Jump to content

Thoughts on Booking/paying online


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 75
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

There's no need to shout luvvie. As I understand it you are in the gite business where I'm sure, as you work Saturday to Saturday, it is a useful tool. This is the B&B forum and a more personal approach pays dividends which is why I wouldn't contemplate an automated booking system.

Wilko
Link to comment
Share on other sites

After spending some time evaluating booking systems and Channel Management systems we went for https://www.beds24.com for our online calender (you can see ours on our website by clicking on the www at the bottom of my posts) and have used http://www.easybookonline.com in house.

Beds24 integrates very nicely with our website and has the benefit of automatically updating the calendars on Laterooms, Booking and other websites that require you to update their calendars so you don't have to remember to go and do them by hand which takes ages and is a pain. You pay a Euro for each room on each website so four rooms on three website with calendars to update cost 12 Euros per year plus a standing charge. If you cancel a booking it makes the rooms available on these websites as well. It works the othe way round so if somebody books a room on Laterooms it updates the Beds24 calendar which in turn updates all your other calendars. You can take deposits and full payments with PayPal etc. It also automatically works out the pricing if you have discounts for length of stay in either percentage form or set amount discount (like seven nights or more % Euro discount per room). You can use it as a 'full on' booking system if you wish but personally I don't like my data kept on somebody else's server but that's just me.

Easybook runs stand alone on your computer (if you have two computers you can share the data) but does not interact with Beds24 but then every booking is registered so it is something you do anyway. The core database is written in MS Access which can be handy. The nice thing is that it used MS Word to create letters, invoices etc so we have created them in different languages which our guests seem to appreciate (getting their invoice and other information in their own language). It also collects loads of information automatically and has a marketing module so you can see which website your registered on produce results and which ones don't. We set a budget for advertising every year and any website that does not perform is cancelled.

Both products come with a trial version so you can 'try before you buy' and if you decide to buy you don't loose your data that you have already created.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheers Norman... you are welcome any time...  We regularly get told it is the best food they have had in France and for a brit cook I find it had to justify ;-)

[quote user="NormanH"]I have to say that your place looks wonderful osie, in exactly my favourite bit of France [:D]

[/quote]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's entirely your decision Wilko but I'm afraid you'll be left behind in the rush to 'click and book' - makes no difference if you're offering B&B or Gites - people just want simplicity in their busy lives. Just look at Booking.com, Holiday Lettings, Tripadvisor, Lastminute.com, Hotels.com etc etc etc

Go on - give it a try! After all it's 2012....

The customer will decide....

Chiefluvvie
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with you , Chief Luvvie.  I never book any other way now - why spend hours on the phone just to be told a place is full/won't take my card etc, etc, if I can go up the road and book on line?  Give personal service, be unique, warm and welcoming by all means but what's the point of alienating huge numbers of customers by not having a facility which - looking at some of the owners' postings anyway -is relatively easy to provide?

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm following this thread with some interest because although our French interests are long-term commercial and residential lets, as can be seen from my signature we have a holiday let studio in Austria which is (supposedly) let when we aren't there, with on-site management. We're becoming increasingly disenamoured of the way that the place is marketed and are interested in exploring other ways: we could possibly get the rest of the owners on board. I came across this critique of bookings.com:

http://www.hoteldevie.com/info/2012/03/why-arent-your-rooms-available-on-booking-com-anymore/

which would tend to put me off wanting to use Bookings.com. What is the experience of others with regards to the various sites? I suspect that there are issues with the residence's site, and I don't yet have a handle on how many bookings come via the site: the place has had significant repeat bookings in the past, but I suspect that we are now paying out for services and paying commissions which aren't doing us any good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

B&B owners can be a bit strange as I have discovered over the years (I am to probably). Many feel that they don't want others to know, in particular their competition, what is available, what isn't and when. I guess it means that when they meet the owner of a nearby B&B in the supermarket they can no longer tell them they are always full. [;-)]

The only negative side with a B&B, or anyone with more than one Gite, and this system in that we do sometimes 'move' people around to accommodate people wanting a particular room for a longer stay. For instance if we have a booking for one night in a particular room then somebody asks if they could have it for a week we may, if we have another spare room, move the one night person to another room. Sometimes they might be downgraded which is very rare and of course we give them a discount but on the other hand they might find themselves in a much better room and we don't charge extra. If you have an online booking system you could loose a potential booking because they just see the week they want with one day in the middle where it is reserved so they go elsewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Pickles"]I'm following this thread with some interest because although our French interests are long-term commercial and residential lets, as can be seen from my signature we have a holiday let studio in Austria which is (supposedly) let when we aren't there, with on-site management. We're becoming increasingly dis-enamoured of the way that the place is marketed and are interested in exploring other ways: we could possibly get the rest of the owners on board. I came across this critique of bookings.com:
http://www.hoteldevie.com/info/2012/03/why-arent-your-rooms-available-on-booking-com-anymore/
which would tend to put me off wanting to use Bookings.com. What is the experience of others with regards to the various sites? I suspect that there are issues with the residence's site, and I don't yet have a handle on how many bookings come via the site: the place has had significant repeat bookings in the past, but I suspect that we are now paying out for services and paying commissions which aren't doing us any good.
[/quote]

Gosh that's just like Hostel World who we have now cancelled our advert with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"]

(I am too probably).[/quote]Surely not!

I'm not saying that I approve of the way in which Bookings appears to have conducted their business, nor that it's better than booking direct - of course it isn't, so long as your place is easy to find when I do a search - simply that I do like to be able to book on line.  What's more, if you're doing a booking in a "foreign" language, it's a good deal easier than over the phone or via e-mail or letter, to figure out all you need to know about when rooms are available and how to reserve them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it is the case that there are tools (i.e. booking.com )out there if you wish to utilize them and if you think they can be tweaked to work for you.

The points mentioned are all valid but are the challenges which could be overcome, tolerated, utilised.

I would say that the more fingers you have in the pot, the more likely you are to get some honey.. or mulberry jam.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with the service they offer; A competent software, available and understanding helpdesk.  They have put in some effort on my behalf and they get a fair bit in return... but then so do I.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Quillan"]Gosh that's just like Hostel World who we have now cancelled our advert with.[/quote]

Interestingly, it looks like that as a result of leaving Booking.com, the "hotel de vie" still crops up in third-party booking sites, but (damagingly) it comes up with "no availability" for any dates. Insiduous, isn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm pretty dense with the computer malarky so excuse this question ,if it has an obvious answer, but what happens if someone has reserved and paid for a room on-line exactly at the same moment I happen to be taking a telephoney booking at the same moment for the same date?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess it is the same if you have 2 telephone lines or chat with someone who turns up while someone else is on the phone upstairs taking a booking.

The more booking facilities you have the more chances there is of a double booking.

You need to hinder it happening as much as possible and if it happens figure something out.

What you dont want is to reduce your turnover due to unlikely events therefore you need a setup to make it fairly unlikely that it could happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lets be honest, the only way to stop double bookings is to have only one method of taking reservations, say only over the phone.

Some websites that you can advertise on, like the ones mentioned in this thread, do have slight delays in their email system when busy so really any commission based advertiser (i.e the top two or three companies who run TV ads and always come out top of any searches) should be avoided if this is a concern to you. But then if you don't advertise on at least one of them you are not going to get your property in front of possibly millions of prospective guests.

On the rare occasions it has happened I have always found that quick reaction and an honest approach finds people very understanding. Leave it to fester for a while then offer some cock-and-ball story just really annoys people.

To be honest these days I simply refer them to our website and tell them there are loads of photo's of the rooms, the tarifs and options are clearly displayed and that they can check their dates and even make a reservation. This I have found is working quite well for me and in general is making life a bit easier. Today for example I have had three confirmed reservations (deposits taken) during the time I have been cleaning three rooms ready for guests tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the vast array of comments, its been incredibly useful.

Some may or not know that me and my husband split up last year and winter when all this should have been done it didn't happen and now I'm reaping the consequences of it. But this winter we're having a complete revamp, I've met a Swedish guy who's moving in in October so I won't be running it on my own anymore so hopefully there will be more time on managing and driving the business forward, not just the day to day essentials.

So everyones input is really welcomed but it will included the following

Update the website with more photo's and details what to do in the area.

Translate it to French and Swedish possibly German ( not sure about translating to languages we don't speak even at a basic level, but Spanish could be useful.)

Re assessing all of the sites we're lised on Including Sawdays, Chic Retreats, Furtherafield or other book/website listings where you can't book online in favour of sites with online booking.

Has anybody any experience of the french Chambre D'Hote sites/books such as Chambre D'Hotes de Charme, Chambre D'hotes Secretes or any other suggestion?Specifically things aimed at the luxury/charme part of the market.

Still unsure of sites which only deliver overnighters, we stopped listing with the tourist information office because of the quality of the guests that were delivered.

And am contemplating the use of a small scale PR company ( I know a suitable one in the UK) but would like to find one that could help with Northern Europeans and Scandinavians.

Now this will probably sound stupid but I'm going to ask it anyway, is there an online booking/management system that the client can pay online with instantly and the comapny transfers the money to your bank account without the need for a credit card terminal?

Please keep you thoughts and ideas coming as its helping me formulate a plan for the future!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Babbles"]

Now this will probably sound stupid but I'm going to ask it anyway, is there an online booking/management system that the client can pay online with instantly and the comapny transfers the money to your bank account without the need for a credit card terminal?

[/quote]

Emmm yes - already posted above - www.avialcheck.com - just incorporate an appropriate (B&B, Gites, Hotel etc) booking engine into your website and link to your Paypal account - dead simple.

Chiefluvvie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There are quite a few actually, some suitable for Gites and others for B&B's. They all come with some form of free trial all you need to do is experiment and find the right one for you. It took me a few goes to find mine, I tried a few, which is for B&B's and hotels as we have different requirments to Gites and I am quite happy.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've looked at both sites , please correct me but in essence availcheck.com take paypal deposits but don't sync calenders on other sites but beds24.com do.

Syncing accounts is important to me ( I think it will be!) so I'm going to try beds24 at first and am going to see Bank Pop on thursday but a great fall back position is avialcheck.

I'll let you all know how I get on, Thanks
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beds24 links with PayPal. Personally I like to keep some control so I use this manually. I can confirm it works well with the other site calendars it connects to. There is a learning cycle to go through. Knowing what I know now I would not touch the syncing side till I have the rest working. You also need to be careful when you set up for Laterooms. I made a type that could have sold all my rooms for a Euro but as I was logged in to both at the time I saw what happened and it only took me 30 seconds to fix. If you need help then PM me.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read about the iZettle today and wondered if it's something that might be of help when more readily available:

http://www.izettle.com/about

It sounds a good idea for small businesses, providing a quick, easy solution to some problem areas. It's not yet available in France, but has been going for a year in Sweden and is being trialled in UK.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've used Hotels de Charme - nice easy site to use - and got me a smashing place to stay in the Vendee.

When renovating/updating, please consider those of us with mobility problems.  You cannot imagine the frustration of finding the perfect hotel, only to discover that the only showers available there are in baths and that there are no grab handles anywhere.  Pretty please![:)] ~At the very least, can you show the bathrooms in your pics so we know what we're in for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cooperlola, that's certainly a nice looking site and aimed at the right type of customer, one to put on the list to enquire about listing on, ones like that I'm happy to pay commission to rather than to list on their site as it could be hit or miss wether you'd get bookings, and interesting the sites in Spanish to.

Our showers are all walk in ones, but we do have steps up from the street into the house even though we do have a ground floor suite its not really wheelchair friendly but with limited mobility we're ok.:-)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share


×
×
  • Create New...