The world we live in today is a tech-driven world, dominated by digitization and that is the reason why all sectors are working hard to digitize and provide better solutions to the people. Like all others, technology has hit the traveling sector as well and made traveling fast, easy and convenient for the people through various amazing solutions.
One such solution is the hotel booking engine which is one of the most beneficial tools for the travel agencies and is helping the travelers by adding the element of convenience in the booking process. This tool is an outcome of digital technology and is being widely adopted by OTAs and hoteliers.
A hotel reservation system plays a significant role in increasing the conversion rates through improving the efficiency, making management of booking process easier, helping bookers save their time and providing the OTAs and hotels to have an edge over their competitors! However, not all booking engines can provide these benefits.
Here is a list of the top 7 features that are a must-have in the booking engine to enjoy the real benefits of this great tool!
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A Responsive design
Do you still think that people making online bookings through their laptops or PCs only? Well, you are mistaken as almost 42% of the travelers use their smartphones to make their bookings, according to a study carried out by TripAdvisor. By not having a responsive booking engine, you will lose a huge number of potential customers. Make sure that the booking engine you’re choosing works seamlessly on all platforms be that a laptop, tablet or smartphone!
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Simple Infrastructure
The moment a booker begins to feel that the booking process is too complicate, they will abandon their booking right away. Therefore, the requirement of a booking engine is simple and easy to navigate infrastructure. It must be easy to use not only for the bookers but even for the staff so that it saves time for training.
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Automatic Updating
If the bookings can make from other platforms besides your own website, updating the rooms left and prices manually teach. Choose a hotel reservation system that will help you manage your inventory across all the third party booking platforms that feature your hotel with ease and automatically update the number of rooms left to avoid any problems!
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Support a Diverse Range of Languages/Currencies
Be accessible to anyone, everywhere! Get a booking engine that supports a wide range of languages and allows the users to pay in their own currency. This is a feature that many online bookers look for in a booking engine so that booking process becomes easier and convenient.
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Seamless Integration with Social Media
Social media profiles/pages, especially on Facebook are the most common ways the travelers look for suitable hotels for them. The transition from social media accounts to the booking portal must be smooth. If it’s not seamless and looks like a clumsy third-party add-on, travelers will not continue with their booking. The integration must provide a smooth flow from the social media account to the website or booking engine!
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Urgency Triggers
It is important to have a feature in the booking engine which provides a sense of urgency to the people so that they take immediate actions. This element is important and contributes to increasing conversion rates. The best type of urgency triggers in this regard are “just x number of rooms are left”, “x rooms have been booked”. The Hotel Booking Engine you choose must include this feature so that your potential guests take quick actions and book with you without any second thoughts.
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Easy Search
The searching must be simple and easy. Predictable searches or save for later feature makes searching easier and save a lot of time of the booker. Try to get a booking engine that has these mentioned search features so that guests can enjoy the perks of a fast booking process through quick searches and using the properties saved for later viewing.
Hotel Reservation System is definitely very helpful and in a digital world, this is something that can work phenomenally well for not just the OTAs, hoteliers but even the travelers. Try to use this tool to its fullest. Make sure that when you are choosing/purchasing a hotel booking engine to provide convenience to your guests, these seven features are incorporate into it.
These are the most important ones that together contribute in increasing the conversion rates, making booking process easier for both yourself and your guests and much more and building a strong image among your competitors! Build a strong reputation and enjoy the top rank among your competitors by incorporating a hotel reservation system that has it all!
