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Updating Your Hotel Website Every Few Years Can Pay Off Handsomely

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This article will explain why you should consider upgrading your hotel website every few years to keep it updated with the latest trends and technology.

Trends:

Some trends stick around while others fade quickly as they arise; when a given trend is connected to the design and usability of a website, its sustainability is most dependent on user acceptability. When a solution considerably increases viewing experience, it is highly likely to be embraced and viewed as an essential component of any website. It’s worth noting since, in the case of hotel websites, making enhancements immediately correlates to an increase in reservations.

Webpages became considerably simpler & clearer. Logotypes and symbols are also affected by this trend. In general branding, components ceased to confront website users and faded into the background, while content became far more significant.

Motions/Animations are another crucial components. Human eyes naturally follow any movement, therefore animations of all types are a wonderful tool for drawing our visitor’s attention to the area where we want their emphasis to be.

If you haven’t yet included such previous on your website, be prepared with the possibility that a visitor may be deterred by the necessity to explore the offers and may pick another hotel whose website is simpler to use.

Hotel Website:

The visual trends are also relevant to how your hotel is displayed on the Internet in terms of images taken there, as well as the message your picture galleries and photographs provide to customers. The images should be congruent with the colour scheme of your brand.

Another reason to consider replacing website images is a renovation, any change in décor, or any other even modest modifications in the hotel’s appearance that has occurred in the previous several years. Consider refreshing the entire website so that everything is uniform and up to date.

Optimization:

The primary need is responsiveness and mobility of the website, i.e. adaption to devices such as tablets and smartphones. Another advantage of updating a website is that it will be more optimized in terms of SEO.

Google algorithms are dynamic and continually changing. Keeping track of these changes and making necessary modifications to the site should be an essential part of any website operation. If your site is outdated and hasn’t been updated in years, the new one will allow you to make previously impossible SEO changes.

Security:

Much progress has been made in the field of web application security. If you opt to purchase a new website, it will have all current security patches; however, make sure that the service you receive includes frequent security upgrades. Only then you will be content, without fear of your visitor’s data falling into the wrong hands or losing your customer trust.

 

AIO Hospitality provides professional web development service for hotels. We develop mobile-optimized, latest technology enriched, feature-rich websites with booking engine integration, online payments, CRS and PMS integration, GDS/IDS connectivity.

AIO Hospitality Partners With Google To Offer Direct Bookings for Hotels

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Users can now search and book hotels without leaving Google. People will be able to search for hotels in more than 100 countries, directly from Google and Google Maps, as well as book hotel rooms without leaving the Google platform.

Great Opportunity to Increase Exposure To Your Property
This provides a huge and exciting opportunity for hotels. Google is the largest search engine of the world and millions of people worldwide use this search engine to search for information, products, services, etc. Millions of these daily searches are also about hotels – with travelers seeking good hotels to stay while on a trip. Imagine what you can gain by getting your hotel listed on the Google direct hotel search.

Users will be able to view prices, photos, reviews of a hotel along with street views. However for a hotel to show up on the Google hotel search, it needs to partner up with the above mentioned Google program.

Requirements
The requirements to get accepted in this program can be somewhat difficult. Hotels will need the following:

  • Googles ads account – running Hotel Ads, with campaigns, points of sale (PoS), and Price Feed configured
  • Proof that they can safely customer’s sensitive payment data
  • Ability to maintain up-to-date and accurate pricing
  • Localized service or phone support to users

And there are other such requirements, which you may check at the following Google page: https://support.google.com/hotelprices/answer/9440593?hl=en

AIO Hospitality Makes It Easy
However you do not have to worry. If your hotel cannot meet all these stringent requirements and still wants to benefit from your property being listed on Google and getting bookings through their platform, AIO Hospitality solutions can help you out.

We have partnered with Google and can provide Google listings for your hotel. See your hotel’s inventory being displayed directly on Google. Get more coverage as millions of travelers everyday search Google for hotels.

Do not miss this amazing opportunity! Get in touch with us at the earliest to start getting direct bookings from Google. Boost your occupancy rates while saving ton of money on OTA fees.

Hotels – Maintain Rate Parity With Ease With AIO CRS & PMS

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Rate parity refers to the practice of maintaining consistent and same rates for the same room types across all the distribution channels platforms whether it is the hotel’s own website or OTAs, irrespective of the commission percentages being charged by an OTA. Hotels and OTAs both have to agree to rate parity norms while signing up with an OTA.

The practice of rate parity is there to safeguard the interests of the OTAs. If rate parity did not exist, hotels could keep very low prices on their websites and thus more and more people would start booking from the hotel website, effectively cutting out OTAs from business.

Challenges Relating to Rate Parity
Rate parity can pose several challenges for small and new hotels. In small hotels, the profit margins are usually thin and it can become difficult to pay hefty commission fees to OTAs on the room bookings.

If hotels do not want to associate with OTAs and want to do direct bookings, they would need to do lot of promotions in order to bring in more customers. Moreover competing with OTAs for prices can be super-difficult for any hotel since OTAs have been known to sometimes reduce prices below the agreed-upon amount by reducing their commissions. This can pose a big problem for the hotels as people would hesitate to book directly from the hotel website and would prefer to book through the OTA channel due to the price difference and also for other reasons and benefits.

So hotels are not left with much choice but to try their best to maintain rate parity across all the channels, otherwise they may stand to lose more than they can gain in the short run. However this again poses potential challenges.

Maintaining rate parity across multitude of platforms is usually not easy. In order to overcome the problems of constantly checking, updating and maintaining same rates across multiple platforms and systems, hotels need to invest in reliable PMS and CRS systems.

Check out our amazing range of reasonably priced and highly powerful software solutions including hotel PMS and CRS.

Improve OTA Placements With CRS – Save Thousands of $$$ on Commissions

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Many people search and book hotel rooms through online travel agents (OTAs). It is estimated that more than 80% of online hotel bookings in the USA are done through major OTA channels like Expedia, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz and others.

For this reason many hotels register with the OTAs in order to increase exposure to their property and get more bookings. However due to the huge impact of the OTAs, the hotels become kind of slaves to them and also have to pay hefty commissions whenever booking happens through an OTA channel.

To get better rankings and exposure, hotel owners need to make direct contact with these channels, with direct merchant agreements. Regular GDS is not sufficient in most cases to provide you premium positions and listings on these channels.

This is where Central Reservation System (CRS) can help you by providing a direct interface with the leading OTA networks. With CRS, you won’t even need a channel management interface. A CRS has direct connections with all of the major GDS in the world, including Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, Pegasus, etc.

With the help of CRS you can eliminate third party middlemen. CRS systems can help you offer packages to guests. CRS can be extremely beneficial for hotels which are highly dependent on travel agents or those properties which would like to increase exposure for increased business potential.

AIO Hospitality has great CRS solutions which has tons of amazing features. The cost is very affordable and reasonable. We pride ourselves in being able to provide latest, state-of-the-art technological solutions for hotels. Our CRS provides direct connection to Sabre, Pegasus, Innlink, and all major OTA channels. Our CRS has real time synchronization across all the channels in order to maintain rate parity.

Hotels can save thousands of dollars every year by using a CRS. It is a highly potent tool which can help hotels generate more bookings, increase their profits by saving thousands of dollars in commissions and other fees.

Why Hotels Should Choose Cloud PMS Instead of Local Onsite PMS

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What is The Difference Between Cloud PMS and Onsite PMS
A local PMS or onsite PMS is installed on your property, at one or more computers. You can only access the PMS application from the computer where it resides. On the other hand a cloud based PMS exists online. You don’t have to install anything on your local machines.

To access online PMS you just need a good internet connection and the login credentials. You can access the cloud PMS from any machine or device. You can access it from any location in the world, even when you are not there physically at your hotel property. You don’t need to be present at your hotel.

Why Cloud PMS Is The Future
You may be traveling hundreds of miles away from your hotel and can still access the PMS, generate reports and check various activities. Another beautiful thing about cloud PMS besides not being restricted by physical boundaries, is the security part.

The cloud PMS resides on a safe and secure server. The PMS companies usually adhere to high security protocols and take steps to ensure maximum protection to the PMS data from threats such as hacking attacks, malware, spyware and other issues.

When you have a traditional legacy PMS that is installed locally on your hotel property, you will be responsible for maintaining its security. If the computer crashes, on which the PMS is present, you may lose tons of valuable and historical data unless you take regular backups.

All this security maintenance and data backup work can be very labor intensive and time consuming. You may need to recruit full-time technical employees or hire an outside firm to manage all these tasks for you. On the other hand, the cloud PMS can eliminate all these hassles. You won’t have to lift a finger while the PMS company takes care of all the security needs as well as taking timely backups of your important business data.

Many Hotels Are Stick Stuck With Legacy Systems
As you can see there are many major benefits of cloud based PMS over a traditional one. Still it is surprising to note how many hotels are stuck with legacy systems. They have not transitioned to the cloud PMS model. In USA and UK alone, it is estimated that just around 30% hotels have moved over to cloud technology while the remaining hotels continue with the age-old legacy technology.

There could be many reasons why hotels are not keen on making the shift. The fear of losing years of data could be one issue holding them back. The hoteliers may be afraid that moving all the data across the systems can be very complex, difficult, time-consuming or expensive. Or they may be uncertain how the cloud PMS will perform, whether it will be complex or user-friendly to operate, whether it will be reliable or not.

Another major fear that could be holding hotels back could be the cost factor. Many cloud PMS companies out there may be charging excessive amounts. Let us assure you all the above fears may be unnecessary. AIO Hospitality has a powerful cloud-based hotel PMS that can do wonders. It is not at all expensive, complex or difficult. We can assist and guide you in transitioning from your legacy system.

For a cost-effective, reliable and powerful cloud PMS solution get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Traditional PMS Vs Cloud PMS – Why Hotels Are Switching to Cloud PMS

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Traditional hotel systems and PMS come with limited access. You can only access the application from a particular computer. However a modern cloud-based PMS, like the powerful AIO PMS system, overcomes this debilitating limitation and allows you access while on the go.

As you are attending to the guests or moving about in the hotel you can access the cloud based PMS from your mobile device or from any computer device that is nearby. With just a decent internet connection you can now stay connected to the PMS 24*7!

Traditional Vs Cloud PMS – Why Cloud PMS Is Superior

Cloud PMS solutions come with many benefits when compared to their traditional counterparts.

Traditional PMS are usually installed on a single or a few computers. To access them you have to be near that computer. The benefit of cloud based PMS system is that it gives you access anytime, anywhere so that you can efficiently carry out your activities.

Not just that, the AIO cloud-based PMS lets you manage a whole chain of hotels. If you are a hotel owner or manager you can conveniently generate reports and check all activity even when you are out of town.

Another area where the cloud based PMS is superior is security. Since the application is hosted on the cloud, there will be no effect if your local computer crashes. You need not worry about maintaining the security of your computer or protect the computer from viruses, etc.

The cloud server hosting the PMS will already have latest and high-quality security systems in place. There may be frequent security scans and checks, security upgrades and other activities undertaken by the cloud company. There is no manual intervention needed on your part.

So the security is taken care of without you having to lift a finger or hire an expensive security firm to look into it. Security worries are lifted off you so that you can focus purely on your business.

AIO is proud to be a Cloud PMS provider. We have a super-powerful PMS application which is feature-rich, reliable and affordable. Our amazing cloud based hotel PMS has amazing report-generation capabilities wherein you can generate hundreds of different kinds of reports for gaining better business insights.

Our PMS is suitable whether you have a smaller hotel or a chain of larger properties. Give us a call to discuss more…

The Rising Popularity of Online Survey Tools for Hotels

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In the hospitality industry, surveys and customer feedback play a very important role. Hotels have always given lot of importance to obtaining feedback from the guests. The guest feedback can provide valuable insights to the hotels and help them identify problems, areas for improvement.

However traditional surveys are now getting outdated, being replaced by online surveys. There have cropped up an amazing array of different survey tools which can be used by businesses, including hotels, to ask various kind of questions, conduct polls and take ratings from the customers about different aspects of the business.

For example, a hotel may ask guests to give ratings for different things including its food, room service, cleanliness, friendly staff, etc. The guests can fill in the survey form and give ratings on the online portal, through their mobile phones. The guests can fill in the survey forms as is convenient for them, even a few days after they have checked out of the hotel.

Online surveys have become the rage these days because of their convenience and ease, and also because of their variety of uses and the plenty of options they come with. Hotels are sending survey questionnaires to guests at various stages of their stay, including before check-in, during the stay and after check-out.

During the stay these survey tools can be used to identify specific needs of the guest and address them swiftly. After check-out, these tools can be used to gauge the levels of user satisfaction.

There are a plethora of survey tools in the market, some free and some paid. There are also some hospitality-centric survey tools, meant specially for use by hotels and some generic ones, which can be used by any business house including hotels. These survey tools have been in existence from more than 10 years now, and are becoming more and more advanced and user-friendly with the passage of time.

Powerful Features & Templates:
The survey tools often come with handy, ready-to-use modules, functionalities and addons that make them all the more powerful. For example, some survey tools have pre-defined templates which can prove extremely valuable for people who are amateur and not good at creating surveys.

If you are not sure what questions to ask, you can make use of these ready made templates to give you ideas and also save you lot of time. For example – Survey Monkey has a ready-made hotel feedback survey template which has around 20 odd questions to get you started!

Popular Survey Tools In the Market:
Some of the popular and worthwhile survey tools which hotels can use on their website are:

Most of the time you can setup survey on your hotel website using the above tools in a matter of minutes. So what is stopping you? Go ahead and try some of these tools!

 

Few Essential Requirements of Any Modern Hotel Website

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Clear Navigation
It is very important that your hotel’s website is easy to navigate. People should not get lost or confused while exploring the website. Content should be properly organized into proper categories. The menus should be displayed prominently on the top and the bottom. Some pages may additionally have sidebar menu linking to relevant inner pages.

Make sure the top menu links to the important sections or pages of the website. At the same time don’t include too many items in the top menu as it can overwhelm the user.

The room listings page should have minimal information in order to avoid overwhelming the user with information overload. Make these pages simple and minimal, but be sure to include all the important information with clear calls to action.

Clear Calls to Action
Have clearly visible and attractive calls to action sprinkled throughout the site with clear text, like Book A Room or Learn More or Contact Us, etc

You should let the user book a room or do important actions with ease on the website. Have a prominently displayed ‘Book Now’ button, rates display, availability calendar and search feature. You may also have popups to show some offers or persuade users to engage or book.

Reviews and FAQ pages
These are also important to have on your website. Make a list of all the important questions that users may have or questions you commonly get asked by people. Display all these questions along with their answers on the FAQ page so that the users can check out these questions easily.

Similarly having a reviews page can do wonders to your website. If you have lot of good reviews from your past guests, feel free to exhibit these on a separate, dedicated section or page. These reviews can motivate the other users to also try your hotel.

Using Technology to Improve and Grow Your Hotel Business

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  1. Prioritize the website and mobile experience

In a world where most of our lives are spent online, it is not surprising that lot of your customers will book rooms online. That’s why it is extremely important to develop an attractive website for your hotel which is equipped with all the latest features and functionality. Your website may be the first impression your potential guests get about your hotel so make sure that the website is professionally done otherwise you may lose lot of bookings.

 

  1. Offer direct booking concessions

Direct booking helps build customer loyalty. You can encourage direct booking by offering value-added discounts. These may include discounts on food and beverages, lower reservation prices, discounts on future stays, and more. The goal is to keep guests away from using hotel comparison sites, so that you can save lot of money on commissions to third party agents. You can also promote a loyalty program so that you reward guests who recommend your hotel to others. This way you can catch lot of additional guests.

 

  1. Cleverly manage your distribution channels

Compared to large hotel chains, independent hotels often do not have enough budget to for large scale marketing. These smaller hotels should choose the right distribution channels to gain worldwide exposure.

 

  1. Manage your important data records

Whether you’re using CRM technology or plain Microsoft Excel to manage your data, you should always keep in mind that you don’t need every piece of information. Only store key data and organize it efficiently. When properly analyzed, key data insights can help your overall revenue management approach.

Storing and organizing key data can become extremely easy and convenient if you use the right software application like a hotel PMS. So consider investing in a powerful PMS  that offers tons of valuable features.

AIO Hospitality offers such a PMS which is highly powerful, affordable and comes with an amazing range of reporting tools. The right PMS can not only make your operations easier and smoother, it can also help you better analyze your business and take informed steps to increase revenues and grow further.

 

AIO PMS – Travel Agent Module

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Travel agents are very important for hotels as they can help the hotel sell its inventory to a large global audience. Hotels can increase their occupancy rates, reach wider audience, gain more exposure and hence grow their business by leaps and bounds with the help of travel agents and online travel agents.

When hotels can tap into a huge network of travel agents and online travel agents, they won’t need a sales team of their own to do marketing for them. Sales teams can have various limitations whereas the travel agents can help you reach more diverse audience.

The problem is that when you have travel agents you need to calculate commissions for them based on the rates you fix for them. You may have different rates for different agents and your hotel software should be able to keep track of how many sales are being driven by each travel agent you are associated with. Not only that, the software application should also calculate the commissions payable to each agent based on the number of bookings, the room rates at which the bookings were made, any discounts or concessions that were given to the guests, etc.

The good news is that Travel Agent Module of AIO software suite does all this for you on autopilot. This is a great feature which can eliminate lot of headaches for hoteliers. It can be such a relief when you can accurately track the number of bookings of each agent as well as calculate the commissions you owe them, all this without any additional manual work on your part.

If you want to get the full benefit of this powerful feature you can check out our AIO PMS and other powerful, feature-rich software applications which can make your hotel management work easier and hassle-free for you – All In One Hotel PMS.