Bookings are what every hotelier wants - all the time, all year long. They bring meaning to your property and make your business thrive. What good is a hotel that does not accommodate guests? To get more and more bookings you do everything in your power to be seen online and keep your guests happy. Unfortunately, you will inevitably get reservations that are known as “bad” in hotel-speak. For the following reasons:
- They are full of problems.
- Your guests leave unhappy.
- Your reputation is tarnished.
There are numerous reasons for these bookings, but focusing on the key factors, we can name the following ones:
- Poor customer connections
- Inefficient management
- Faulty channel administration
The good news is that there are ways to solve these situations. Now let's delve deeper into the above-mentioned and find the best ways to eliminate the issue of bad bookings.
Poor customer connections
If you get bookings and then questions about your terms and conditions, this is a sure sign that the communication between you and your guests is flawed. In other words people do not understand the rules at your property. This leaves them confused and wondering what happens if they cancel a booking. Often the end result is unhappy and upset guests and a lot of time wasted to explain the policies at your hotel.
To solve this unpleasant situation you should take advantage of a more-in-one reservation system that openly describes your policies towards cancellations and refunds. Thus, potential guests will know what to expect before they book a room. On your side you will save a lot of effort and time trying to explain your policies to already upset guests. Chances are you will also avoid negative reviews.
Inefficient management
The symptoms of inefficient management are many but inability to close rooms for arrival and departure and dealing with inaccurate information are two major ones. In the first case the end result would be lost revenue and a harmed public reputation that will make you look unprofessional and short on resources. In the second case you will lack crucial information, which will prevent you from serving your guests optimally. They may arrive at an unexpected time or you won’t have enough rooms to house them all. Again, you will lose money.
Luckily both problems have a single solution - to install a more-in-one reservation system that collects all necessary guest information before a guest makes a booking. This will allow you to be fully prepared before guests arrive.
Faulty channel administration
Proper channel administration is important for the smooth running of your hotel but if you get numerous double bookings or lots of incorrect booking information, this means there’s something wrong with your booking channels. In both cases you will have to deal with angry guests, lost income and hurt property reputation - and this is something you definitely do not want.
Again, the solution is to install a more-in-one reservation system, which supports efficient channel management. It has to be closely integrated with the distribution channels you use and offer a pooled inventory model that will allow you to sell as many rooms as you can with no double bookings whatsoever. In addition it has to collect lots of guest information. Without providing it, they shouldn’t be able to make a reservation.
Having an excellent more-in-one reservation system is very important to anyone, engaged in the hospitality industry. It will help you increase your revenue and making you more efficient. But more importantly - it will eliminate poor online bookings. Finally you will have one less problem to worry about.