Online reservations continue to increase in importance as more and more consumers demand real-time, instant reservations. This page will keep you up to date on industry trends and online reservation news; if you'd like us to address a particular topic, don’t hesitate to contact us.
 

Tips of the Month

Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
Online Reservation Trends

Tip of the Month
Did you know that you can call us 8 a.m.-6 p.m. CT, and we can help you load more inventory? We can even load it for you! If you have any rooms that are sitting empty, we would love the opportunity to help you sell them. Call us today...you have nothing to lose but some empty rooms.
800-462-2632, extension 4, Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com

To load more inventory, first log in to the Online Reservations Manager. You can click here to download a movie that walks through the steps. When prompted, click Run to execute the movie.

Alternatively, you can follow the eight simple steps to loading rates and inventory:

1. Pull up the room type you want to add to.

2. Click on the Add/Edit Range button.

3. Rate - Always click Set New, even if you're entering the same rate as you previously had. When you enter your rate, click on the blue calculator button to enter it. This will calculate your Net Rate.

4. Availability - Always click Set New here as well, even if you're entering the same number as before. Please enter the quantity of this room type that is available.

5. Set any min/max stays you may have.

6. Apply to the following dates - Chose a date range that you want to add. If you only want to enter these rates for the weekdays, make sure to uncheck the weekends, and vice versa.

7. Click the Save Changes button; that's the final step.

8. Remember to black out any dates that are currently booked to avoid any potential double bookings.

Questions? Contact Online Reservations Support at 800-GO-B-AND-B (800-462-2632), extension 4; 512-322-2700, extension 4 or Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com.

Announcements  from BedandBreakfast.com

Katie Duncan and Adam Wendel draw the winning inn.

Congratulations to the Fair Street Guest House in Newport, RI, the winner of the free year-long Platinum membership. They signed up for BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations during our recent promotion and will soon be on Expedia.com and hotels.com!

Trends in Online Reservations
Online travel counts for largest hotel ADR increase in ‘06: “PricewaterhouseCoopers finds that average hotel room rates booked online increased 8.7%, compared with a 6.8% estimated overall hotel room rate increase for U.S. hotels in 2006. The largest percentage increase in the number of reservations among all distribution channels was for branded websites.”

Loyalty is key to online travel market: “Many travelers know the trick to getting the best price online: They shop at online travel agencies, then book rooms or flights on a supplier's site. Although a head-to-head matchup favors suppliers, many consumers still say “It depends” when it comes to their purchase preferences, according to a survey conducted by market research firm eVOC Insights and RelevantView.

“eMarketer senior analyst and travel specialist Jeffrey Grau thinks the “It depends” crowd has good reasons for using both online travel agencies (OTAs) and suppliers.

“’For many people, it’s not a black-and-white choice. Each channel has a different set of attributes. The agencies give you a broad selection, and make it easy to book multiple travel segments at the same time, such as hotels, airlines and car rentals. For details about a lodging facility, however, the supplier wins out. More importantly, supplier loyalty program points are easier to get directly from the supplier,’ said Mr. Grau.”

Two-thirds of travelers will go online: “A new study by Burst Media reveals that two-thirds of Web users who plan to travel in the next three months will do their travel research and buy tickets or book hotels online. Almost half (47%) said the Internet will be their primary travel resource, while two-thirds (67%) said they would research and make a travel-related transaction online. Of those who said they would make a travel transaction online, 73% said they would make hotel reservations.

“Consumers who used the Internet to research and make travel arrangements skewed toward higher incomes. Sixty-three percent of respondents who reported household incomes of over $100,000 said the Internet would be their primary travel resource, and 51.8% of those reporting household incomes of between $75,000 and $99,000 said the Web would be their primary resource.

“Respondents most valued the ability to check the availability and rates of hotels, flights and rental cars on a travel site. Fifty-five percent of users said that feature would convince them to return to a travel site, 49.9% wanted destination information, and 49.7% were looking for promotions and special deals.”

Online travelers book hotels direct: “With more hotels guaranteeing equal or better prices to travelers who book with them directly, online travel agency Web sites like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity aren’t always the bargain bins they once were for hotel rates. In response, the agency sites are forced to concentrate on other ways to keep and attract customers.

“The cheaper rates often came with stricter cancellation policies and requirements for full payment when booking. Travelers accepted those conditions because the savings were significant. Now that the economy is stronger, the hotel companies have been working to cut out the middleman.
“Many people are searching online travel agency sites,” a spokeswoman said, and then moving on to the hotel sites to make their reservations “because they are either getting the same rate or a more flexible cancellation or change policy.”