A hotel booking system is an important technology for hotels and similar properties, allowing customers to reserve hotel rooms online through a simple, self-service process. In this article, you will find out more about how these systems work and have the chance to explore eight tips that will allow you to maximize the benefits.

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What is a Hotel Booking System?

A hotel booking system is the name given to the software used by hotel websites to allow customers to make a hotel room reservation. The service will enable users to explore room availability and rates across different dates, select the period they want to stay within the hotel and complete their booking online.

Booking systems are among the most important examples of hotel technology modern properties use. When using the system, customers should be able to complete their booking and automatically receive a confirmation email. Most booking systems will also allow customers to book extras or upgrades.

8 Tips to Maximize Your Hotel Booking System Potential

Although a hotel booking system is a crucial piece of hotel software, some systems work better than others. The following tips will assist you in optimizing your booking system and maximizing its potential.

1. Connect The System to Your PMS

Many hotels operate with a separate hotel booking system and property management system. When this is the case, the two solutions must be able to connect, resulting in an integrated workflow.

After cloud-based integration, the property management system can be used for broader hotel management tasks. In contrast, the booking system can be used to process customer reservations. Integration between the systems means data will be passed automatically and continuously, improving efficiency and accuracy. Guests can book their hotel rooms, and the information will synchronize with your PMS instantly.

2. Connect It to Your Channel Manager

Next, your hotel booking system must also be integrated with your channel manager.

A channel manager helps you oversee and manage your various distribution channels. This means that when customers do not book directly but instead reserve their hotel room through an online travel agency (OTA) or a similar channel, this information will show up in your channel manager.

Integration between this channel manager and your hotel booking system can help ensure that all channels have up-to-date information about room rates and availability, preventing issues like double bookings. You should also ensure your online booking system is fully integrated with your POS system.

3. Customize The User Interface

Another way those in the hospitality industry can get the most from their hotel booking system is by customizing the user interface. In particular, it can be important that the booking system is easy for customers to use, while consistent branding can also play an important role in building trust.

On top of this, you should try to ensure the booking process has been designed with your specific hotel in mind rather than using a generic booking system that has not been tailored to your property. Examples here could include photographs of your hotel and the implementation of options for booking extra services that your hotel provides.

4. Sell Extras and Keep Your Hotel Booking System Up-to-Date

Customers who use your hotel booking system to reserve their hotel rooms should be presented with options to make additional bookings or access extra services. The precise offerings here will vary between hotels, but the most important thing is ensuring customers have options to book their ideal stay.

On top of this, you need to ensure your hotel booking system is always as up-to-date as possible. This means no new products or services should be made available without updating the online booking system first. It also means that new products and services should be promoted to customers while booking.

5. Automate Confirmation and Marketing Emails

Your hotel booking system is primarily hospitality software intended to help customers with self-service online bookings. However, the software can also be set up to automate some important tasks typically carried out in response to bookings or the pre-arrival phase of the customer journey.

Two of the biggest examples of this are sending confirmation emails and sending marketing content. Confirmation emails can be set up to be sent as soon as a booking is made, and the customer can be automatically allocated a booking reference number. Marketing emails, meanwhile, allow you to upsell and cross-sell.

6. Promote Across Business Channels

A high-quality, fully functional hotel booking system can be an invaluable asset for any hotel looking to attract direct bookings. Still, it is also important that people know about your booking system and can find it.

With this in mind, one of the most crucial steps for maximizing the benefits of a hotel booking system is actively promoting the system across your various business channels. You should make it easy to find the booking system on your company website and include direct links from your various social media channels.

7. Seek Out, Manage, and Utilize Guest Reviews

To get the most from your hotel booking system, you must also capitalize on reviews from your guests. These reviews can be placed on your website and even on the same page as your main booking process to encourage reservations, but you will need to manage your reputation carefully.

Ensure you deliver high customer service, and then encourage your guests to leave reviews across review platforms and social media. Additionally, on channels like Facebook and various OTAs, you should politely respond to customers who have complaints and try to mitigate the damage.

8. Make Sure Your Hotel Booking System is Mobile Optimized

Finally, the hotel booking system you deploy must be mobile-optimized so that smartphone customers can complete a booking without encountering any unnecessary obstacles.

Many hotel customers now turn to their smartphones to look for hotels, read reviews, and make reservations. These users must be able to navigate the booking process on their phones. To achieve this, your website must display properly on smartphone screens, with all text fully legible.

Video: Top 10 Hotel Booking Engine Must-Haves

To maximize the effectiveness of the booking system of your hotel, it is essential to select a system that offers specific functionalities to achieve exactly what is needed. Making this choice is imperative to a profitable booking engine and conversions. The video below discusses ten detailed must-haves a successful hotel booking system can offer and gives visual examples of each item.

 

Hotel Booking System: Tips for Attracting More Bookings

While your hotel booking system will be key in attracting bookings, you can take other steps to maximize the number of reservations you generate from customers, including optimizing your website design, capitalizing on search engine optimization, and promoting your unique selling points.

You can explore more tips for attracting hotel bookings and find out how to optimize your selling strategy by reading through the “8 Tips to Gain More Bookings With Your Hotel Website” article.

Revenue Management and Your Hotel Booking System

Your hotel booking system can also contribute to your revenue management efforts, but investing in a system is equally important. Revenue management is about maximizing revenue, limiting costs, and selling to the right customers, at the right time, for the right price, through the right channel.

To learn about revenue management systems, how they can assist those in the hospitality industry, and their benefits, take a look at the “Revenue Management System (RMS): What Are the Advantages?” post.

Integrating Your Hotel Booking System and PMS System

As previously stated, getting the absolute most out of your hotel booking system requires you to integrate the booking system with your property management system (PMS). However, you also need to ensure you have the right PMS system for the job, which means acquiring the solution with the right features for your needs.

You can explore the subject of property management systems further, and learn about some of the key features you should prioritize by reading the “PMS System: What Are the Most Important Features?” article.

A Channel Manager to Compliment Your Hotel Booking System

Alongside the other hotel software solutions you deploy, you should also find a hotel distribution channel manager who can complement your hotel booking system. Using a channel manager will allow you to oversee room sales across third-party platforms, including OTAs and Google.

Using a channel manager, you are likely to reduce booking errors while gaining access to important data and performance metrics. To learn more, read “Hotel Distribution Channel Manager: What Are the Advantages?”

Hotel booking systems are significant in most modern hotels and rank among the most important examples of hospitality software applications. By following the tips provided, you can maximize the benefits of your booking system, generate more direct bookings, and reap financial rewards.

More Tips to Grow Your Business

Revfine.com is a knowledge platform for the hospitality & travel industry. Professionals use our insights, strategies and actionable tips to get inspired, optimise revenue, innovate processes and improve customer experience. You can find all hotel & hospitality tips in the categories Revenue Management, Marketing & Distribution, Hotel Operations, Staffing & Career, Technology and Software.

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This article is written by:

Martijn Barten

Hi, I am Martijn Barten, founder of Revfine.com. With 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, I specialize in optimizing revenue by combining revenue management with marketing strategies. I have successfully developed, implemented, and managed revenue management and marketing strategies for individual properties and multi-property portfolios.