Hotel booking sites can help you find a room at a discount. Most offer flexible search and filter options, and a few will even give you a coupon code for a discount on your stay.
But how do you know which site is offering the best deal? There are three types of websites: OTAs (online travel agencies), hotel sites, and meta-search engines.
Instant Bookings
Online hotel booking sites like Booking.com are the easiest and fastest way for guests to book their stay. They get an immediate confirmation in their inbox, a simple payment process, and no need to wait in the phone line or in a never-ending queue at the front desk.
The best online hotel reservation site features include a simple booking engine with built-in rate comparison widgets to increase conversion. They also integrate with a channel manager and revenue management software to ensure smooth distribution, pricing, and inventory.
In addition, many OTAs support Instant Bookings as a means of curtailing discrimination complaints. This feature makes it easier for travelers to book directly from the platform without revealing their names or countries of origin – which could lead to potential discrimination.
However, hosts should understand that they will still receive reservation requests even if they aren’t using Instant Book. This may happen if they haven’t updated their calendar in a while or if they’ve recently canceled a reservation.
Availability
Guests can book a hotel room online anytime and anywhere they want. This is because the online booking engine is available 24/7, and it’s easy for them to make a reservation without visiting the front desk.
One of the most important functions of an online hotel reservation system is to display real-time availability. This way, guests can find a hotel with the best rates and make reservations instantly.
The availability feature is essential for making last-minute travel arrangements. It also allows travelers to compare the prices of different hotels and determine the lowest price for a particular date.
Another advantage of an online booking engine is that it can integrate with your hotel’s website and social media. This helps you to tap the large number of potential clients that are on social media platforms.
Moreover, it also reduces the time and effort your staff needs to process the reservation. The user-friendly interface can be used on various screens, including smartphones and tablets. It also has short forms and secure payment portals.
Payment Options
The most user-friendly way to book a hotel room is online, and the best online hotel booking sites make it easy for guests to do so. In addition to offering standard payment options like credit cards, some also offer mobile payments.
The best hotel booking sites also make it easy to manage reservations. A typical system includes a color-coded grid of reservations, which can be modified to reflect changes in availability. This can be an important tool for hotels with seasonal or promotional rates or those with a high concentration of repeat travelers.
For a hotel to be considered the best in the business, it needs to offer various ways for its guests to pay for their stays. This includes options like PayPal, a mobile payments app or e-wallet, and even smartphone-based payment apps. While most people don’t use these options as often as they used to, they are still the best option for a hotel looking to stay ahead of the competition.
Security
A hotel website should be built to be secure, PCI-compliant, and integrated with the property management system. It would help if you were also sure that your hotel website loads fast and is SEO-friendly.
When people travel, they often search online for the best deals, and many use several websites to book their stay. These can include OTAs (online travel agencies), hotel websites, and aggregators.
Unfortunately, some of these sites could be more secure. They can be hacked easily, and hackers can check your valid reservation numbers to try and break in.
If you’re careful, you could avoid a security breach that would leave your hotel and its guests in a lot of trouble.
It’s important to ensure that all employees with access to your guest information understand how to keep their data safe and confidential. They should also ensure that all third parties they do business with are above board when handling your guests’ data.
Convenience
Online bookings are very convenient and can be made at any time of the day. This helps you maximize your sales and reduce the manual effort of handling walk-ins, phone calls, and emails.
In addition, a good online hotel booking system should allow you to offer promotion codes so that your customers can enjoy discounts during certain events or local festivals. This will help you sell more rooms and increase your revenue significantly.
Guests can also check prices and availability for all room types and package deals without needing to ring your reception or visit your front desk. This also frees up your front-desk staff, reducing the amount of time they spend on non-revenue-generating tasks.
A good hotel booking engine will also provide guests with a convenient calendar view of available room types and rates to select the best option for their stay. The system should also show all your rooms in real time.
Consumers often prefer to book directly with hotels to save money and avoid paying a third-party commission. This is why many hotel brands now have a dedicated online booking page on their property website.