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Accommodation - growing your business

Using a booking engine to keep track of your bookings

Contents

  • Supply Chain Optimisation for Accommodation Providers
  • Supply Chain Optimisation for Accommodation Providers Top Tips
  • Getting the most from your photography
  • How to create and update your tourism product on discovernorthernireland.com
  • Using Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
  • Maximising the value of your bookings and encouraging return bookings
  • An introduction to SEO
  • Why use Twitter?
  • Customer Service vs. Customer Experience
  • Making contact with your local Visitor Information Centre (VIC)
  • Surprise and delight your customers
  • How do you apply for a brown sign?
  • Creating a digital marketing strategy for tourism accommodation businesses
  • Things to consider when building a website
  • Managing and protecting your online reputation
  • Using a booking engine to keep track of your bookings
  • Be aware of scams and fraud
  • Using YouTube for your business
  • Using Google to market your accommodation business
  • Creating video content for your accommodation business
  • Why you should consider using Instagram
  • How Google Analytics can help monitor your website
  • How to use Instagram for your accommodation business
  • LinkedIn and your tourism accommodation business
  • Pinterest for your tourism business
  • How can tourism businesses use TikTok
  • Developing your brand storytelling to engage with customers
  • How customer-focused is your camping accommodation business?
  • Which Facebook features can your accommodation business avail of?

Contents

  • Supply Chain Optimisation for Accommodation Providers
  • Supply Chain Optimisation for Accommodation Providers Top Tips
  • Getting the most from your photography
  • How to create and update your tourism product on discovernorthernireland.com
  • Using Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)
  • Maximising the value of your bookings and encouraging return bookings
  • An introduction to SEO
  • Why use Twitter?
  • Customer Service vs. Customer Experience
  • Making contact with your local Visitor Information Centre (VIC)
  • Surprise and delight your customers
  • How do you apply for a brown sign?
  • Creating a digital marketing strategy for tourism accommodation businesses
  • Things to consider when building a website
  • Managing and protecting your online reputation
  • Using a booking engine to keep track of your bookings
  • Be aware of scams and fraud
  • Using YouTube for your business
  • Using Google to market your accommodation business
  • Creating video content for your accommodation business
  • Why you should consider using Instagram
  • How Google Analytics can help monitor your website
  • How to use Instagram for your accommodation business
  • LinkedIn and your tourism accommodation business
  • Pinterest for your tourism business
  • How can tourism businesses use TikTok
  • Developing your brand storytelling to engage with customers
  • How customer-focused is your camping accommodation business?
  • Which Facebook features can your accommodation business avail of?

Using a booking engine to keep track of your bookings

If you need help keeping track and managing your bookings you might want to consider implementing an online booking system.

Person using smartphone for accommodation vacation deal on mobile reservation app

Having a booking system enables customers to book via your own website or your social media channels, it can help reduce the admin burden and means your business is accessible 24/7 to potential customers.   

There are various booking engines on the market, some of the most commonly used are  

  • Avvio (https://www.avvio.com/ ) 
  • Eviivo (https://eviivo.com/ ) 
  • Little Hotelier (https://www.littlehotelier.com) 
  • Freetobook,( https://en.freetobook.com/ )  
  • Queensboroughgroup (https://www.queensboroughgroup.co.uk/)  
  • Site Minder (https://www.siteminder.com/ )  

When it comes to choosing a booking engine for your business there are some things you should consider: 

  • Is it user friendly? 
  • What cost is involved? Is there a set up fee? Do they charge annually? Any other fees? Is there commission? 
  • How does the system integrate with your website?  
  • Is it secure for accepting payments? 
  • How long is the contract?  
  • What support is available to you? 

Top tips: 

  • Be bookable at every step 
  • Think about how much of your product you want to allocate online, do you want to keep some offline should anyone arrive at your door. 
  • Keep an eye on your competitors prices 
  • Think about offering a package deal, early bird rate or last minute rate 
  • If you are bookable online you can add this to your entry on discovernorthernireland.com 

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Managing and protecting your online reputation

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Be aware of scams and fraud

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