Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Website and Booking Engine Options for the small operator

Plan B have unveiled three new website and booking packages under their Open Rooms branding.

The three options which are aimed at the smaller independent accommodation provider have been developed around Plan B's proprietary and purpose built hospitality Content and Destination Management System known as The Claymore Project.

The competitive pricing of the packages recognises the challenges facing the smaller operator in a constrained market place where investment in improving services and infrastructure is at a premium.

Ian McCaig of Plan B explains, "The pressures on smaller operators is coming from all sides in particular  from Online Travel Agents (OTAs) such as Booking.com and others driving prices down and increasing the cost of sales through increasingly high commission levels. The Open Rooms suite of products has been designed and developed to try encourage a Best Book Direct attitude from the operators who can and should be taking more control over everything they can do to increase lower costs DIRECT reservations"

The suite combines full content management with award winning low cost booking engine technology using Bookassist's Web Booking Engine.

McCaig continued, "We are particularly aware of the removal of VisitScotland's booking engine in Scotland at the end of December and these solutions are perfect for the operators who are now looking for a long term replacement. We think it's important that businesses consider their strategy before signing up to something that simply says we're FREE - there is always a cost to a booking and providers just have to ask where those costs come in."

We strongly believe that the best booking - for both the provider and the guest - is the DIRECT booking and with all of our booking engine clients it is about increasing the reservations through the accommodation providers' OWN sites not traffic through high commission third party sites. 

It's not easy to break the stranglehold of the big boys when the revenues are so desperately needed but it can be done slowly and surely with good practice."













Our Open Rooms suite gives businesses of all sizes the tools to start moving rooms back to DIRECT"

Open Rooms Postcard 1314

Open Rooms Postcard is a well-designed and update-able micro site featuring a rolling gallery of images and it also includes your contact information, Google Map, and direct links to your social media too! For small accommodation business you can even integrate Bookassist, one of the leading booking engines on the market, into the site to take commission free bookings.

On signing up for an Open Rooms Postcard website we will take your logo, images and content and turn it into a search engine optimised, online availability ready, fully content managed webpage and often in less than 48 hours!

Open Rooms Lite 1314

Our entry level package, Open Rooms Lite 1314, offers the independent accommodation provider all of the flexibility required and you can grow your site as required with our purpose built content and destination management system you can control as much of your online content as you need. Manage and update your content, add image galleries even integrate your social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter and offer fully integrated and offer DIRECT online room bookings - commission free for under ten bedded properties.

Based on flexible Open Rooms Frameworks, we design around your colours and logos. You decide on your site content and pages and we build the site for you. You manage all of your content from day one. Your booking engine is integrated into the system with you ready to take commission free bookings from day one.

Commission Free Booking Engine

VisitScotland have announced recently that from the middle of December 2012 they will be removing access to their booking engine leaving many smaller accommodation providers with only a few weeks to find a replacement to ensure that they can receive online bookings through the important first three months of 2013.

Aimed at the small bed and breakfast and guest house provider this lighter version of the award winning booking engine offers a commission free booking option with a host of top end functions. Open Rooms 1314 offers a modified version of the web booking engine aimed at the smaller operator making it easier than ever to manage rates and availability and take reservations DIRECT from their own websites.


For further information click on the links above to view website examples and to download a detailed PDF Guide or if you wish to discuss your booking engine options please call us on 01292 521404

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