Last month our tips on how track your tourism business’ online bookings proved to be a hot topic. We provided you with a simple online booking comparison tracking tool to track the origin of your online bookings.
Based on the number of downloads and the feedback received to date many of you are keen to know more about tracking and increasing your online bookings by properly setting up various enquiry channels to suit visitors preferences. Amongst the thank you emails I also received many emails saying:
well, we aren’t doing too well so how do we improve things ?
So this week I have prepared a few tips to help you grow the numbers of bookings you have tracked in your online booking comparison tool (link to the initial article where you can download the free tool). The table below provides links to recommended systems and tips on how to configure them. The last row will provide you with a link to a live example on a website.
Note: the online booking systems recommended are for Australian businesses but some may be available to businesses located overseas.
Growing your online bookings
| WEBSITE: Online bookings | WEBSITE: Form enquiries | WEBSITE: Website emails | WEBSITE: Live Chat | WEBSITE: Calls | CHANNELS | |
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| Setup time | 1 – 2 days | 1 – 2 hrs | 30 mins | 30 mins – 1 hr | 1 hr | 1 – 2 days |
| Research | ||||||
| The key is to align your current and future business requirements with the available feature sets | Online booking system review *** Online booking system advanced |
Online distribution 101 | ||||
| Recommended one-size-fits-all system exists |  |
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| Our picks | Accom: Resonline Tours: Rezgo, Rezdy, ToursToGo |
Jotform allows anyone to create a form and add it to any website. A fantastic options for websites with no or poor content management systems. Start creating your form now. | Use Google Apps as your email system so that you do not receive spam. | Zopim Live Chat is what you need | Ask your web developer to list your phone number on every page of your website, preferably in the top right corner | Ask the online booking system you shortlist which channel managers they integrate with and what the commission structure is. |
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| Tip to boost your number of enquiries | Do not simply position the “book now” button at the top of each page. Strategically position it where you describe your product as well. | Don’t ask for unnecessary information and style the form to look visually appealing | Add your email address to the footer of each page of your website. Some people do not like to use a contact form or book online. | Configure the Triggers by logging into your Zopim Dashboard | Do not hide your phone number on the contact us page only | You can pay extra on some online channels to be listed prominently |
| Setup considerations | – commission vs flat rate – System integration; PMS and website widget options – Mobile optimised – support |
– Professional thank you page – Logical form validation – Set-up goals in Analytics – Test your recipient email – Enable spam protection |
– separate your hosting from your email provider for redundancy – Mobile access – Good search capabilities – You may require your web developer to configure your email if you do not have access to your content management system. |
– set-up your specific page triggers e.g. after 2 mins on a page ask user if they need help – write template responses – feed questions back into your website FAQ’s – May require your web developer if you do not have a content management system |
Be aware that you can link specific phone numbers to keyword tracking in analytics to measure the profitably of specific campaigns | Depends on the system selected |
| Example of system in action | The book now button is present at different locations | This is an example of a WordPress form fully editable by the business | Email address located on the footer of every page and on the contact page | Live Chat located at the bottom of our website | Phone number located in the top right corner and in the footer | |
