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

BedandBreakfast.com B&B Traveler survey
Online Reservation Trends

Tips of the Month

• Call today for a free online reservations consultation! Our online reservations team can tell you how many searches for availability have been done for your property, how many positive inventory results were returned, and the competitiveness of your rates within your local market.

• Consumers are starting to look for accommodations for their winter travel. Do you have inventory loaded so they can book with you? Please consider adding inventory in the system to cover the next few months.

• Do you have a room that never sells? A last-minute cancellation? Load  it into the online reservations program, and see what happens! Log in, and click the Online Reservations Manager button to load your rooms.
  

Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
Thank you for participating in BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations! We'd like to share some recent updates. This program has been in operation for two and a half years, and over 1,100 BedandBreakfast.com members are capturing the extra business and exposure this program has been designed to provide.

First, our partnerships with Expedia, hotels.com, SideStep.com and Kayak.com are generating substantially more reservations for you. We experienced a nearly 800% increase in room nights booked in June, July and August of 2007 over the same period in 2006. We look forward to maintaining and growing these relationships as well as expanding our reach for B&Bs by establishing more partnerships with additional industry-leading online travel providers.

Second, over the past month and a half, we've been migrating properties to a faster and more accurate connection with Expedia and hotels.com. The new connection provides quicker updates between our system and theirs, and reduces the potential for error while bringing you a better, more reliable service.

We hope you have enjoyed a prosperous summer season full of new guests, new friends, and lasting memories! Now that fall is here and winter is around the corner, don't forget to load your unsold rooms into the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations system. Expedia, hotels.com, SideStep.com, Kayak.com and BedandBreakfast.com will all do their best to help you fill your vacancies. Remember, there is zero cost unless we sell a room that may otherwise have been empty.

Adding more rates and room availability is easy! Just take five minutes to log in and enter your rates and inventory into the Online Reservations Manager by following these simple steps:

1. Log into your Home Base, then click the green Online Reservations Manager button.

2. Scroll over the Rates/Availability tab and from the dropdown menu, click the room type you want to add to.

3. Click on the Add/Edit Range button; always click Set New, even if you're entering the same rate you previously had. Make sure that when you're entering your rate, you click on the blue calculator button to enter it. This will calculate your Net Rate for you.

4. Availability: Always click Set New here as well, even if you're entering the same number as before. Please enter the number of rooms of this type that are available. Set any min/max stays you may have, and choose a date range for the change. If you only want to enter these rates for the weekdays, make sure to uncheck the weekends, and vice versa.

5. Last, click on the Save Changes button; then remember to blackout any dates that are currently booked to avoid any potential double bookings.

It's that easy! If you have any questions or need assistance loading more inventory, please let us know. We are happy to help you load more room inventory right over the phone. Call us Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST at 800-462-2632 extension 4.
 

Good news! BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations is now available to properties worldwide! How does it work? The function is exactly the same as it is for U.S. and Canadian properties. All payments are made in U.S. dollars, and international properties must have a PayPal account in order to receive payment. Read more. More than 1,100 innkeepers in the United States and Canada are using the BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations program, which includes placement on industry leading sites like Expedia, hotels.com, SideStep.com and Kayak.com. This is a highly effective tool for helping you increase your occupancy during the times you need it. Call 1-800-462-2632, extension 4, or email Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com to learn how you can participate in this program and fill your unsold/empty rooms.   Get started today!

BedandBreakfast.com B&B Traveler survey
BedandBreakfast.com recently conducted a survey for B&B travelers that was completed by more than 3,000 consumers! Here are a few of the results that are relevant to online reservations:

Where do people research and book travel?

• 35% of consumers say they research travel on independent property websites, vs. 78% who say they use sites like BedandBreakfast.com

• 28% of consumers say they will book on independent property websites, vs. 50% who say they prefer to book on sites like BedandBreakfast.com

• 25% of consumers say they NEVER use independent property websites

• 34% of consumers say they NEVER use association websites

Take-away? If you are not advertising on directories such as BedandBreakfast.com, you are missing out on roughly a third of the business you could be getting.

What is important to consumers?

Take-away? If you are not going to encourage reviews and online bookings, you might as well just take down your photos and maps because consumers are going to skip your property and go to the ones that do encourage them.

What is important when booking on property websites?
 

• 21% of consumers say the ONLY way they will book on a property website is with a fully online bookable and confirmed reservation

• 85% of consumers say they would probably book, or would only book on a property website that is fully bookable online and confirmed reservation

• Yet only 34% say they would on a site with an availability calendar and 24-hour wait for confirmed reservation

• 25% of consumers say they would probably not book/would not book on a site that has a 24-hour wait

Take-away? If you use an availability calendar, you are missing out on at least 25% of the business you could be getting.

What are consumers thoughts on security?
 

• 87% say they will only give their credit card to sites that prominently display a well-known security logo

• 74% said they will only give their credit card to companies that display a hacker prevention logo like HackerSafe

• 94% of consumers say they would not knowingly give their credit card information to sites that do not have good security measures

Trends in Online Reservations