Online hotel bookings are the way of the future as a large number of hotel bookings in recent years have been through an app, a website, or an online travel agent. According to surveys, an estimated 700 million people will make a booking online by 2023. More and more people are using their mobile phones for travel bookings and customers use their phones to do most of their research when they are looking for a hotel. With a mobile first outlook, most hotel managers need to ensure their property shows up in the mobile search results for the desired search terms and customers are able to easily book a room after searching for the hotel. A hotel reservation software is the key in accomplishing this goal.
With a reservation software for hotels, property managers can ensure they get bookings from domestic as well as international customers. A hotel can increase its reach dramatically by using a hotel reservation software that is customized to suit the needs of the hotel. Whether it is a small B&B or a large chain hotel, a reservation software is a must for all hotels that want to take their profits to the next level.
Here are some ways in which a hotel reservation software can help your hotel to maximize bookings and bring in profits from a wide range of sources.
1. Scope for a Wider Market
A reservation software for hotels is the first step towards making your hotel truly international. Now you can cater to guests from international locations that are looking for a hotel stay at your property. A versatile booking engine can integrate with your hotel website and provide your customers with all the information that they are looking for. What’s more, the software can also show the customers room prices in their chosen currency for better familiarity. A software that is customized to meet the look and design of the website helps customers become more comfortable in booking a room and also builds brand loyalty.
2. Reduction in Booking Errors
Overbooking and underbooking errors can often happen in a hotel that uses manual methods of data entry. With a reservation software handling the bookings, there is no scope of such error when you use a reservation software for hotels. Rooms are made available for booking only when there is inventory and once a room is assigned to a guest, it is not available for further bookings. Other data input fields such as customer names, address, financial information etc are also saved in the system without any errors.
3. Integration with Online Payment Gateways
It is easy to integrate an online payment gateway in your hotel reservation system. This is the ideal way forwards as domestic and international guests will be able to book a room and pay with ease. A payment gateway is also an essential part of the hotel policy regarding bookings and cancellations. The software can collect the financial information related to the online bookings and use the data to create reports. Also, in the post-covid hospitality world, guests are more inclined to pay online to maintain social distancing.
4. In-depth Reporting
Reports are a fantastic way to understand how your hotel business is running and which areas need improvements. With a reservation software, you can find out which areas your guests are visiting from, the booking preference of guests, guests that are visiting again, payment preferences, and much more. With these reports managers can figure out which areas need improvement and which areas are performing better than others. Tweaking these metrics of the hotel’s performance can give great returns in the long run. Reports can also help with predictive analysis of sales trends, budgeting, and rate management.
5. Task Automation
There are certain tasks that can be well handled by the software without the need of human input. For example, sending booking confirmation emails to guests and then emailing them for feedback. The hotel’s reservation software should have the option to schedule and send these emails. Other tasks like assigning room for cleaning to housekeeping staff should be done automatically once the room is marked as vacated on the dashboard.
6. Cloud Back-Up and Data Synchronization
Backing the data in the cloud is the most essential feature of the hotel reservation system. This data, once it is synched through the cloud, can be used by the other hotels in the chain to ensure customers get a unified experience at different hotel locations. Customers are more inclined to choose a property for future visits when they get a unique stay experience. The word-of-mouth publicity for the property also adds to the reliability factor of the hotel for new customers.
The data can also be used to understand customer behaviors and their spending patterns. Hotel staff can use this information to provide a personalized hotel stay experience to the guests. Whether guests have specific requirements or preferences regarding their food, room location, or stay timings, this data can be shared across the properties of a hotel chain with ease.
Conclusion
Finding the best reservation software for hotels is the one action that will make your hotel property the first choice of guests. In a nutshell, if your customers are happy, they will bring more business to your property. At mycloud Hospitality, we help you to increase the happiness quotient of your guests by offering an award-winning software suite that you can customize as per the needs of your property. Whether you are managing multiple properties or a single B&B, you can use the software with ease. There are zero upfront fees, 24/7 customer support and the software can be live at your property in as little as four hours. So what are you waiting for? Call +1-415-390-5039 to schedule a demonstration. Check out https://www.mycloudhospitality.com/ for more information.