Why is an Integrated Online Booking System Important?

Simply put, if you want your property to be found on the internet, having a good online presence is critical. A large proportion of business and leisure travel is now researched and booked online, and thus hotel owners can no longer ignore the need for an integrated online booking engine. 

7 Reasons Why is an Integrated Online Booking System is Important

There are many advantages to using an online booking system, below we listed some of the main reasons why you should definitely have an integrated online booking system for your hotel’s website.

1. Integrates with Your Property Management System (PMS)

Integrating your PMS is not only important but much easier when done with the right online booking system. Since a PMS application provides a lot of support to your business, including room availability, direct bookings with the front desk, sales, reporting and much more, it is even more important that it is integrated with the right kind of online booking system.

2. Works for You 24/7

An online booking system helps to maximise sales as it is not limited to your working hours. Since the system works all the time, potential visitors can book a room anytime they want. Through the use of an online booking system, a hotel with minimal staff can also effectively manage several tasks simultaneously. Along with managing group check-ins, check out of other guests, confirming reservations, and so on, the presence of the system will also give your staff additional time to get other tasks done.

3. Helps Drive Direct Bookings

A high-performing online booking engine is critical for your property’s success and makes it easier to manage your own customer relationships. Not only does it help in eliminating the commission-hungry middlemen but helps customers come directly to you. Ensuring a seamless experience for your users, and allowing a simple 3 steps booking process for your guests. This will enhance their experience and entice them to stay longer!

4. Tracks your Competitors

For staying ahead of the game, tracking your competitors is of utmost importance. While there are a number of ways to do this (e.g. visiting the actual property, following them on social media platforms), there are also add-on products available that help track competitors’ rates and help you stay on top of your game.

5. Shares Insights About Your Customer’s Preferences

The hotel reservation system makes it easy for the hotel owner to see customer selection and booking trends in the dashboard with all the valuable information in one single screen, such as most popular rooms, most selected add-ons, search trends, check on peak booking hours. This will help your business to know what your customers want and this will save time and money.

6. Measures Guest Experiences

Having an online booking system can also give you an add-on to track your guest reviews from one central place. Reputation management is important for your property as it allows you to get insights into the perception of your guests about your property. Managing your reputation efficiently can help you acquire new customers along with building loyalty with existing ones.

7. Targets Market Smartly During Low Occupancy

An online reservation system provides you opportunities and ways to smartly drive direct bookings from your own hotel website. Access to features like smart pricing, allows you to target specific regions based on mobile, region, multi-nights or advance purchase. Smart pricing is also an easy way to create upsell and cross-sell promotions that can drive up your property’s revenue. It allows you to set up deals to dynamically calculate pricing based on applicable conditions and the ability to target some specific markets.

When technology is there to aid hotel owners, there is absolutely no reason to do this old school. So, take a step back and see if you would want to spend your day managing operational overheads or if you want to improve efficiency and take care of your guests better by using an online booking system.