The latest surveys show that the popularity of a reservation system for hotel websites among guests is growing. They choose this channel because it ensures a fast and hassle-free reservation process. Since there is a difference between booking via online travel agents (OTAs) and dedicated software, we are going to:
- go into detail about a reservation system;
- outline the pros of having a hotel reservation system;
- find the best software to arrange this system on any website.
Let’s get down to business!
What Is a Reservation System and How Does It Work?
In a nutshell, a reservation system for hotel and vacation rentals is software for hospitality business owners to let guests make bookings online directly from their websites. The information about bookings is passed to the backend. Then, staff members can easily manage the gathered data. This software makes a hotel independent of OTAs.
A hotel reservations system software may also provide a channel manager. It enables the automated synchronization of data on different channels.
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6 Benefits of an Online Hotel Reservation System
First things first, the HOTREC hotel distribution study for 2022 concludes:
“The results for 2021 show that hotels’ reliance on OTAs remained almost at the same level as in 2019 during the pandemic episode, while direct bookings increased significantly. According to our results, the share of OTAs in 2021 was 28.8% while direct bookings increased to 55.2% (an 8-percentage point increase over 2019).”
So, there are two main players in the reservation pitch: OTAs and web-based reservation systems. We can name at least six benefits in favor of the latter.
- Better guest experience: you are likely to get positive feedback from guests who won’t need to visit another website to make a reservation.
- Direct traffic to your website: the online booking option attracts more visitors. Thus, you don’t share traffic with intermediaries.
- No commissions: as opposed to some OTAs, the reservation system for hotel websites doesn’t charge you and your guests for each property or booking.
- Boosted efficiency: automate such tasks as property administering, booking synchronization, email confirmation, and payments to facilitate and speed up site management.
- Competitive benefits: online booking system levels up your website among competitors, as it’s a cutting-edge business sign.
- Ease of management: you can change the information about the property, rates, discounts, etc. on the dashboard at any time.
What Is the Best Hotel Reservation System Software?
If you’re looking for the answer – here we are!
BNBForms enables you to build a fully-featured reservation system for hotel and vacation rentals. You get a mobile-friendly booking widget, channel manager, and inventory management system – all in one go. You can rent out any number of accommodations (for at least one night).
BNBForms works with any CMS your website works with: Wix, GoDaddy, WordPress, Shopify, and others. In brief, you need to paste the generated code into the related site section.
BNBForms: Main Features
Let’s figure out why this booking software stands out from the crowd!
Applicable on any website
This feature means you can integrate BNBForms reservation systems for hotel sites on any website-building platform. There are step-by-step guides for the most popular ones:
- Wix Booking
- Squarespace Booking
- Weebly Booking
- GoDaddy Booking
- WordPress Booking
- Shopify Booking
- Joomla Booking
- Plain HTML Website
- PromoteMyPlace
A mobile-friendly booking widget
A booking widget on your website with a ‘Book Now’ button is displayed on desktops and mobile devices. Moreover, you are free to add custom fields: location, bed types, amenities, etc. These filters will help your guests find a suitable property much faster.
Synchronization with OTAs
If you promote your rental property through online travel agents such as Booking.com or Airbnb, you might benefit from this feature. BNBFoms allows you to connect them to your website and sync bookings across multiple channels.
Flexible rates
With BNBForms, you can add seasons and set up a pricing system. It’s possible to set rates based on a season, number of guests, or stay duration.
You should go to the ‘Coupons’ tab and specify coupon codes if you want to provide discounts.
There is a ‘Taxes and Fees’ tab to fill in the relevant information and make it visible at the checkout.
Free and paid extras
If necessary, you are allowed to offer guests extra services that come separately from the property rate: breakfast, parking, babysitting, etc.
Integration with popular payment gateways
BNBForms gives you access to Stripe, PayPal, Braintree, and 2Checkout gateways. You can charge a full or deposit (fixed/percentage) payment.
Payment methods also include after-arrival payments and a direct bank transfer.
Real-time availability calendars
It’s convenient to see available and booked dates and properties in real-time to quickly get oriented.
Booking rules
This option comes in handy when you need to exclude a certain room or accommodation from being booked. Also, this tab includes subtabs to set up minimum and maximum stay days.
Branded & automated emails
BNBForms comes packed with ready email templates for the admin and customers. You can customize their content and style to make them branded. These emails are dedicated to different booking-related actions: confirmation, cancellation, etc.
Easy booking management
BNBForms lets you:
- Track booking history;
- Add bookings manually;
- Edit existing bookings;
- Add customer notes.
Reports & analytics
In the BNBForms dashboard, you can find charts and graphs on the revenue from your hotel or vacation rental and the number of bookings at a particular period. Download them in CSV format and use reports while developing your business strategy!
Easily edit the booking widget
You can make the booking widget your own thing by customizing colors, field labels, adding or removing search filters, and more. See client website examples.
BNBForms: The Pricing
BNBForms is a subscription-based service. You pay a fixed price only – $16 per month.
On top of that, there is a one-month free trial period. You can test how BNBForms functions on your website at no cost.
BNBForms: First Steps to Get Started
Take the following steps to create a BNBForms account:
1. Sign up with BNBForms.
2. Confirm your address via the link you’ll find in your inbox.
3. Log into your account filling in the credentials.
4. Customize all the required settings and proceed to embed a booking widget on your website.
Conclusion
To wrap up, an increasing number of travelers prefer to make bookings on a website with a hotel reservations system. In this article, we’ve explored how this system works and what benefits it has. Also, we’ve described a versatile solution to enhance your website with a reservation system – BNBForms.
Don’t hesitate to visit the BNBForms demo page to check out how its widget looks. If you are satisfied with it, start your free trial right now!
