Whether your accommodation is self-catering, a hotel, a glamping site, or a unique experience stay, you’ll want to do all in your power to make your guests’ online booking experience as convenient and inventive as possible. We have put together what we think are the top 10 essential features you should have!
1. Online bookings in real-time.
One of the biggest advantages of using an online booking system is that potential guests won’t have to contact you first and wait for a response, and you won’t have to deal with these requests manually. Instead, all of the available dates will be shown immediately for your guests to view and reserve. Without your involvement, a date will automatically be blocked in real-time if there is no more availability, to prevent duplicate reservations.
2. Calendar Integration
Integration with calendar apps, such as Google Calendar, which allows users to sync their bookings with their personal calendars. This helps owners and managers keep track of their appointments and to be able to prepare housekeeping for incoming or outgoing guests
3. Gift voucher generation and guest redemption via the online booking system.
Gift vouchers are significant for business for numerous reasons. A few benefits of selling gift vouchers are:
Increased Revenue: Gift vouchers generate immediate revenue for your business, even before the products or services are redeemed. Guests purchase the vouchers upfront, providing an infusion of cash flow, and you can recognise the revenue when the vouchers are redeemed.
Guest Incentives and Promotions: Gift vouchers can be used as incentives or rewards for various marketing initiatives.
Guest Acquisition and Retention: Gift vouchers can attract new guests to your property. When people receive gift vouchers as presents, they may visit your property for the first time, giving you an opportunity to impress them with your offering. Additionally, if the recipient has a positive experience, they are more likely to become a loyal customer, increasing guest retention.
When setting up gift vouchers, they should be able to be effectively created and handled in a way that is easy to comprehend in the booking system.
4. Payment via Stripe
Stripe is becoming more and more popular since it is a safe and easy way to make payments online. Since Stripe integrates seamlessly with certain online booking systems it increases the conversion rates by taking direct bookings by securing user intent upfront. This allows owners/managers to spend less time on the admin of creating manual reservations and allow them to spend time on other areas of the business. Stripe also includes all the necessary fraud checks so your online payments are secure and guaranteed, along with secure payments Stripe is fully PCI compliant which means the technical and operational standards that businesses follow to secure and protect credit card data provided by cardholders and transmitted through card processing transactions.
5. Intelligent calendar/diary
An intelligent and simple-to-use booking or occupancy calendar gives the user a quick overview of all reservations, available capacity, and turnover for the necessary times. Your resource planning will be substantially simplified as a result.
Additionally, the layout of the calendar is very important for the booking process from the guest’s perspective. With Inn Style’s online booking system, it is easy for guests to view rates and availability, add additional rooms and extras to a reservation. Both of these features allows for the guest to have a very simple and easy booking process.
6. Online and telephone support for booking software
You usually get to a point while using software when you need assistance. Nothing is more aggravating in those situations than not being able to get the customer support you need, which was promised by the software provider. You need to be able to get in touch with the online booking system provider over the phone and online. One piece of advice: before making a decision on what online booking system to choose, the support from the customer services team is just as good as the system!
7. Automated e-mails make management easier
It takes way too long to send out routine, basic emails, such as booking confirmations, reservation reminders, cancellations, etc manually. It is a laborious job that should undoubtedly be automated by an online booking system. For instance, the guest should receive a booking confirmation as soon as the online reservation is made. This assures the guest that the reservation truly took place. However, the reservation system should also include the option for you to be notified as the accommodation owner, not only sending confirmation emails to your guests.
8. Booking management via Smartphone and Tablet
An online booking system will need to be accessed at any time and at any place. Those accommodation owners that provide outdoor activities require using a smartphone or tablet while on the go rather than spending all day at a computer. It’s important that the online booking system is hosted in the cloud so that it’s available from anywhere in the world while you are on the move
9. Integration of OTA Channels
You should make sure that the booking solution you choose has integrated with a variety of OTA platforms. TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia are a few examples. This gives your property more visibility, reservations and rates are instantly and automatically synchronized with the reservation software and availability is accurate on all booking channels.
10. Reporting Function
Good reporting allows property owners to make data-driven decisions. By accessing detailed information about their property’s performance, they can identify areas that require attention, such as maintenance issues, pricing adjustments, or marketing campaigns. This helps property owners optimize their strategies and maximize returns on their investments.
Did you know?
If you are still asking yourself “what is an online booking system?” visit our online booking system page to read more. With the Inn Style system, you are able to take direct online reservations from your website and it allows you to connect to various OTA channels which include: Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb etc.
Any Questions?
If you have any questions about Inn Style’s Online Booking System, please do reach out to us via the chat facility within Inn Style or email team@innstyle.co.uk.
If you are not yet an Inn Style customer and you would like some more information or would like to chat with one of our sales team members click here.