Top eight website features for reservation services

As the second on our series of website features, this week we look at the best technology features for reservation services.

By reservation services I mean those services that take place at a given place and time such as travel, accommodation, entertainment, personal and professional services.

As any airline will tell you, websites have revolutionised this sector of business by greatly streamlining the order/activation process and in turn leading to huge savings in the labour required to process orders and payments. In most cases these savings are passed onto the customer who also reap the benefits.

Now smaller business can reap the benefits

The fantastic news for any business operating in the sector is that this revolutionary technology is now available to the smallest operator. Typical of all software development, what was once expensive gradually decreases in cost over time.
So an online booking system that was once the lynchpin of the online reservations of large airlines and hotels can now easily be afforded by the local B&B or physiotherapist.

Similarly, low cost booking systems are a boon for entertainment and education operators accustomed to the complex task of identifying suitable ticketing outlets and co-ordinating promotional, logistics and capacity issues.

So here are our top eight website features for this sector – also doubling as a handy shopping list for those in the market for a new website.

1. Content Management System (CMS)

Again the ubiquitous CMS tops the list in this sector. Few businesses can afford the luxury, cost and delays of having their web designer be responsible for updating their website. To take full advantage of the internet, business operators need to be able to make changes to their website at the drop of a hat, or the value of the dollar.

Therefore, integration and ‘easy to use’ CMS is critical for the reservation sector.

2. Online Booking System

To reservation providers, Online Booking Systems are like picks and shovels to the miners of the gold rush. Allowing customer and clients to book your service online will simply revolutionise the management of bookings and payments.

In no particular order, online booking will:

• save time and money on attending real-time and returned phone calls
• reduce the chances of losing the booking
• improve cashflow as full or part payments are taken with the booking
• increase your ‘opening hours’ four-fold (at least as far as bookings are concerned)
• leave customers satisfied in knowing the booking is made so they can get on with other things.

Naturally you need to arm customers with as much information about your booking as possible so as they are in full control of the process.

3. Email Marketing System (EMS)

Email lies not far behind the top two in terms of offering value and reducing cost as it not only allows you to keep in touch with customers and others easily and affordably but allows you to fill ‘last minute’ vacancies with fast and timely email alerts (and even SMS alerts).

4. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System

Your CRM allows you to realise the value of your relationship with your customers. Not only does it act as a repository for all kinds of customer information but also underlies and integrates both of your Online Booking System and EMS. This means only one port of call for your client data and not the several that many businesses contend with – and the productivity loss that promotes.

In good hands, a good CRM (list) will grow by itself as new clients are added to the list and others join themselves as the result of good word-of-mouth (and mouse).

5. Automated Customer Reviews

Genuine customer reviews are more critical to providers of services than their ‘hard’ product counterparts because unlike them, they cannot be touched or inspected to verify all-important quality. What’s more, genuine reviews by real people provide substantially more credibility than highly edited (and highly suspicious) comments from ‘Bob and Val of Richmond’.

Of course you may need to clean up (or even appease) the odd comment but that’s preferable to a static, outdated and even dead website.

6. Auto-Homepage Capabilities

If your front page layout is too fixed, you miss a golden opportunity to bring short-term vacancies and offers to your website visitors. Good auto-homepage capabilities allow you to highlight these opportunities with the tick of a few boxes of your CMS.

7. Live Chat Service

Live Chat Support is growing in popularity as web visitors realise its cost effectiveness and younger web users start to earn their first wages and want to spend it online. A very cost-effective way of communicating with customers in a way that’s cheap and convenient to all concerned.

8. Financial Software Integration

The less ‘paperwork’ the better, right? Integration between your online booking and your financial software will remove yet another layer of administration labour and allow you to get on with what you do best.

If you are yet to offer anything but a basic web presence for your reservation service, there is no better time than now to upgrade to a web platform to take advantage of the massive productivity and savings benefits of truly empowering your customers online. Make it a priority for the coming financial year!

Do you agree or disagree with these rankings? Either way, tell us why below. We’d especially love to hear from service providers who regularly use some or all of these features.

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Craig Reardon is a leading eBusiness educator and founder and director of independent web services firm The E Team which provide the gamut of ‘pre-built’ website solutions, technologies and services to SMEs in Melbourne and beyond.