March 2024 Newsletter
March 2024 Newsletter
Jump into the March 2024 issue of the GuestPoint Newsletter! Join us as we examine recent consumer trends of the increasing demand for easy payment solutions. Check your processes of preparing for a holiday period with our preparation guide. A valuable guide for setting pre-paid bookings in your PMS and the benefits. Tips and Tricks on how to increase your direct bookings from OTAs. Be inspired by our Property of the Month and do not miss our current loyalty deal on websites. Finishing with this month’s brain teasing did you know?
Industry News
Consumer trends increasing demand for easy payment solutions
Recent studies have found an industry shift in the payment preferences of consumers. Many travellers prefer modern payment solutions that are considered easy and convenient to use when booking. There has been a reported shift of 60% that travellers aren’t likely to carry cash. As reported in 2020 79% of travellers said they were likely to travel with cash, in 2023 it was reported that only 31% of travellers carry cash with them.
Why the shift?
This shift towards digital payment solutions has been particularly enhanced in the post-pandemic era, reflecting customers’ desire for safe and convenient payment options. The wide acceptance of cards by businesses, heightened travel security and favourable foreign exchange rates when using digital payment methods can also be accredited for this change.
This shift has placed a greater importance on having an up-to-date payment system that suits the needs of a modern traveller. Providing secure and contactless payments that directly accommodate the needs of modern travellers. By making these changes it can streamline the booking process increasing guest satisfaction.
Key Consumer Insights
A large majority of consumers when they are looking to book accommodation put convenience first. If they struggle to navigate your website they won’t hesitate to find a new accommodation option. This is the same with long and difficult payment options. If the payment process is long and complicated this can be enough to make potential guests click off your website and find a different solution. To combat this, ensure your website is clearly labelled and easy to navigate, with an added focus on mobile payments, allowing multiple payment options could also assist in converting guests. Additionally, ensuring your reviews are up to date and highlighting both the booking and staying periods is valuable for your property.
Not only is ensuring a simple and effective payment solution vital but additionally ensuring security is a priority. Many people find it hard to trust online payment, to combat this, display what security measures your property takes and ensure your payment site looks professional leaving no room for hesitation and second thoughts. Also giving people payment choices is important. Guests appreciate flexibility so allow choices that align with their preferences, whether it’s credit cards, digital wallets or additional options, be flexible.
Valuable takeaways
The recent shift in payment preferences has left many properties with some decisions to make. The need to invest in an effective payment solution is important to keep up to date with these trends. When investing in a payment solution the following should be noted, the system should be user-friendly and easy to use, allow a plethora of payment options, and provide strong security/fraud protection. Additionally, it’s suggested that for hoteliers their payment solutions should be easily integrated into their PMS to ensure a more effective administration process.
Blog Article
Preparing for a holiday
For many properties, holiday periods are highly influential for their bottom line. This is not limited to the Christmas and New Year’s break. With many different events and holidays throughout the year, your property should be prepared for any occasion. There are a variety of things you should be doing to get prepared and to boost your occupation rate during these periods.
Have your Property Prepared
The holiday period can be a stressful time for a lot of families and guests. From long days travelling or hectic travel plans, many guests may have less patience than usual. To ensure a smooth and stress-free environment for your guests here are a few things you can do:
Ensure you are Properly Staffed
Having an appropriate amount of staff is vital. This ensures quick check-in time and overall efficiency of your property. Staffing is tough, especially during a holiday period. To stay on top of this, set rosters early when you know a busy period is approaching and any staffing issues can be dealt with, swiftly and appropriately. As mentioned due to travel-induced stress some customers may be irate with little issues, which can be negated with well-trained staff who have a plan in place and can resolve issues quickly. So, before a busy period have a small session with your team and discuss ways to assist guests who are having any issues.
Remain on Schedule
If you say rooms will be ready at a certain time, ensure they are available. Many travellers have planned their days down to the minute. To keep them on schedule, make sure rooms are available when said, also if you offer on-site dining be on time for opening. However, it is understood that not everything is perfect and delays can happen. Be prepared for this, and offer some form of compensation. Compensation can look like a variety of things. For example, if rooms are delayed due to housekeeping you could offer something as simple as a coffee voucher, or if there is a cafe located close work with the cafe to send guests there while they wait. Something as little as this can make all the difference for your guests’ first impressions.
General Cleanliness
First impressions count, the first thing that many guests notice is how well-maintained the property is. This does not only include dirt/dust things such as how well gardens and grounds are maintained. If you know a busy period is approaching be prepared, it should require little amounts of maintenance during that period causing less work for staff.
Increasing Occupancy During this Period
There are a plethora of methods that have been proven to increase bookings, especially during busy holiday periods. What should you be doing to get an edge on your competition? Listed are a few methods which can be used to boost occupancy:
Package Deals
Offering holiday specials or package deals is a good way to draw more attention to your property. If presented in the right way you can create extra value for your customers without reducing your online prices. By contacting local attractions you could create a deal for discounted rates for your guests at their experience. This benefits both you and the local business as you are creating positive guest experiences whilst being able to package this into your hotel. Additionally, you could offer complimentary breakfast if you have in-house dining options or in-room breakfast hampers continental style.
Themed Events
Promote on-theme events and content for upcoming holidays. For example, Easter is coming up. You should be anticipating the reason people are holidaying during that period and promote easter style specials and deals now. Putting on events for kids can also be a point of difference. Having things available such as themed colouring-in or a small Easter egg hunt. The cost incurred is minimal by you but could make all the difference for families who are looking to book accommodation. If there is an event happening in your town, organise a shuttle bus to and from the venue or instructions on how to attend the event. It’s best to prepare yourself to understand what is on and who the event/holiday is targeted towards. This will help you make your guest’s stay a more personalised one.
GuestPoint Guide to:
How to Process Pre-Paid Bookings
Offering pre-paid bookings is a crucial feature that empowers property owners with numerous advantages. One of the foremost benefits is enhanced security. When guests pre-pay for their accommodations, it assures that they won’t cancel, thus guaranteeing revenue for the entire duration of their stay. Additionally, pre-payment expedites financial transactions, ensuring prompt settlement in a single payment rather than over an extended period. Moreover, it streamlines the check-in process, eliminating the need for in-person payments and enabling guests to seamlessly check-in.
How to select pre-paid booking in your PMS:
- Click to create a new reservation
- Fill in client details
- In step 7 payment options select ‘Prepaid Booking’
Management Tips & Tricks
Getting people to book through your website rather than OTAs
Directing traffic to your website is in the best interest of both you and your potential guests. With inflated rates on particular channels due to high commission rates here are some easy solutions to drive traffic into your direct booking.
Linking Your OTA Profile to your Website
It’s important to add a direct link between your profile displayed on the different channels you are promoted on and your website. It should be easy to find the book now function on your website allowing a smooth and seamless booking process for guests.
Direct Booking Benefits
A good way of driving traffic to your website from OTAs is by offering direct booking deals. It is important to not display a message telling customers that rates are cheaper through direct booking. However, there are ways to promote cheaper rates without directly saying it “”. Having packages only available through your website is a good way to drive people to book directly. This can also be displayed in your OTAs which may look something like this ‘More packages available on our website.’ This is deemed acceptable due to no mention of price and doesn’t have the effect of undermining your OTAs.
When customers have moved from the OTA to your website have a banner on your front page displaying that prices are cheaper if you book direct. You could use slogans such as “BOOK DIRECT 2 SAVE” or something similar to encourage direct bookings once they are on your website.
Properties of the Month
Property Group
This multi-property group has a diverse range of properties that offer different types of stays depending on the guest. This exemplifies what every multi-property owner should be looking to achieve when operating within the same area. They range from family-friendly properties to those who are looking to have a few drinks with a bar onsite and in between a mix of both.
All the properties are located in the NSW country town of Parkes. A small country town that offers a lot for those visiting. A centrepiece in their community is the Elvis Festival, where over five days more than 200 events take place including performances, parades, dances and much more. Parkes has also scratched its name in history with their assistance in broadcasting the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing to the world. This was made possible with the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, which has a visit discovery centre where you can explore and learn more about the incredible history of the tower. Also on offer is an outdoor sculpture trail ‘Sculpture Down the Lachlan’ which is a captivating experience and well fit for those who like outdoor adventures.
Parkes Federation Motel
Parkes Federation Motel offers a range of rooms offering something for everyone. They offer a pet-friendly room, with direct access to their backyard allowing for your pets to go about their business. Additionally, they offer family rooms making it an ideal stay for families. They have a pool on the grounds, also a large outdoor BBQ area and free shuttles to the airport. Parkes Federation Motel offers many other room types to fit the needs of many travellers.
Parkes Hotel
This highly-rated hotel has many guests leaving top reviews after staying. This property features an onsite bar, which is perfect for those visiting Parkes for festivals and events. With a unique style and friendly team, Parkes Hotel has guests leaving satisfied. Ideally located in town you are never too far away from what’s happening.
Broadway Hotel
The Broadway Hotel is a well-known venue in town, well known for its in-house dining and bar. For those who visit the food is a must. Located by the town centre, anything you need is within walking distance. They offer a plethora of room options having something for everyone. This property is well-rounded and exemplifies what a country town property should look like.
Court Street Motel
Quiet and comfortable are keywords used to describe Court Street Motel. This well-equipped property is perfect for a wide variety of travellers. This property offers in collaboration with ‘Lachlan Valley Cycle Trails’ bike-friendly accommodation and luggage shuttling for when you are making the track across the infamous cycling trails. Showing genuine care for their guests and understanding their town and the impact their attractions have.
How GuestPoint Has Assisted This Group
Three months ago this property group had two new websites created by the GuestPoint website creation team. Since this exciting new upgrade, both properties have seen a “significant increase” in direct bookings. Receiving many compliments on the functionality of their website making their day-to-day business run more effectively. Enhancing their online presence with their improved Mobile-First-Indexing helping their properties SEO.
All four properties are using GuestPoint Channel Manager, which was described as “extremely simple, and a must-have for my administration” highlighting how useful a fully automated system works and has saved hours of work. “I 100 per cent suggest getting GuestPoint Channel Manager,” are the words of a highly experienced multi-property owner. After they moved their first property onto GuestPoint they were quick to move the rest. With smooth system operations and a simple system to understand, the training tools were found to be extremely useful to upskill all staff.
This group found the use of GuestPoints’ range of solutions to be highly beneficial toward their day-to-day. Increasing their efficiency, stating that when the system is fully set up it “does the work for you,” giving them more time to focus on the other processes of running a property.
Updates V12.1.0
We are thrilled to announce the arrival of GuestPoint’s newest update, explore what’s new:
- Reservation Plan Refresh Improvements – We have increased the update speed within the ‘Reservation Plan’.
- New Onboarding Functionality – This has been added to streamline the initial GuestPoint setup experience for new GuestPoint users.
- Improved image handling – has been added to ‘Property, and Room Type’ photos to support larger images
- New Feature – The ability to select all room types options has been added to the ‘Room Types’ dropdown in the ‘Bulk Inventory Update’ screen to improve user experience.
- Overall Improvement – Improved casing of guest and company names has been added throughout the App.
- Auto-save features – in the Management tab models have been optimized to improve user experience.
- New Report – A new report has been added to GuestPoint Pay.
It contains improvements for the following issues:
- The height of the description field on the ‘Holiday and Events’ model has been increased.
- The future charges screen of the booking has been optimized.
- The quantity of ‘Per Person’ inclusions would now be based on the number of Adults/Children listed on the booking.
- Checked-in rooms linked to the same reservation would now be displayed on the list of accounts when transferring to another account within the reservation.
- Ability to allow the use of the same promotion code across multiple room types.
- Ability to replace expired credit cards.
- A gift Card footer option has been added to the ‘Property Header & Footer’ area for properties using gift cards.
- WebPoint Booking Page: Increased the value of the number of guests that the user can select up to 20.
Loyalty Deal
Currently, GuestPoint offers a 25% discount on all websites. Don’t miss out on this offer and give your property a digital facelift. Our choice-made websites are tailored for the accommodation industry with proven websites designed to convert lookers into bookers. So get your new choice-built website with GuestPoint.
Contact: Info@GuestPoint.com
GuestPoint Trivia
On average how many domestic flights does an Australian take every year?
A)10
B)5
C)6
D)8
Correct answer B, Australians account for 75% of total tourism spend every year.
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