you will have to sell via 3rd parties (portals/OTA), therefore your system should be able to manage inventory, bookings, and ideally rates by linking up to external databases and booking systems. This is very important for Hotels, B&Bs, and Vacation Rental Properties regardless of the size of the operation.
If your channel inventory and your real inventory are not synchronised, there is a high chance of overbooking and embarrassing conversations, as well as poor reviews. These could also cost dearly as most portals and booking agencies ask you to commit to finding an equivalent room for their guests at your cost.
3. Guest Management
Customer experience has become the key differentiating factor in hospitality sector. Remember your customer experience starts from when they begin their journey through your website, reservation process, and right up to the moment they leave your establishment.
This means you need to communicate effectively from the moment they make a reservation. This means, your booking system is an integral part of customer experience. Automation in the process enables you to predict requirements, anticipate, and act. From reminders for payment, to providing directions, to advice on local facilities (car rental, restaurants, parking, etc.), is all about making the holiday an enjoyable experience rather than a “Challenge Tour”.
Your booking system should be able to take care of this for you, and unburden your staff so that they can concentrate on providing service to the guests that are at the premises.
4. Payment Processing
Online booking system should be capable of handling payments. Common payment methods such as PayPal, Stripe, Authorize.net, etc., should be built in or at least be easy to integrate.
Online payments do have additional costs, so beware of commission and transaction charges. Your system should be able to integrate with your credit card company’s gateway. However, these are typcially not click-and-go as each bank has their own Gateway and API. You may also have to comply with the credit card company’s requirements such as SSL certification, refund policy, etc. Make sure you factor these costs in, or ask your vendor about the options they can offer you to reduce or mitigate some of these costs.
Additionally, the system should allow you to choose how to offer deals based on payment method. For example, non-refundable rates which payment is taken upfront, Deposit Only Rates, No Deposit Rates or No Cancellation rates that all have different payment options.
5. House Keeping
The online booking system should be able to handle room status, so that you can produce lists for housekeeping and maintenance.
This does require internal discipline, as staff need to be trained to use the system effectively, but the upside is better visibility of any potential issues with rooms, and ultimately preventing customer complaints.
6. Billing
Whilst most larger hotels have their own billing systems, most smaller B&Bs and boutique hotels do not have a dedicated accounting packages.
For smaller operations, your booking system needs to be able to produce accurate, itemised, and professional looking invoices.
For larger operations, your booking system should be able to integrate with your accounting system using their respective API. Make sure your accounting system does have an API for the booking system to connect to, but also check if there is any licensing costs. Most booking systems offer their API at no cost, but you do need to pay for it to be integrated with your accounting system.
Summary
There are many options available for hospitality businesses looking for online booking system. The key in selection process is understanding your own needs clearly, and asking the right questions. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by clever whiz-bang aesthetic design, as they do not help with customer satisfaction, nor would they make your life any easier. Focus on functionality and whether the system is right for the way you operate.
Find out the true cost and not just the headline price. Costs include website integration, payment gateway integration, management time, and reliability.
We offer a range of support services for Small and Large hotels including fully featured Web Hosting and Online Booking Systems. We also offer a fully managed services for both Web Hosting and Online Reservation Systems. Contact us to discuss your needs and see what we can do for you.