What is a Booking Engine and how to choose it?

We have seen what a channel manager is and why every hotelier needs to have it, we now explain what is a booking engine and how to choose it.

The Booking Engine is a booking software included in the website of an accommodation facility to allow visitors to book a stay. For this reason, it is a tool that allows you to transform your website into a direct sales channel. Besides the channel manager, it is thus an essential tool for every facility.

Users who connect to the property’s website can check room availability and rates in real-time on the booking engine page. Guests can thus check the photos of the rooms, book extra services or promotional packages. They can then complete the booking by providing their credit card details or by selecting an alternative payment system.

Identikit of the perfect booking engine

To offer an optimal user experience and make the guest book, the booking system must have certain characteristics. Let’s see them:

• information about room and property presented in a simple and clear way
• speed in handling any questions
• accessible from all devices, such as tablets, mobiles, notebooks and desktops
• offer a wide choice of payment methods
• absolute security in the management of transactions
• annual fee without commission on bookings. The commission rate at the end of the year turns out to be more expensive.

If the booking engine respects all these characteristics, such as RoomCloud booking engine, it will be a valid tool to improve revenue.

First of all, because direct bookings will increase and you will save on commissions. Second, because it will increase customer loyalty. In fact, a customer who books through your website has a deeper bond than if he booked from an OTA. Furthermore, you can add his email to your contacts for sending periodic newsletters.

In conclusion, the booking engine is a fundamental tool for any accommodation facility. Those who do not have it yet, are in fact penalized compared to those who can guarantee travelers an automatic and efficient booking tool. On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that OTAs can become great allies, because in addition to making the structure known, they can bring more people to visit the site. Obviously, if you want to turn the visit into a reservation, you need to have an adequate tool.