Alternate Image's Open Hotel online reservation system provides users with many different features to help drive traffic, increase bookings, and provide a user friendly experience for both the hotel online reservation system user and the actual consumer. If you are a hotel client and are currently using Alternate Image's online reservation system, here are some tips for using the online hotel booking system to your advantage. 

Rack Rate Pricing

  Consumers have choices. The Internet gives consumers more information now than ever before, and more information means more power. Consumers can compareHow do your rates compare to similar hotels in your area? Are your rates based upon historical data? Do they change with each new season or event? One of the features in the Open Hotel online reservation system is the ability to add new rates and discounts at anytime. Hotels can change or update room rates as often needed, allowing for flexibility in the overall pricing strategy. 

It is always recommended that a hotel compare their rates to similar hotels in their area. Remember that your rates should not be too low, or else your hotel may be considered too "cheap".  Rates that are too low can also be risky once customers use discounts and other promotional offers.  You want to make sure that the hotel rack rates have enough of a margin to allow for discounts and other coupons.

  Special Rate Periods 

Rates are all about supply and demand. Offer different rates for different seasons, according to hotel demand and historical data. Were the summer month's generally more busy? When did the majority of travelers arrive?

  Create different rate periods for each season and consider different rates for weekends and Holidays if you haven't already. The Alternate Image online hotel booking system allows users to create as many rate periods as desired. Within the rate periods users can add general length of stay discounts, advanced booking discounts, and more. These custom options provided in the online hotel booking system help hotels that have several different rates for different seasons and time periods organize their rates in one easy to view dashboard in the administrative area of their online hotel booking system. 

To make the special rate period appear on the hotel specials page, select "specials eligible" when creating your rate period.  This feature can be unselected at anytime.

  Discounts and Promotions 

Another great feature of the AI online hotel booking system is the discounts feature.  Users can create unlimited discounts and choose which rate periods are eligible for each discount created. 

  Discounts are great because they encourage customers to book online and get a great deal.  Discounts also allow hotels to offer lower and more competitive rates without lowering their actual rack rates.  Rack rates that are too low may cause a customer to question the quality of the hotel.  There is always the fear of being considered a "cheap hotel".  

How can your hotel use the discounts feature in the online reservation system?

* Offer a AAA discount for AAA members
* Offer a "Returning Customer Discount" with a special promo code.  Email the promo code to guests after their stay and encourage them to sign your guestbook and return again soon.
* Offer a student discount if your hotel is located near a college or university
* Create a special discount to use for your marketing materials.  This discount can be something like "Sweet Summer Deals" or "Winter in Florida Special".  Promote this through all of your marketing channels.  Promotions work best when they are advertised in print, online, and through email blasts. Using a variety of advertising methods increases the reach of your promotion across a broader demographic group.  

Using the discounts feature can increase bookings and add a call to action to print advertisements for your hotel.  Advertisements are much more effective if they offer a promo code or coupon for customers.  Adding a promo code is another way to track the success of your advertisement campaign. 

 Pricing is one of the "Four P's" of marketing.  Remember that it takes a large amount of effort to get visitors to your website - and an even larger amount of effort to convert those visitors to bookings.  The Open Hotel online reservation system offers hotels the ability to easily change rates and add discounts because Alternate Image understands the importance of hotel rates to the consumer. 

We hope you find this article useful! Keep in mind that if you ever need additional support for using your online reservation system please call the office anytime between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.

  -Alternate Image Staff  

Online reservation software is as important to hoteliers and their bottom line as almost any aspect of their marketing efforts. In this time of tight pockets your choice in an online reservation software system can not only make or break a hotel's online success but the cost of online reservation software can seriously affect the advantage and promotions that are presented on a hotel's website.

 

The primary things to consider when selecting a hotel online reservation system should be features vs. cost. While this may seem like an obvious statement, the truth is that a system must be able to handle not only what a hotel needs to do today but also enable you to grow into what the hotel needs in the future and what internet users expect in the future from online reservation software.

 

Many software companies provide reservation software based on percentages rather than a flat fee. Why should you pay a company a percentage of bookings that result directly from the marketing efforts and marketing dollars from your time and pockets respectively? Look for a flat fee option on online reservation software.

 

When it comes to features, think big. You may not consider a specific feature is important when comparing different online reservation software solutions. Consider if these features that you are dismissing are features that other hotels are currently offering. Will the hotel website visitors be expecting these options? Will you competition be outshining you with the options on its online reservation system?

 

Perception is everything online. Does your online software look like it is an add on to your hotel website? Compare the way software works and looks on the large chain hotels. If you make a reservation at www.BestWestern.com are you taken to a third party online reservation system? No. The consumer remains on the website and the content is included in the website. A major plus for this factor that is often over looked is that Google and other major search engines love more content. If a hotel's online reservation software links to a third party the content does not reside on the hotel's website and the search engines do not give credit for that content.

 

The cost for online reservation systems is more than what a hotel writes check for. There is the cost of not being where you should be with your competion if you pick one without the needed features. There is the cost of watered down marketing efforts if you have to pay a percentage rather than a flat fee. Lastly, there is the cost of lost content to the search engines. Pick your online reservation software well.

The hospitality industry has been hit as hard if not harder than any industry in the nation. And I see their pain.

A day rarely goes by that a strong hotelier does not grace our door or give us a call, with a sad face and begging for ideas to make it through to the next high season. Here are my best suggestions for online


1> Price. It is all about price. The ones that are coming are looking for a deal. I am not telling you anything new here but I could not ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room.

2> Do the discount channels. Make sure you are on Hotwire and Priceline. Here you can discount without diluting your public rates. The ones that are surviving are out there.

3> Go knock on doors. The flagged properties are doing it. Make sure you are known with the large employers in your area. Hit the hospitals, the schools, the city governments. They still have money.

4> Take a deposit and don't give it back easily. Make your policies tough and enforce them.

5> Tend to your website. If you are not doing something daily on your website you are not doing what you should.

Hope this helps. If you need a shoulder to cry on, give me a call. It will get better.

Video is so powerful online. No one will argue with that. Just look at the success the Web 2.0 sites such as YouTube have had. Of course, Google is all about video right now. Search results are showing up on a regular basis that are videos.

We are now doing a weekly video cast in several areas and posting them on different sharing sites across the net. We are using them on our newly launched booking portal, BookDaytonaBeach.com.

This is a very effective way to promote hotels by using daytona beach videos. You can see Daytona Beach hotel specials and news.

In today's Wall Street Journal there is a large article called 'The Subprime Summer Vacation'. The article's title made me say OUCH.

A few of their observances do not reflect what we see with our hotel clients but many are reflective of what we are seeing.

-The Journal - "Close-to-home destinations like suburban water parks and regional resort towns say they're bracing for a spike in business as Americans look for fun things to do that don't require much travel"

- AI - We see a more ominous trend. Americans maybe going to water parks but we see a significant trend of day trips and shorter stays. They maybe going to close to home destinations but they are holding onto their money when it comes to hotel rooms.

- The Journal - 17% of respondents said they would stay closer to home. This summer, resorts that are selling well are all inclusives. The advance booking window has dropped in half.

- AI - We are seeing a significant decrease in how far in advance people are booking. We saw the same trends after 9/11. We feel it is an uncertainty that often shortens this window. This coupled with the fact that people are looking for last minute deals.


What can you as a hotelier do?

Make sure you are in regular contact with you prior guests. Email newsletters are a great way to announce last minute specials. If that is what the American public is looking for, make sure those that have stayed with you previously will come back

Give them a reason to stay longer. Work with local attractions. Offer an 'Add a Day' special at time of check in. Offer length of stay discounts.

Most of you are seasoned pros. You know what to do. Now is the time to implement all the rate strategy that you have come to hate. I know your competition is.

When you do a search on Google for your hotels in your geographic location (ie, hotels Indianapolis Indiana or hotels Miami Beach) you will probably be shown a map of the area plus a listing of 10 hotels. Each hotel will have a letter beside it that corresponds to the location of the property on the map.


Do you see your property? Is the information correct? If not it is time to do some Google housekeeping.


First you will need to be registered with Google. If you are not, simply go to Google. Up in the right hand side of the screen you will see either a sign in link if you have previously registered. If you have not registered, go ahead and do so. In today's Google dominated world you almost must be registered if you do business online.

After you register, go back to the map. Find your listing and click on more information. A bubble of information about your listing will appear. Don't worry if you see information that is not correct. You can correct it yourself in the next few steps.

In the bubble you will see one of several options. You can claim you business, add your business or edit your business. Click on the link. You will be presented with a fill in the blank series of questions. You will also be able to upload photos and videos!

When you finally complete all the information, there is a verification process. They will either call your main phone number immediately or send you a post card that takes 2 to 3 weeks. If you do not have an automated answering system on your primary phone number then I suggest that you use the phone method. If for some reason you cannot answer the phone request the postcard.

That will get you listed. What's next? Get your guest to leave reviews just like they do on Trip Advisor. Google will pull reviews from Trip Advisor and add them to your listings here.

If you do any paid advertising with Google Adwords, you can also pay for local listings.

Hope this helps.

Michelle Herrin
Alternate Image, Inc.