In a world where almost everything can be done online, your business must offer e-commerce. For travel agencies and tourism activity providers, this means having a website that offers customers the ability to book your products/services online.
So be aware that an online reservation service must have certain features in order to provide potential customers with the best possible service. So here are 10 features that are essential for online bookings…
1. Offer the possibility to check availability in real time
This is the most important feature of any online booking software: having a booking form that is not just a contact form. If you only have 20 places available on a visit you might get 30 requests on any given day. This will lead to overbooking. But if you have the ability to show availability in real time you won’t encounter this kind of problem – because only available places can be reserved.
Using TrekkSoft’s booking software , you can check upcoming departures, adjust available seats and create new activities. By using our software your business will always be up to date.
2. Work on mobiles
The transition from desktop to mobile will continue in 2015. Last year, more than 38% of website visits and nearly 40% of page views were generated from devices other than desktop. On the business side, nearly 21% of hotel bookings came from tablets and mobile devices.mobile-bookings
With these stats in mind, it’s understandable why a reservation system must have the ability to work on mobile devices. TrekkSoft’s mobile solution helps you sell and manage your booking process via your mobile devices.
3. Be visible on your website
If you have a booking system on your website, you need to let visitors know it’s there. There are various tricks to make sure potential customers see it – make sure you use a ‘book now’ button that pops out; make sure it’s at the top of the page; be sure to use a “Call-to-Action” in the text. Do this, and visitors will know that your website is an e-commerce site.
4. Simplify the booking process
No one wants to spend 15 minutes or more on an online reservation. Customers want the process to be as seamless and fast as possible. This means that the booking process should have as few steps as possible. When choosing your booking software, therefore, make sure that it simplifies the booking process.
5. Do not redirect visitors to an external website
Some companies have booking engines on their website, but in reality they are not really on their site – the transaction is done through another site. This is not recommended at all with regard to booking engines because you want your customers to feel in a secure environment, which they know, and that from the
If the reservation process starts on your website but ends on another, this will result in a drop in your conversion rate. With TrekkSoft’s reservation system users start and end the reservation on your website.
6. Etre conforme PCI (Payment Card Industry)
If you ask people why they don’t book online, nine out of ten times they’ll tell you it’s because they’re suspicious of data security – they want to be sure their personal information will be secure. Whatever reservation system you choose, make sure it is PCI compliant (adherence to a set of security standards that have been developed to protect banking information during and after a financial transaction).
7. Offer multiple languages and currencies
There is no doubt that English is a widely used language. This does not mean that it should be the only language available on your reservation system. You should give customers who speak Spanish, French, German and other languages the option to book in their native language. Our software supports many languages and allows you to sell in the currency you want .
8. Offer to customize customer form input fields
If you are an operator offering a pub crawl and offering the possibility to book online, you will need to collect different data than a diving school. You should therefore be able to customize customer data entry fields to suit your needs, not those of the majority of operators. That’s why at TrekkSoft we made sure to offer you the data entry field customization feature .
9. Offer to send automatic mails
Sending automated emails is an important part of the booking process. Customers need to know right away if their reservation has been taken into account. If they do not receive confirmation, they will wonder if their reservation has been accepted and validated.
There is another type of email you should send to your customers: the one that comes after the activity/trip. It will allow you to ask your customers to post their opinions on TripAdvisor or on your site directly, and to comment on their experiences. Find here the reasons why your customers’ opinions are important for your business.
10. Allow to enter and display reviews of your activities
90% of online shoppers are influenced by reviews. These have the power to determine whether a customer will buy your product or not. In order to give your customers the opportunity to be influenced by these reviews, we advise you to put the reviews next to your products. By using TrekkSoft’s TripAdvisor integration tool you can harness the power of reviews and increase your rankings and sales. Find here our advice to improve your ranking on