Online Reservations
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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.
Tip of the Month
Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
BedandBreakfast.com B&B Traveler survey
Online Reservation Trends
Tips of the
Month
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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.
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Consumers are starting to look for accommodations for
their fall 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.
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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.
If you have questions or would like a free online reservations
consultation, contact Online Reservations Support at
800-GO-B-AND-B (800-462-2632), extension 4; 512-322-2700,
extension 4 or
Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com.
“Although this is my high season, I want to take a minute to
thank you for the great support you have given, especially
with the online reservations. You gave me a great piece of
advice by recommending at that time - just before my high
season - that I extend my online reservation listings
throughout the summer. If I had a last-minute cancellation
it would only take seconds to make that room available for
online reservations. I took your advice. I find it
especially helpful for the ‘odd’ one night availability in
the middle of the week. When I see that I have one of those
odd nights, I make that room available on the online
reservations; most of the time I get a reservation for that
room. My vacancy sign is collecting dust in the closet
this season thanks to the online reservation program!” –
Karen Morella,
Serendipity Bed and Breakfast, Ocean City, NJ
Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
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 1,500
innkeepers in the United States and Canada have signed up for 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?
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35% of consumers say they
research travel on independent property websites, vs. 78%
who say they use sites like BedandBreakfast.com
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28% of consumers say they will
book on independent property websites, vs. 50% who say they
prefer to book on sites like BedandBreakfast.com
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25% of consumers say they NEVER
use independent property websites
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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?
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Percentage who report they are important
or very important |
| Photos |
98% |
| Maps |
91% |
| Unbiased Consumer Reviews |
87% |
| Ability to Book Property Online |
85% |
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?
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21% of consumers say the ONLY
way they will book on a property website is with a fully
online bookable and confirmed reservation
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85% of consumers say they would
probably book, or would only book on a property website that
is fully bookable online and confirmed reservation
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Yet only 34% say they would on a
site with an availability calendar and 24-hour wait for
confirmed reservation
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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?
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87% say they will only give
their credit card to sites that prominently display a
well-known security logo
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74% said they will only give
their credit card to companies that display a hacker
prevention logo like HackerSafe
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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
Travel e-commerce climbs 14%:
comScore recently released a report on U.S. e-commerce spending for the
second quarter of 2007, which showed that “non-travel (retail) e-commerce
grew 23 percent versus year ago to $27.2 billion, while online travel
spending increased 14% to $20.3 billion. Total U.S. e-commerce spending
climbed 19% to $47.5 billion during the period.
“Total U.S. online consumer spending reached $170.8 billion in 2006, with
non-travel spending accounting for $102.1 billion and travel spending
accounting for $68.8 billion. Based on the first-half growth rates, total
U.S. online consumer spending is on track to reach $200 billion in 2007.”
Kayak launches new hotel display: “Kayak.com launched a new display
for flights and hotels after testing more than 300 mockups for Travel 2.0
functionality. The result is
Kayak 2.0, approved by several focus groups and loyal Kayakers. Kayakers
can now compare hotel results in the following ways:
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Traditional List View displays more hotels above the fold than any
other travel site. A checkbox has been added to include or hide hotel
thumbnails.
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Map View integrates search results on a Google Map. Users can
compare a hotel’s distance from a landmark or enter a custom location
such as the address of a friend’s home or business meeting. Kayak.com
will then display up to 15 hotels near the selected landmark or address.
Hover over a pushpin to see a hotel’s price and star rating, or click on
the pushpin to see full details. Users can also check the satellite
image to see exactly how close they really are to the beach or airport,
or to a custom address.
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Photo View offers slideshows of properties using Ajax navigation,
allowing for quick scrolls through hotel pictures for those who won’t
buy sight unseen.”
European online travel market three years behind the U.S.: “According
to a new report from PhoCusWright Inc., the European travel market is
following in the footsteps of the online U.S. travel market, though with a
few important differences. The report,
PhoCusWright’s European Online Travel Overview Third Edition, provides
an in-depth look at the fragmented European travel market, including market
size, forecasts, and analysis for the European market as a whole, as well
for the U.K., French, German, Italian and Spanish online and total travel
markets.
"According to the report, European online leisure/unmanaged business travel
as a percentage of the total travel market will approach 25% in 2007, the
level achieved in the U.S. in 2004. The report also finds that cultural,
technological, strategic, and fiscal forces have shaped the online markets
of each of the five largest European countries. This new set of studies
delves into the drivers and the likely effects of these forces. For example,
in the U.K., where Internet access is ubiquitous and online purchasing
routine, more than twice as many online buyers and regular Internet users
buy travel than in Germany."
Questions? Please send them to
Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com.
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This Month's Sponsor
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Internet Intensives
BedandBreakfast.com, RezOvation and
Inns.com are hitting the road to bring you current and comprehensive information
about Internet marketing, online reservations, yield management, and
property management software.
Click here to see upcoming Intensives and
more information.
Updated Photography
Fall foliage season is almost here, and travelers are booking
their accommodations. Are you displaying foliage photos on your
BedandBreakfast.com listing? If not, upload some today!
Log in to your Home Base and click Photos.
It's not too early to upload winter and holiday photos! The larger the
image file, the better.
Gift Card Reseller Program
"I was thrilled when I heard about the program. As
far as guests are concerned, it's much nicer for them to buy something
they can use everywhere!" -- Julie Becker, Byrn-Roberts Inn,
Murfreesboro, TN
“The gift cards are simple to activate. It was so fast, I couldn't
believe it!” -- Merrie Hammond, Asa Cline House B&B, Yellow Spring,
WV
The BedandBreakfast.com Gift Card Reseller Program is here!
Click here for details. If you'd like to receive a free reseller kit, contact us at 800-462-2632 or
Support@BedandBreakfast.com.
Online Trade Show
Visit our newest vendor members!
Inn
Consulting Partners
Absolute Coffees
Markel Insurance
Company
Click here to view our Online Trade Show. Are you a vendor?
Click here to get featured!
Advertising Auctions
Featured Property and
Inn of the Month auctions are easy, affordable and effective ways to drive
traffic to your website.
Member Information
To update your entry, check your traffic statistics, and renew your membership,
please log in
with your property ID and password. Don't like your password? Once you're
logged in, click "Membership," select "Change Password," and choose another that's easier to remember.
More information
"BedandBreakfast.com has been our #1 B&B directory referrer for the past few
years. I really enjoy the service they provide and the extras that they do
for B&Bs like the Online Reservations program and the Gift Certificate
program. The Gift Certificates have been really popular with our guests."
Jennifer Macgillonie, The English Inn, Port Townsend, WA
Inns for Sale
Innkeepers' Info Center
Need more
info? You’ll find lots of educational
articles on our site for your convenience.
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