Room reservation software is an extremely valuable piece of technology for your hotel, should you choose to install it. This system will help you schedule the dates and length of stay for guests, allowing them to choose their rooms at the time of booking and take payments from them. On the more advanced scale, it can even be set up to allow guests to choose extras and other add-ons. Here are a few things you will need to consider before choosing hotel reservation software.

Online Hotel Reservation System

A good hotel booking system needs to have a user-friendly interface that helps both guests and staff.

A convenient calendar front-desk view will be a huge advantage to make the reservation process simpler. The software should provide your guests with all the information that they may look for including prices, packages, room types, add-ons, inclusions, and other details, without them having to scroll through your website.

Online Payment Integration

Integrating an online payment option with your hotel reservation system would not only make it convenient for guests to make reservations, but also help you meet your booking/cancellation policy requirements. Financials collected via online bookings should also automatically be recorded in back-end financial reports. Encouraging guests to pay online encourages following the necessary social distancing norms.

Automated Communication

Automation of communication has become a necessity in the service industry. Guests expect a detailed confirmation email after booking a room. Confirmation emails should be customizable according to the hotel’s brand image and voice. For instance, you should be able to provide tips for traveling, information about local festivals and attractions, and other details. Your room reservation software should also support the scheduling and formatting of these messages.

Central Reservation System

Travelers prefer to make reservations from different sources- hotel web booking engines, online travel agents (OTAs), and the front desk. Managing these reservations can be confusing and errors such as double booking, overbooking, or forgetting to confirm the reservation of a guest can lead to bad reviews and loss in business. Having a central reservation system for hotels that is linked to a channel manager will help you manage these discrepancies efficiently. Your channel manager and hotel reservation system are integrated to give you real-time updates of room availability as well as prices of these rooms across all your booking channels.

Languages and Currencies

Your hotel booking software should allow guests to make reservations in their preferred language and currency. Guests making reservations with a particular language should also receive email or message confirmations in the same language. This simple feature can enrich the guest experience and promote bookings with your hotel from across the globe. Catering to different currencies is also very crucial. You want to target a more global audience, and a lot of your customers will be tourists. An ideal booking engine will be able to automatically set the language and currency preferences based on the IP address.

Discounts and Promotions

When thinking about increasing revenue and keeping your guests happy, a good strategy to take would be by providing exclusive promo codes or discounts. Efficient room reservation software should give you the option to create and apply promo codes. In addition to simple discounts, you should also be able to customize the discounts and promotions based on when the booking was made, if the customer is loyal, if it’s a corporate booking or travel agent booking, or even according to the season, events, early-bird or last-minute rates.

Robust Reporting System

Data plays a vital role in guiding a business’s goals. Having the right data can help you optimize business performance and give your guests a more personalized experience. Hotel reservation software integrated with a robust reporting system is a must-have to help your business make smarter choices. Information that you could gain from such an advantage include:

• Assessing performance on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis

• Keeping track of pending payments and tabs

• Predictive analytics for sales

• Budgeting

• Rate management

• Personalized guest data

Cloud-Based Services

Choosing an online hotel reservation system that is remotely available will make their jobs easier, and more productive. Furthermore, having the ability to access data remotely will also promote social distancing and keep your hotel staff and guests safe. Cloud-based hotel booking software can be accessed from anywhere at any time and from any device.