5 Ways Your Current Hotel Booking Software is Letting You Down

Any hotelier knows that the right booking software is the key to accelerating your business and providing guests with the experience they deserve.

But how do you know if your hotel booking software is helping or hindering your operations? It's time to take a long hard look at your current booking system to see if it is enabling — or actually delaying —  your long-term growth.

Here are five ways your hotel booking software may be letting you down: 

1. You’re Not Using a Branded Direct Booking Engine on Your Website.

If you moved away from third-party booking engines, then you may be accepting reservations on an internal booking software solution. But not all booking software is the same... For instance, some do not integrate seamlessly with your hotel’s website. 

When the booking functionality of your website does not match the aesthetic and style of your brand, it can lead to user distrust. Not to mention, booking engines with outdated layouts and a lack of user-friendly functionality look bad on your company. In fact, 75% of consumers admit to making judgments on a company’s credibility based on the company’s website design while 38% of people will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive. If you're not using an on-brand, trusted booking software, it may be time to upgrade. 

With Solonis:

With Solonis's convenient online booking, we wanted guests to experience a clean layout. Guests can access a snapshot display screen showing relevant content, a shopping cart style booking process, cancellation policies, and a handy map link for travel directions. Does your current booking engine do the same? 

For property managers, an additional perk of Solonis is the ability to make it a seamless extension of their current website. They can add logos and customize colors to match their brand, and enterprise users can tailor the booking engine to each individual property in their portfolio.

2. Your Booking System Doesn’t Have a Guest Portal.

After guests book reservations, they may want to verify their travel information, revise the details of their booking, or even ask a question about their stay. With your current setup, where can guests go to do this?

Communicating with guests on a third-party booking engine can cause headaches, leading to slow response times and disconnected, messy guest information living outside of your property management system. Even if you are using just one booking system, other booking software solutions do not allow guests to access their booking information without referencing a confirmation email or calling the hotel. Does your current booking engine grant guests the convenience of managing their reservations, check-in, and check-out using their mobile device? Do they also have access to print or email statements and make secure payments online?

If your current booking software is missing some of these core features, it may be letting you down. You need a booking solution that puts your guests first, by giving them their own personalized guest portal. 

With Solonis:

With Solonis' Guest Portal, your customers can manage reservations, check-in, and check-out all with their mobile device, or access their statements online. Guests can use the portal’s messaging feature to chat directly with your staff, ensuring streamlined communication to meet their needs as quickly as possible. 

Instead of digging through the logins and messaging applications of numerous third-party booking software solutions, you can have all your communications in one place with Solonis. You can even communicate with guests through SMS messaging, a fast, simple solution for the modern-day user. 

3. Your Booking System Doesn’t Allow for Automated Communication.

When you're dealing with thousands of guests across multi-property locations, you and your staff don't have time to manually communicate with each and every customer. Instead, you need to streamline operations by automating as much as possible, without sacrificing the guest experience. There are many ways that automation can make life more convenient, quick, and accessible to both guests and staff.

Does your current booking software allow for automated, personalized communication? If your booking software does not allow you to communicate with your guests, or if it doesn’t have automated booking processes, you’re spending too much time and effort in an area that could be optimized.

With Solonis:

Keep guests up-to-date via seamless communication with the guest messaging features fully integrated with Solonis’ reservation and property management system. From SMS text messaging and online chat to targeted emails and triggered correspondence, Solonis helps ensure seamless communication with every guest. Learn more about our guest marketing features here.

4. Your Booking System Doesn’t Allow You To Leverage Reviews.

You know that your travelers want to read reviews before booking, but do you know how many? According to SiteMinder, 81% of travelers prefer to read reviews before booking a hotel, and 91% of 18 to 34-year-olds treat reviews as they would personal recommendations from friends.

Positive reviews are the foundation of your hotel’s sales and marketing strategy online. These testimonials bolster credibility and help you attract more guests. Does your current software allow you to leverage guest reviews to gather feedback, improve their experience midway through their stay, and more? If not, you’re being hindered by your software. 

With Solonis:

Through the Solonis property system, hoteliers can automate communication based on the guest information stored about the reservation in the database. Email triggers can be set up to automatically ask guests to leave a review after their stay, for example. This added convenience allows your hotel to effortlessly gather important testimonials to feature on your website.

5. Your Booking System Doesn’t Include Reporting.

Some booking software solutions lack one important feature: analytics. Your booking system helps drive important decisions, granting you visibility into your demographic and guests’ purchasing habits. Does your current booking solution allow you to create your own operational reports or customizable insights? Sometimes the out-of-the-box reports just don't cut it. 

With Solonis:

Never fear having the insights that you need from your booking software ever again. With over 200 insightful metrics into your property’s performance, you can customize operational reports to drive data-driven decisions. Not only can your booking software reports be personalized, but they can also be automatically sent to your inbox with real-time analytics. 

Increase Direct Bookings With a Better Booking Software

Ready to improve your current booking software setup? You can, with Solonis.

Download our free ebook, to learn how to use your PMS to work smarter!