Online Reservations

[Libra]

Hi

I would love to know what success rates other have experienced with online reservation systems either your own or through listing on other websites.

I have to admit I have been rather disappointed with our results over the last year. We tend to get more telephone reservations.

Ours is in the Self Catering Category

Would be great to hear your views.

[Janet Treacher]

Hello Libra.

We've been using Guestlink for about a year now and have seen an increase in bookings of around 10%.

However we don't do online bookings - only reservations preferring to stay in control of how many rooms / nights we allow to be booked at all times.

Good luck.

[BVC]

Hello Libra, I run a self-catering business in the Scottish borders. I have a web-site with an e-mail address link and a telephone number. I do not have an on-line booking facility on the web-site. The web-site address, e-mail and telephone number appear in all my advertising. When I first started the business five years ago the majority of of people booked by telephone but I would now say that probably 75% of my enquiries come by e-mail. Because we have had so many bookings we decided to open a second cottage this summer which is also going very well. We have a complete spectrum of ages booking from 20's to 70's. You do not say how your on-line booking facility works, but maybe it is just not getting enough coverage. Does your web-site show your property to its best advantage and is it easy to find on the search engines? You do not say whether you are disappointed with your bookings in general or just the on-line ones. Maybe you should revise your advertising strategies. Good luck.

[DeeDee]

Hi

I would love to know what success rates other have experienced with online reservation systems either your own or through listing on other websites.

I have to admit I have been rather disappointed with our results over the last year. We tend to get more telephone reservations.

Ours is in the Self Catering Category

Would be great to hear your views.


I rely on online reservations a lot and when I had my holiday cottages a few years ago I did get very good responses.Some sites are better than others if they are very cheap dont touch them they will not bring you any business. The good thing about other online reservation systems if they dont work you dont pay. Ensure your website is user friendly has lots of photos, and a calender is good showing availability saves time wasters.
Please contact me If you need more advise of who I found useful.

[Wiggy]

Hello all I run a small Hotel oops I mean Guest House in Blackpool and currently take online bookings through EVIVO and Late Rooms. Though I do not like giving between 10 - 15% of the booking to these agencies do find that I gain around 20- 30% of all bookings are done on line and without contacting me with any queries. The problem I do have at times is the constant updating required which when I am relitively quiet is easy but when busy difficult to say the least. I must say that when guests arrive they do mention that my website is very good and easy to trawl through. I have a virtual tour of my premises with clear pictures of rooms and communal areas. This way of taking bookings is on the increase and I would say that as people trust the internet more and more, you should move towards this method of taking bookings. Cheers.

[Libra]

Hi All

Your comments are very interesting.

I have a fully automated, easy to use, very reasonably priced and with no commissions taken system on my site. Did lots of research before choosing. holiday-bookings-online.com which is really dedicated to self catering.

I list my details on other related sites but do not bother with their calendars - don't have time to keep updating them!

As well as the availabilty link (which is the reservation system) on every page we also invite telephone or email enquiries. Enquirers are quite happy to give me their card details over the phone.

I have seen many sites where they purport to take reservations but you are taken to a page where you just have to give the dates required so they can not actually complete the procedure of securing their reservation there and then.

I have worked hard on my site and it is found on page 1 of Google for my well researched keywords.

Be pleased to hear what you think about my site - positive or negative as I have broad shoulders o:)

Cotswold Luxury Lakeside Holiday Cottage (holidaycottageisis.com)

[BVC]

Hello Libra, I took the opportunity of looking at your site. My personal feeling is that it is very busy. We are told that people have a very short attention span these days.There was so much informationon the page that I felt a bit overwhelmed. Have you thought about separating the information out into more pages? My own site is still being built but you can see the 'bones' on www.snafflecottage.co.uk
This is purely a personal view of course. As I mentioned before my enquiries and bookings mainly come by e-mail and a huge number of these are from either the Visit Britain web-site or the two brochures that they publish in this area. I do not bother with an on-line bookings system but we are usually take about 40 bookings a year. Regards BVC

[Jules]

More and more people are becoming so familiar with 'buying on-line', confidence grows for people everytime they buy something this way (whatever it is), this will very soon become the norm. If you have all the information they need to know on your website (obviously there will be exceptions) to make the decision to book, why not make it easy for them to just do it - right there, right then? If they try to call and can't get through to speak to you for whatever reason, or send off an email and don't get a fast response, what's the chance they will try the next hotel/B&B/cottage they have on their list (and they do invariably have a shortlist), and if they get through to them first time instead of you - you've lost a booking.

Also, remember that cheque books are being phased out, it won't be long before most people don't even possess one. If they don't/can't use cash (and this is becoming less used aswell of course), then of course the card will be the primary method of purchase. So, yes they can call you with their card details, but how much more easier is it enter the details on-line? On-line booking then comes into its own - especially after hours, when many people browse the net.

I think it's important however, to still offer that personal touch as holidays are a personal and emotive thing for many people. Make it easy and straightforward for them to book, but then call or email them personally to thank them - this is an opportunity to establish a little rapport with your guests and help to give them confidence that they've made the right choice and they will look forward to their stay.

[JTH]

It really depends which sites you are joining. It is helpful if you check in advance how such sites are marketing hotels. For example, if your hotel is in London - Paddington, you can check on google key words "hotels in London " or " hotels in Paddington" and see which sites come up. The ones which are on the first few pages are the ones you should be considering. Also keep in mind that some sites might be promoting on specific markets and as a UK user you will not see their adds. For example, we (Justintimehotels.com (http://www.Justintimehotels.com)) promote our hoteliers on the Russian Speaking markets, so you see our adds only on Russian Search engines.




I would love to know what success rates other have experienced with online reservation systems either your own or through listing on other websites.

I have to admit I have been rather disappointed with our results over the last year. We tend to get more telephone reservations.

Ours is in the Self Catering Category

Would be great to hear your views.
[/quote]

[Webbooker]

Hello all,

I work for a software company that has been in the business of real time online booking system technology for 10 years - but in the public sector ( Local Authorities, City Councils etc....)

We have recently developed our offering to attract private sector buisnesses - like yours.

My first point is that in our research and experience, it is clear that having a superb real time online booking system is irrelevant if people can not find your business or website.

That is where the quality of the search directory or ease with which people can find you comes in. Having a well crafted website is just plain sensible.

Which brings me to my second point. Like it, loathe it or tolerate it, the the web is tool of choice that consumers (including all of us reading this)use to search, find and select the businesses with which we do business with. The reality is that this trend is growing in all markets

Consumer expectation is that once they have found something they want online, they expect to be able to book it and pay for it and crucially know it is theirs. So let them!

In this market sector, companies like mine seek to make this process simple, intelligent, benficial and - as the market becomes more competitive - cheaper.

This debate will continue

[joyful]

Without on line booking I would be in the mental home by now. To get away from the sound of the constantly ringing phone is worth any fee for the service alone! Also if guests "don't show" or whatever you can refer them to the T&Cs with the on line booking. Very handy. You have to have a credit card facility and the tax man is aware of every transaction and no cash is ever seen again after you have a card machine. We are rapidly becoming a cashless society anyway. It also leads to total transparancy with the Revenue which if you are running your business properly you have nothing to worry about. (Smug here with total peace of mind as well). However, I think the days of "little old ladies smiling in pinnies under a rose bush with a thatched roof offering B&B" are a thing of the past and B&B is now incredibly professional on all fronts. Its all about keeping up with the best services to offer now. I haven't looked back.

[Raincliffe1]

Roll on cashless society - that's all I can say, if it means everything is above board and businesses have to declare all their transactions. I do not know how establishments that have higher levels of occupancy than us for years have only just registered for VAT. I know of places near me that charge exorbitant card transaction charges in an effort to dissuade their customers from paying using this method...hmmm.

Katherine

[patrick]

Over the years I have been with 3 on line booking systems; two of them just withdrew their systems just after I had entered the latest years rentals of my various cottages, very irritating.
I know there is quite a demand out there for on line booking, but I have withdraw from offering credit card facilities. I was irritated last year when my merchant (and I think all theothers in collaboration) initiated 'fines' of up to £10,000 for not complying with their requirements over safe handling of credit card details. Quite right that system should require strict handling of the informaiton but when will oganisations ever learn they can not impose 'fines' or 'penalties', only crimnal courts and other government organisations permitted by parliament can do that. So I terminated my facilities. I am still with guest link and like many other cottage owners continue to get a modest number of on line bookings through them, despite not having merchant facilities. It works quite well for me, as I have adopted a system of guests only paying on arrival. My losses through cancellations in the last year have been no different than in previous years. So guests booking on line through guest link are simply told that thanks for their card details but they are not needed, (they still have to give them to permit the system to work!) and to simply pay when they arrive. As has been said, many do not have cheque books or forget to bring them, but just around the corner we have a fee less cash machine in our local post office, so its no problem they just pay cash. (Probably 35 percent of my guests now pay cash). We must now just be firm with ourselves not to be tempted to defraud the Inland Revene....

[joyful]

Very sorry to learn that Patrick has had bad experience with on line booking systems. You have to hunt around to get one that is "right for you". The good thing about it is it protects your bookings and you can take a deposit up front. I have had several rooms this year that I would have lost out on big time had I not had a deposit etc and people are much more likely to let you know if they are late or delayed etc and do admit to damages more quickly and easily! However, it is very costly to run (what with the card machine etc) but over all I love it!

[HGL]

Hi

I will keep this brief - but for any B&B over 5 rooms you must have on-line booking or you will be missing out - it is now expected and a website without it is only operating at 50% capacity We get around 70% of our bookings on-line. we use Cater Active which is non commission and simpleish to use and looks good at the front end. My advice would be to stay clear of systems such as Evivo (for some odd reason recommended by many local tourist boards -so this post wont get published then!) who not only charge commission but prevent you from joining their many partner sites to promote your business unless you put their booking system on your site - this sharp practice is thankfully not copied by other operators such as Booking.com or Late Rooms - the later being especially user friendly to its hoteliers.

Yes there are concerns people have - tax man, co-ordinating and updating and the loss of control you can sometimes gain from a telephone interview - but hey the advantages are massively and far greater than not offering this facility to your Guest.

[joyful]

Anyone got a good on line booking system for CAMP SITES? please would love to know of one. Has one been invented yet??

[Libra]

Anyone got a good on line booking system for CAMP SITES? please would love to know of one. Has one been invented yet??

Just Google 'campsite booking system' and there are several to choose from.
When I was researching for an online system for my holiday rental I made a list of the features I required and did the trial run of several systems before making my choice.

I have not looked back since o:).




Cotswolds Luxury Lakeside Holiday Rental (http://holidaycottageisis.com)

[Tim Blagbrough]

In this day and age people are impatient to book straight away, and if you can't provide this on yourwebsite you could lose customers. I remember a good few years ago being told that when people call you, they want to book there and then, if your phone goes to an answering machine they will probably hang up and move onto the next number. This now happens with the online community - people want to "look and book".
Not sure if it helps, but we get a lot of bookings through Guestlink,Laterooms and Bookings.com websites. With Bookings.com you have the facility to add a "book now" button to your own website. What this does is link to your availability page on their website and allows customers to book that way. The really clever thing is if you do this, all bookings that come to you in this way attract 5% commission rather than the usual 15%. My bookings have gone up, but the commissions have not! Guestlink offer the same service for either a reduced commission or an annual fee. Nor sure about Laterooms though.

[Puddingchops]

In this day and age people are impatient to book straight away, and if you can't provide this on yourwebsite you could lose customers. I remember a good few years ago being told that when people call you, they want to book there and then, if your phone goes to an answering machine they will probably hang up and move onto the next number. This now happens with the online community - people want to "look and book".
Not sure if it helps, but we get a lot of bookings through Guestlink,Laterooms and Bookings.com websites. With Bookings.com you have the facility to add a "book now" button to your own website. What this does is link to your availability page on their website and allows customers to book that way. The really clever thing is if you do this, all bookings that come to you in this way attract 5% commission rather than the usual 15%. My bookings have gone up, but the commissions have not! Guestlink offer the same service for either a reduced commission or an annual fee. Nor sure about Laterooms though.

Hi

We use guestlink, laterooms, booking.com, Hrs etc.
The slightly more economical way is to remove you Booking.Com link form your website and add the Roomcheck(guestlink) one. This way you pay only 2% rather than 5%.

[Lee_LateRooms]

Hi, in reply to your question LateRooms does offer this, and at only 1.5% commission

[Andrew_EasyBook]

Hello All,

you need to be looking at improving the quality of your hotel or b&b's main website to attract customers. They will be looking to get an overall feel for your establishment, does it look clean? friendly? reasonably priced? easy to find? well placed location wise? are there adequate facilities?

A good website developer will be able to provide you with a website that is both clear & professional looking, and gives good results in search engines for relevant searches - and should be able to do this for a reasonable price.

A site that provides this, along with a strong "Book Online" message, will get you far better results than accommodation portals where you are a small fish in a big pond, and relying on the luck of the draw.

Do not rely soley on these accommodation portals to send bookings your way, or you will become one of the many, and lose your individuality.

By all means sign up to services like Bookings.com and LateRooms, but don't put all your eggs in one basket, and be aware that these companies are looking at you as a customer too through their commission models!

You need to ensure that you make your establishment look attractive to visitors, and give them as much opportunity as possible to make that booking with YOU.

Finally, you need to take steps to get the updating of your availability automated, so you;

a) don't spend hours every day/week/month keeping all of your listings updated with your latest availability (Time=Money).

b) keep the possibility of the dreaded "double-booking" down to an absolute minimum.

Hope this helps,

Andrew.

[Andy_Cox]

If you're looking to increase the levels or consistency of bookings by using an online booking service, it may be worth spending a little time analysing Google's search results to see which directory type sites rank for your target keywords and which booking system they are affiliated with.

You may find that several top ranking sites are using the same booking network, which would make them a potentially attractive proposition, providing you don't become buried in a long, featureless list of accommodation.

Also consider the keywords you're targeting and locations. Searchers use a surprisingly wide range of keywords to search for accommodation and also try Googling 'hotels near yourlocalattractions' for the local honeypot attractions. This is where you are more likely to strike gold, because in my experience, you'll see a totally different type of website appear in these search results to town centric searches, and some of these may be able to offer free or inexpensive listings which may be able to boost your offline bookings.

Don't overlook listing your bed and breakfast on a page for hotels or vice versa. I may start searching for hotels but I could easily be tempted by a b&b if presented to me, so when researching keywords, try alternatives to your core accommodation title.

Don't rely on any one source for traffic or bookings because search engine results are in an almost constant state of flux, so keep your eyes open for any up and coming sites which may offer greater exposure.