Online bookings account for almost 63% of the travel and tourism segment’s annual revenue. A good hotel reservation system will allow you to manage online reservations efficiently. Automating reservation processes with a reliable hotel reservation system reduces the risk of manual errors and lost business.
Additionally, implementing a simplified reservation system helps hoteliers provide a more intuitive reservation experience for guests.
Here are some things to consider before choosing hotel reservation software.
1. Online Hotel Reservation System
A good hotel reservation system should have a user-friendly interface that helps both customers and staff.
A convenient view of the calendar at the reception will be a huge advantage in simplifying the booking process. The software will need to have a plugin or javascript that can be integrated into your hotel website. Or, it should be able to redirect visitors to a microsite or online portal from which they can make their reservations.
The booking engine should provide your customers with all the information they may be looking for, including prices, packages, room types, add-ons, inclusions and other details, without them having to browse through your website.
A versatile booking engine like the one offered with the Hotelogix PMS allows you to integrate with your website as well as your hotel’s Facebook page. Plus, with our open API, you can customize your own online booking engine.
2. Integration of online payment
Integrating an online payment option into your hotel reservation system would not only make it easier for guests to book, but also help you meet your reservation/cancellation policy requirements.
Financial information collected through online bookings should also be automatically recorded in final financial reports.
Encouraging customers to pay online encourages adherence to necessary social distancing standards.
3. Automated Communication
Communication automation has become a necessity in the service industry. Guests expect to receive a detailed confirmation email after booking a room.
Confirmation emails should be customizable to match hotel branding and voice. For example, you should be able to provide travel advice, information on local festivals and attractions, if needed.
Your hotel reservation system should also support the scheduling and formatting of these messages.
4. Central reservation system
Travelers prefer to make reservations from many sources – online hotel booking engine, online travel agents (OTA) and front desk. Managing these reservations can be confusing, and mistakes such as double booking, overbooking, or forgetting to confirm a guest’s reservation can lead to bad reviews and lost business.
Having a central reservation system for hotels linked to a channel manager will help you manage these discrepancies effectively. Your channel manager and hotel reservation system are integrated to give you real-time updates of room availability as well as room prices across all your reservation channels.
A channel manager helps hoteliers improve staff productivity as inventory and rates can be updated from a single platform. Real-time updates mean customers get exactly what they see.
5. Management of reviews
Reviews are extremely important to your hotel’s reputation and business. They are the best marketing tool your hotel can have. According to a SiteMinder report, 81% of travelers prefer to read reviews before booking a hotel, and 91% of 18-34 year olds treat reviews as personal recommendations from friends.
As a hotelier, you need to encourage your customers to leave online reviews of your hotel. Be sure to engage with these reviews by responding to them. This provides a better experience for your guests as they feel recognized and appreciated.
A successful hotel reservation system allows you to both record customer feedback and respond to feedback that has been given. A genuine and timely response to reviews can potentially convert guests into repeat customers.
6. Robust reporting system
Data plays an important role in guiding a company’s goals. Having the right data can help you optimize your business performance and give your customers a more personalized experience.
Hotel reservation software integrated with a robust reporting system is essential to help your business make smarter choices.
Information you might gain from such a benefit includes:
- Performance evaluation on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
- Track payments and pending tabs.
- Predictive analytics for sales
- Budgeting
- Rate management
- Personalized customer data
With Hotelogix PMS, you get over 100 reports that will help you manage your online reservations and overall hotel operations with ease.
7. Cloud-Based Services
Your hotel staff will rarely be able to stay in one place all day. Choosing an online hotel reservation system that can be accessed remotely will make their job easier and more productive. Additionally, having the ability to access data remotely will also promote social distancing and keep your hotel staff and guests safe.
The cloud-based hotel reservation software can be accessed anywhere, anytime, and from any device (laptop, cellphone, or tablet). It is also easier to maintain, cost effective and much more secure than traditional on-site systems.
8. Languages and currencies
Your hotel reservation software should allow customers to make reservations in the language and currency of their choice. Customers making reservations in a particular language should also receive confirmation emails or messages in the same language. This simple feature can enrich the guest experience and promote bookings with your hotel around the world.
Support for different currencies is also very important. You want to target a more global audience and many of your customers will be tourists. An ideal booking engine will be able to automatically set language and currency preferences based on IP address.
9. Discounts and promotions
When you plan to increase your income and satisfy your customers, a good strategy is to provide exclusive promotional codes or discounts.
An effective hotel reservation system should give you the ability to create and apply promotional codes. In addition to simple and straightforward discounts, you should also be able to customize discounts and promotions based on when the booking was made, if the customer is a repeat customer, if it is a corporate booking or a travel agency, or even depending on the season, events, early bird or last minute rates.
10. 24/7 Support
The hospitality industry never sleeps and problems with software can occur at any time. Make sure your service provider offers 24/7 support.
Choose a provider with excellent service and support, and ready to give you quick and easy resolutions at all times.
Hotelogix’s cloud-based PMS offers a complete hotel solution with an efficient hotel reservation system.
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