The Steps to Success
Online buyers want all rates and fees clearly outlined on your website. The
booking process should be seamless and not contain too many steps (opening a
different looking web page in a new window is not seamless; it is well known
that you always lose a certain percentage of users in each step of the online
purchase process). When possible, model the booking process after sites like Expedia.com and Orbitz.com. They have spent
millions in market research to find out what works (and what doesn't), and are
familiar to your customers.
Consumers must trust your offering. In addition to clearly outlining your terms
and track record, letting previous renters post reviews of your properties and
services dramatically increases the trust factor.nderstand thEven today it is important to understand that all bookings won’t occur online.
Make sure your systems are set up to handle leads who abandoned the booking
process, by capturing actionable lead data points (email and phone number) prior
to the credit card information and send those “hot” leads to your reservation
agents as quickly as possible. The booking agents’ screens should be simple and
automate follow-up workflow.
Common Challanges
Pricing rules and discounts are
often complicated and change frequently, therefore many companies put only
approximate rates in a grid below the property for the different seasons. This
makes it very difficult for the average consumer to figure out exactly how much
they need to pay for their lodging. Collecting reviews and posting them on the
site in a way that seems both authentic and allows for some degree of control
is both mind nerving and time consuming.
If the website inquiries and
abandoned bookings are not part of your reservation system, generating follow
up call lists for your agents is difficult.
How Bookt Can Help
In a Bookt powered website
solution, it is easy for users to compare multiple units and get prices per
room and night just like they would on a hotel website. An unlimited number of rates for different
periods can be entered for each property and there are several ways to apply
discount codes.
If the feature has been enabled,
an email is sent out automatically to all renters after checkout asking them to
rate their experience. The feedback is posted for your review and can be added
to the public site or discarded at your discretion.
The Bookt platform integrates the events on the website with
the reservation system. A simple “pending leads” screen allow your booking
agents to call each lead and quickly complete the booking or pick the
appropriate follow up (send more property info, follow up in a few days etc.)