At freetobook we really work hard and pride ourselves in the solutions we build to help accommodation owners manage and grow their businesses. Such a large part of that is the communication you have with your guests. We asked how can that be better? Much, much better?
We are super proud to release our latest piece of work which takes messaging between you and your guests to a new level. The best hosts focus on ways to make their customer’s stay amazing and memorable. That’s why they are the best, guests enjoy their stay so much they want to come back and love sharing the experience with others in reviews and recommendations, building reputation and brand.
The critical parts of the experience start with the anticipation and build-up followed by the stay itself and
the after-departure feedback. From the moment they book to the end of their stay you will want your guests to have the maximum you can offer. When you put guest communication as a core part of the service at each point of their journey you increase the likelihood of a happy customer.
It’s about giving your guests the right information before they even ask for it and finding out what guests want from you in good time and in a way that suits them. Email just doesn’t cut it anymore, messaging makes communication more immediate and intimate and that makes guests feel special.
To say we have just created a messaging system is a massive understatement, advanced messaging is the first version of a happy guest generator which we will continue to build on. We are certain that using advanced messaging will grow your guest relations and boost your direct bookings.
Messaging vs Email
It’s easy to follow a message thread making communication natural, informative and fun.
(email is clunky and disjointed with no connection to what has already been said)
Messaging can be automated and include images, in the flow – so you look like a pro !
(email image attachments don’t look good and sometimes don’t even download)
Get more replies to messaging with the easy one click reply button. Your conversation flows and the best connection is made with your guest.
(email is tricky for customer to reply to, which email ? where did I put it ?)
It’s easy to know when a customer has opened your message, you can easily see if it has been read, or if the message failed.
(email is different on everyone’s browser so its difficult to know if your email has been received or not.)
How Do I Sign Up?
Freetobook customers can setup advanced messaging in matter of seconds in the Tab “Plus”. For properties not yet using freetobook, why not signup today and enjoy all the marvelous solutions we provide for accommodation owners worldwide.
Hi,
How does the guest see the messaging interface? In their text message/WhatsApp system?
Many thanks!
Paul
The guest will get a notification email to say they have a message and the contents of that message. They can simply click the big [Reply] button whihc will take them to their message thread. In other words its a messaging page activated by email notification.
so, how do i sign up for this, if i already use Freetobook, it is not obvious from this email?
You can find it in the Tab”Plus” when you login to your freetobook account.
Hi Freetobook
Not sure if others in the trade will have sight of this…….but here goes anyway.
until 3rd party instant bookings systems became a fact of life no one could any longer ignore…… there was always a personal exchange between the only relevant parties parties , guest and host….and yes….I’ve been in the trade so long that I recall bookings made by letter up to a year in advance.
To this day, most of my subsequent guests have admitted they had absolutely NO IDEA that any costs are involved. THEY merely responded to the words Instant and Free.
Or that it is the booked establishment that bears the burden of paying ever increasingly hefty costs to an inserted “middle-man” that now rules the roost.
One doesn’t expect EVERYONE to have any sort of schooling in economics but the fact that so few draw the logical conclusion by themselves, tells me they probably cannot even balance a household budget and therefore are part of the problem.
Not unexpectedly……it is THESE types, that many of us long=term hosts may previously have rather by such polite terms as “fully booked” referred to others or simply declined………who NOWADAYS arrive ( entitled via their instant booking via a 3rd party) …..find BENEATH their expectations……( read they didn’t bother to read the ACTUAL description) and go on , having said nothing at all to the OWNER of the premises they booked essentially anonymously ( we don’t get the chance to turn down any of these often in advance assessed unwelcome clients….) …………to post the most vicious, often entirely untruthful and intentionally DAMAGING to further business…..”REVIEWS” on sites that themselves favour their untramelled posting and curtail the righteously indignant responses of their shocked former hosts.
Far as I’m concerned…….this one-sided entitlement phase introduced will kill off any notion of true hospitality.
You want me to welcome you to MY HOUSE? You bloody well pick up the phone or write me an email ( or book via my own interactive website) and by MUTUAL CONSENT AND AGREEMENT we’ll proceed or not.
Those who do make it to my premises, will have the time of their lives. But only they will be considered MY CLIENTS….not those of some inflation-creating bloodsucker.
Now that I have reached retirement age, I may be in a position to completely disconnect from all this unsociable media formulaic what-what that many yet tout.
I feel very sorry for those only now entering the so-called “hospitality Industry” ……
I knew the GOLDEN age of hospitality …….
And in a nutshell what I’m trying to convey is that it’s a 2-way street
NO 3rd PARTY interference required.
Thank you
Thanks for your views, they are very interesting. Freetobook is a free tool for accommodation owners to use to enable their guests to make electonic/online bookings. We are not a third party agency, we are a technology provider that enables transactions. Some of our services are paid services but these are optional and we are always 100% clear and 100% open about the prices, they are on our website for everyone to see, we do not want anyone to pay for something they don’t need or don’t like.
Using an electronic system for bookings does not preclude the phone, email or letters, its still very easy to get and online booking and then call or email your customer or they call you.
Our new messaging system gives customers a further method of communicating with you. It is all about communication in exactly the same way that a letter, email, phone call is – you say something, they respond, you respond back and forth, the net result is you know more about each other.
Techology moves on but we are all essentially the same as we were, we like to know about who is coming to stay and the guest wants to know where they are staying. The mode of the message has changed but the need for it is exactly the same as it was back in the day of letters.
Freetobook is an independent family business and absolutely dedicated to our customers just like you they are property owners, we serve you and nobody else.
Thanks once again for taking the time to write your reply it is very interesting
Craig
Craig
I have to disagree and in fact you are technically in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act by saying you’re free. You are not free for all of what you’ve described here. To run the full suite of tools you offer would cost me over £350 a year, that is NOT free.
Your core product IS free but to take funds, integrate with OTAs etc which are in your PLUS elements, is NOT free, so I would advise tempering your message
Hi Gerry, I could not disagree more. Pricing is clearly marked on our website and within our system, no customer has ever paid for anything they don’t want. We have 7 pledges that show how we care about our customers https://blog.freetobook.com/2019/11/7-pledges-of-internet-booking/
There are in fact thousands of customers using freetobook for free so we are in fact free to very many properties all over the world.
PS: We are hiding nothing – perhaps you can let us know who you represent or what interests you have, please feel free to share ?
Hello there, about the Messaging service, I normally have a general a ‘welcome’ form that I paste into the email I send out, I also attach some more information to the email, will I be able to do that with the messaging service?
Yes you will be able to send a welcome message to all new bookings automatically. Smart messaging has a ton of features that improve your communication with guests and save you time to boot. Thanks Craig
Does the system allow for automated unique messages to be sent by origin, i.e.different messages for direct bookings to those from OTAs? At present we go in manually and send an email via the F2B system.
It’s something we have thought about and we might add it but we are not sure why you should differentiate the automated message to OTAs or direct customers ? It’s ok to say the same things to OTA customers even if you are promoting direct booking it will still get through.
Does it work with Booking.com reservations?
Yes it works with all Booking.con bookings including the ones with fake email addresses.
Hi Craig, Have you been able to try it on Booking.com? and does it work.
Yes smart messaging works on Booking.com bookings, it works on all bookings.
I am using Bookingsuite from booking.com for my website, will it work with that ?
How can I integrate freetobook in facebook.
Any advice or support welcome
Cheers!
Yes freetobook can work with Bookingsuite. You will have to connect Booking.com to the freetobook channel manager function, this is a PLUS service. (Bookingsuite sends bookings via Booking.com) Most of our customers think that Bookingsuite is expensive, it is better for you to have your own website ? If you have your own website it will save you money in the long term and you will get direct bookings not via Booking.com .