internet booking engine

3 Ways to Boost Direct Bookings

Posted on January 27, 2017January 30, 2017 by craig

Direct bookings save commission and are much less likely to cancel. The more direct bookings you get the more money and time you are saving.

1) Make sure you offer the best deal.

Research has shown again and again that customers will choose to book direct where the price is the same or better. Proving that we are naturally attracted to the idea of booking direct, believing we will get better options, better customer service and are more likely to get an upgrade.

Offering the lowest rate is critical, even if it is the same as any other rates offered.

2) Reward direct bookings

When customers do book direct you should look at ways to reward them. Typical rewards can include a discount on their next stay via promo codes. It’s also a great idea to make a reward during their stay, this will depend on your circumstance but might include something like a room upgrade, free wi-fi or a free breakfast.

Get creative and invent original rewards for direct booking, it helps you stand out.

3) Show the benefits of booking direct clearly

Customers visiting your website want to know what to expect when they stay with you but they also need to know that you want their booking direct. They will have visited many other websites and you want them to be persuaded when they are on your website. Displaying a neat little “Best Price Guarantee” on your website will go a long way to increasing direct bookings.

We have created a small selection of Book Direct images, try one or design your own.

Direct Bookings using Promo Codes — Promo Codes for Direct Bookings

To find out more about some of freetobook’s direct booking advantages take a look at Promo Codes which help encourage repeat customers and social media promotion with facebook bookings.

Tips for Switching booking system

Posted on January 17, 2017January 18, 2017 by craig

switch Switching your booking engine can be a lot easier than you think. Here are a few tips gleaned from our clients.

But first a word of warning, it’s not just about cost savings. Whilst cost is always important there are subtler, seemingly less significant things that can actually make a much bigger difference to your business and your happiness!

The four areas I would say you need to understand well are the booking engine functions, it’s cost, the company and the switching process.

1) Evaluating the booking engine

Compare the functionality of each booking engine, focus on what’s absolutely critical to your business…don’t get side tracked by any irrelevant functions.

Speak to the various companies but then dig a little deeper by asking around – do you know anyone using that booking engine, what’s their view? Remember, an “oily” sales person will just tell you what you want to hear to get the sale!

Ensure the booking engine is flexible enough to handle your processes. It is one thing to have a function but you need to ensure it works the way you need it to.

2) Costs

You need these in black and white, good companies don’t need to hide or negotiate costs with every client – hiding prices usually means the sales team get extra commission by overcharging you.

Can you tailor their services to suit you? If it’s pay as you go, work out the costs – these tend to be the best value services because you are only paying for what you use.

Look at hidden costs i.e. how does their channel manager work and what control do you have over it? If you don’t have any control over which rooms are sold, when, where and at what price… this will increase costs.

Make sure you don’t incur any additional cost i.e. having to use a specific payment system.

3) Compare companies

heart Try to gauge how much each company really cares about your business. For example, the service and support role is currently in danger of dying off and finding a company that takes it seriously will make a real difference to your business.

Existing customers and social media are your best references when trying to get evidence of how a company treats its clients.

Ask about their plans, do they continually bring out new features, add services, are they innovative, what’s their reputation among other suppliers you work with….ask around. The best businesses are respected and loved by both their clients and partners they work with.

Look at the small print in any contract, does it tie you in? Do you have any penalties or notice periods that lock you in if you don’t like it?

4) Process

How easy is it move over? Can you access the system to try it out first, even run it alongside your current booking engine so you are 100% certain. Is there a time restriction to get it running ? Beware of lock-in trials, you want to try it at your own speed.

Make sure the company you are switching to is ready to have you on board, do they have a dedicated switch team? If they are good they’ll have lots of experience and offer advice on the right way to set-up and which services are most suitable.

If they are really great they’ll give you tips and tricks to increase your business, remember they may have spoken with 1000s of small businesses just like yours.

Check if there are help guides or videos available to help you understand the new system (and work at your own pace).

Finally, timing is critical, it makes sense to do this kind of analysis when you have a bit of time on your hands.

The overwhelming feedback I have received indicates that all of the above is much easier than most think, there is no reason to stick with a booking system that doesn’t work for you……

I just wanted to finish with a happy switcher who got it all right…

” Wow this is amazing!! We have just reached 100 bookings in the last 30 days 9/12/16 to 9/01/17, on the freetobook system. Thanks for starting it all off, and can you thank the ladies in the office for help setting up. I wish we had moved years ago!! ” (Adrian at Seed Hill)

Thinking about switching to freetobook ? find out more here…

TripAdvisor lower commission

Posted on October 27, 2016February 9, 2017 by craig

At 12% TripAdvisor’s Instant Booking connection has a lower commission than big online travel agents. Is it time you looked into how to get your share ?

Why not start by checking out your own listing on TripAdvisor to see how they promote the booking links. You can’t fail to notice that visitors are asked for dates of stay and encouraged to search and book.

The connection to TripAdvisor through your freetobook diary is free (you do have to pay TripAdvisor).

6 Advantages to TripAdvisor Instant Booking

1) Lower commission, from 12%
2) You only pay commission on completed bookings
3) No upfront costs, no signup costs, no fees from freetobook
4) You receive all of the customer’s direct details, including email address
5) Simple to do, just login to TripAdvisor and connect
6) You don’t need a Business Listing to get these TripAdvisor bookings

The connection simple, just activate it in your TripAdvisor account to enable direct bookings on your TripAdvisor page. If you already have a freetobook account you don’t even need to contact us.

Most of freetobook’s benefits are free with a few optional charged services, find a complete list of our charges on our pricing page, what does freetobook cost ?

Why it pays to sleep around for B&B owners

Posted on June 22, 2016 by admin

4poster

A Guest Blog by Heather Turner at Forfeng Media.

I wrote a post a while back about Viewing your restaurant from a customers perspective, and it occurred to me after spending a weekend away at a very nice B&B, to wonder how many innkeepers have actually stayed (and not just one night) in every single room in their own B&Bs. I mean packed their bags and literally “checked in”.

I bring this up because, as an example, the B&B I just stayed at recently had wonderful hosts, a delicious breakfast, comfy beds and great amenities, but the toilet paper holder just wasn’t very functional. Every time someone went to use the loo, the toilet paper fell off the decorative holder. How annoying was that? Trivial, but annoying.

Did this mar my whole stay? Absolutely not. Did I forget to mention it to the innkeepers? Yes I did, because it was a very minor problem (am I emailing them after I write this post? Yes).

It got me to thinking though, how many small things that the usual guest may have a small problem with, that doesn’t really affect the overall stay, but stays in the subconscious and they forget to mention it to the innkeepers.

As innkeepers (I know I would feel this way if I had an inn) you go out of your way to try to make a guest’s stay perfect. So to me, take one step more and go a little further.

I recently wrote a post about Attracting Business Travelers to B&Bs, and in it I listed some very minor pet peeves about staying in B&Bs. If I think back to recent stays, not just in B&Bs, but hotels as well, I can list a bunch of minor things, that if the owners or managers had actually stayed in the rooms themselves they would have noticed.

Two different places, had big armoires that had flat screen TVs in them. Terrific idea to get them out of the way and not be an eyesore. Defeats the purpose of having a TV for guests to watch though if the armoire doors won’t stay open, and keeps slowly swinging closed.

Defective or misplaced toilet paper holders seem to be huge one. The one that was two feet from the commode really made my day so to speak, LOL.

The water faucet that sprays a little too hard when turned on all the way. I tell you it’s a real pain having to find another set of clothes to wear, when you are on your way out the door, and all of a sudden you are wearing water polka dots.

What are you supposed to do with all those pillows and comforters (especially when it’s 90 degrees out)? They get piled on chairs. I’m not suggesting you do away with them, they look gorgeous, but perhaps put a place aside where guests can put them. The places that have luggage racks generally get used for that oversized comforter and my luggage ends up on the floor, and the pillows I put on chairs, and then end up with nowhere to sit when I want to put shoes and socks on the next morning.

I am not trying to nitpick about very minor things, but more to make the point that if innkeepers spent actual time (sleep time, activity time) in the rooms they let guests sleep in, they might notice some minor things, like the very bottom drawer of the dresser that just doesn’t want to get unstuck easily.

As innkeepers you want to make your B&Bs perfect, take a look at it from a customer’s point of view, it’s a fresh perspective, and it will help you to better understand and fix any small issues that can make a very small (but lasting) impression on a guest.

I would suggest setting up a log, so you can track when you’ve stayed in the rooms as well. Did the other rooms have guests at the time? Was it a weekend? What season was it?

You may find things like the room that is perfect in three seasons, in the summer the air conditioner blows directly on the sleepers (so you could consider moving the bed), or the suite upstairs you can hear a TV playing (so you consider moving the location of the TV stand against a wall that doesn’t connect with an adjoining guest room). You wouldn’t know these things otherwise.

When was the last time YOU stayed in your rooms?

Back to Basics

Posted on November 4, 2015November 4, 2015 by craig

Well done, you’ve made it to the end of the busy summer season. Take a breath but then start planning for next year. Guests are already thinking ahead to next year’s holidays so you must too. If you have forgotten how to enter your rates or set up your minimum stays, here’s a quick “Back To Basics” to help you through it.

Entering rates: On the AVAILABILITY tab, click on the first green box, hold your finger on the mouse and drag all the way to the bottom green box. This turns the boxes a darker colour. Release the mouse and a white square appears in each box. Enter your rates in the first column and then click the “a” below that column to copy the rate forward to all days. The “d” will copy to just that day of the week and in all cases it copies to the dates going forward so you can up your rates later in the calendar and click the “a” or “d” again below those new rates. Don’t forget to hit save before moving forward and repeating for the next six months.

ratesAniSml

Changing minimum stays: You can set a default minimum stay in AVAILABILITY tab under DEFAULTS subtab. This is handy if you normally insist on stays of 2 or more nights. You can also set minimum stays on individual days or sets of days. Similar to adding rates, on AVAILABILITY tab click the MINIMUM STAYS sub tab and then highlight the boxes on the calendar by clicking your mouse, dragging and releasing. Each box will have a white square. If you want to set all of a certain day of the week then change the first column of that day and then click the “d” button. You can also change individual days/rooms as required. Again, don’t forget to hit save before moving forward.

minStay

Close outs: There are two ways to enter close outs. In the DIARY tab you can click on a white box and bring up the “Quick Close Out” box. This is ideal for one or two close outs on specific dates. If you need to close out on a larger scale then you should do that in AVAILABILITY tab and CLOSE OUTS subtab. Clicking a green or blue box will turn it pink. Clicking, holding and dragging the mouse will allow you to close out multiple rooms and date in mere seconds. Once you have closed out all that you need remember to hit the save button before moving on to the next six months.

closeOuts

Special Offers: If you are looking for a bookings boost during the quieter winter months then adding a special offer can help. There are two types of offer in the SPECIALS tab; discount offer (i.e. offering a monetary or percentage discount from the nightly rate) and free night offer (i.e. stay 3 nights and get one of them free). Please note that special offers do not transfer through the channel manager, if you would like the offer to be added to the channel manager please contact us for details of who does what.

specials

Does Your Website Tell Customers WHY They Should Book Directly ?

Posted on July 16, 2015July 20, 2015 by craig

Does Your Website Tell Customers WHY They Should Book Directly ?

We were chatting with one freetobook customer this week who was alarmed at the growing number of rooms sold via booking.com rather than her own website and to make matters worse, a returning customer had re-booked using the OTA! With a few clicks all became clear. The property’s website was overly cluttered, out of date with offers from the Christmas holidays and it wasn’t clear there was an online booking facility.

Does your website tell potential customers WHY they should book directly with you? The OTA’s do a brilliant job at converting lookers to bookers. From the ‘last room, last chance’ popups in red lettering, they create a sense of urgency to drive through that final click to book.

It’s worth saying once again …
Place your BOOKING BUTTON on the top left hand side if you possibly can. Advertisers pay a premium for this ‘sweet spot’.

HIGHLIGHT to potential bookers that they will get the BEST POSSIBLE PRICE (with no commission) by booking on your website.

Add in fresh, positive reviews onto your front page. Update very regularly!

Other general website design tips to remember …
How well do other folk feel you are marketing your accommodation? Ask friends and business associates whose opinions you trust to spent time on your website. Their feedback may highlight some great new suggestions or angles.

Make your website look as professional as possible, it’s your number one marketing tool. It’s worth considering giving it a timely overhaul with the help of a website designer.

Beautiful images SELL. Refresh images of your property seasonally, there is nothing more off-putting than searching for a summer retreat only to find the main photos on the property’s website show a winter wonderland!

Write concise (less is more!), appealing copy about your property and what visitors can expect on arrival.

Together in Gatwick

Posted on November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 by craig

Just back from a quick trip down to Gatwick to see the Gatwick Guest House Association (GGHA). I was invited to give a short presentation on the Together service after a few of their proactive members thought the service may help their website generate more bookings.

Like many other associations they need to upgrade their website and in assessing the options it became obvious that a booking engine on the website would be a great benefit…and that’s where Together comes in. Freetobook are always happy to visit groups and explain face-to-face who we are, where we came from and what we do.

I was really impressed with the positive and proactive attitude of everyone at the meeting, I was made to me feel very welcome.

A big thank you to everyone and especially to Carmel at the Cumberland House for her warm hospitality…..the perfect host.

To find out more about how to get together click here.

Short video on the together system

Google HPA manager

Posted on November 18, 2014November 18, 2014 by craig

Google Hotel Price Ads (HPA)

News is out that freetobook are working on a connection which will enable accommodation providers to connect their availability to Google Hotel Price Ads. All customers using freetobook with nightly rates will be able to participate including hotels, apartments, guest houses, inns, bed and breakfasts, hostels, campsites and many others using nightly rates.

In the past Google HPA was only available to big hotel chains, Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and digital marketing organisations. Here at freetobook we like to smash through barriers and open up the best marketing technology to everyone, making more distribution channels available on an optional basis to our customers across the world.

When completed your freetobook diary will be able to feed rates and availability to the whole of the Google network giving you fantastic global marketing access. This service is on an opt-in basis without any tie-ins so you are free to try it out and calculate your return on advertising investment. Bookings that you receive from the service will be direct bookings and you will be able to pay per click for advertising on the Google HPA service.

Google HPA is different from Google Ads. The main difference is that Google HPA can link to your availability and direct bookings can be made there and then. Customers on Google will be able to see which accommodation is available at what price and make a direct booking. Unlike Google Ads you do not bid on keywords with Google HPA the placing of the adverts will depend on Google and their bidding system.

Where will my Google HPA adverts show ? You will be able to show on Google Maps,

Google HPA 3 pack — Google Hotel Price Ads

Google Local, Google+, and the new Google “three-pack” on AdWords. You can see some of the examples of where the adverts show in the pictures on this blog. All the best technology changes and improves and Google is a great example of this, so whilst we can say where the Google Hotel Price Ads show now we can also be sure that this will change and improve with time.

A short video with a flavour of the Google HPA service

Customers already using freetobook can pre-register for Google HPA in their TAB”Plus” under “Your Ads” on the orange bar.

Google HPA metasearch manager — Freetobook metaseach manager

TripAdvisor Just for You

Posted on October 30, 2014October 30, 2014 by craig

TripAdvisor’s “Just for You” personalised hotel choice

TripAdvisor “Just for You”

News has just come out on new hotel selection functionality for the TripAdvisor website, adding to the booking experience for TripAdvisor’s customers. Selecting accommodation will be more personal with the TripAdvisor “Just for You” feature. Millions of customers using the site could be directed towards hotel selections customised for them by TripAdvisor’s personal data.

Selected hotels will be based on a TripAdvisor customer’s individual profile, this may include, travel style, brand, amenities and location etc. Customers will be able to “tag” preferences, you can see the tags live on the new hotel pages when you login as a customer (see example below).

TripAdvisor Tags — TripAdvisor tags used in “Just for You” personalisation

Just for You is highly adaptive and learns from favourite hotels and destinations. At freetobook we can easily imagine more in-depth personalisation which could include search history, review sentiment, pages visited, hotels liked, along with facebook or other data merges.

TripConnect Premium Partner

The new selection tool follows the deep vein of booking friendly usability that includes TripConnect and Instant Booking. There can be no doubt that TripAdvisor is continually adapting and improving their booking functionality with a view to increasing the number of bookings taking place on their website.

The importance of being bookable on the TripAdvisor website will continue to increase. Right now hotels can do this in one of two ways, they can use TripConnect with pay per click or connect via an OTA which will advertise for them.

All freetobook customers can take advantage of the TripConnect direct booking platform as freetobook is a premium partner with TripAdvisor. We are also the first booking engine in the world to certify on the soon to be launched TripConnect instant booking platform, where customers transact the booking without leaving the TripAdvisor website.

More information and further reading on the TripAdvisor possibilities with freetobook see below.

What is TripConnect ?

Make the most of TripConnect Mobile bookings

How to get more TripAdvisor reviews automatically

TripConnect instant booking a global first for freetobook

TripConnect Mobile Optimisation

Posted on October 14, 2014October 14, 2014 by craig

Make the most of TripConnect Mobile bookings

As TripAdvisor focuses on Mobile customers we think you should too. Earlier this year they reported there had been 100 million downloads* of their free mobile app. These customers use mobile phones to research holidays and some make bookings. If you are promoted on TripConnect you will convert better with freetobook’s mobile booking platform.

To optimise your freetobook mobile booking system simply login and select the TAB ”Plus” then “Mobile Booking”. The “Deluxe Mobile Search” option will work for TripConnect or why not get a discount on the Full Mobile Package which includes a great mobile website.

Freetobook’s mobile booking works on all mobiles and includes multi language booking. The mobile services work for all customers, not

just those on TripConnect, this means customers visiting your website using a mobile will also be able to use the optimised booking process.

We don’t charge for a connection with TripConnect….and that includes multi language booking in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese.

Our mobile optimised website and/or mobile deluxe search provide great value.

Watch the video below to see how great your mobile website and mobile optimised booking process can be with freetobook.

freetobook mobile booking engine for tripconnect and your website (youtube)

Find out more about mobile booking and mobile websites for accommodation businesses

On mobile it’s all about the booking experience, see some examples below.

A mobile website for guest house.

Mobile booking pages for hotels.

*TripAdvisor press release 15April2014