STATEMENT 

Less than half of the consumers who used social media to research travel
stuck with their original plans…

SHORT MOMENT OF REFLECTION

How many of your guests DO NOT use social media???

At UntangleMyWeb.com we love infographics. This week we came across a great one from Four Pillars Hotels which assesses the social media influence in travel by reviewing four pillars, specifically Mobile, Trust, Peers and Reviews.

From Infographics to Actionable items for your travel business

What do these beautifully formatted statistics really mean for your tourism business? Let us show you simple tactics can you can setup right away to capture more of that market and gain market share yourself.

Mobile

85% of travellers use smartphones while abroad

What this means for a travel and tourism business:

1. Assess how smartphone-friendly your website is: Test what it looks like here and then refer to this article and presentation on mobile optimisation for tourism websites to decide how to move forward.
2. Having a mobile optimised online booking system is also extremely important. When clients click on the “book now” button they are redirected to your online booking system and can the user complete a booking using their smartphone?
3. Are you offering free wi-fi internet for those international (and domestic) travellers so they don’t get stung with huge roaming fees? That would certainly encourage them to post on social media sites while at your property.

30% of travellers have used mobile apps to find hotel deals

What this means for a travel and tourism business:

1. Is your business listed on mobile apps offering accommodation (and travel) deals? Key ones that rank high on the iTune store are Wotif, TripAdvisor, Hotels.com for instance.
2. Have a look at your position on such apps – which competitor is ranking above you and why? Are they above you because they are paying a fee or maybe because they have better reviews?

Trust

92% of consumers trust earned media above all other forms of advertising (only half trust paid ads)

What this means for a travel and tourism business:

1. Quickly assess what types of online earned media your customers use. Is it Facebook, Twitter TripAdvisor, Yelp? One of the least time consuming way to find out is to survey your customers upon departure. If you are sending them a thank-you email with a request to review you online, why don’t you send them a link to a short survey (using a tool such as JotForm) asking them what social media sites they use?
2. Have you got your Google Alerts setup properly so that you receive an email alert every time there is a new mention about your business online?

70% of consumers say online reviews are the 2nd most trusted form of advertising

• How are you currently leveraging online review sites? These two articles are pure gold and will give you step by step guidance on how to exponentially grow your online reviews.

Peer Influence

52% of Facebook users say their friends’ photos inspire their travel plans

What this means for a travel and tourism business:

1. Give your guest plenty of photo and video opportunities and remind them to upload them on social media sites.
2. Ask your guests to like your Facebook page, but a more effective technique is the next one:
3. Instead of asking them to post an update on your Facebook page directly, you could try and give your guests a reason to post a Facebook status update and tag your business in the update. They do this from their own Facebook profile (see example below). Ensure your permissions are as per the second screenshot for this technique to work).

1. Depending on your page type and your settings your guests may be able to tag your page in one of their photos as well.
2. And finally, don’t forget to ask them to do all this in your thank-you email (the same you will write for your online reviews, refer to the 2 articles linked in the previous paragraph).

Reviews

40% of travellers post restaurant reviews and 46% of travellers post hotel reviews

We can therefore assume that every second guest that uses your services or purchases your product is likely to post a review. Do not waste that opportunity. Imagine the exposure your B&B could get on a regional page on TripAdvisor, such as the one in the below screenshot:

76% post vacation photos to a social network

What this means for a travel and tourism business:

1. Is your business being linked to such photos?
2. What social media sites are these photos posted on? Could you a) ask for a copy b) use them for marketing purpose?
3. Have you actually searched for your business name using the Image search functionality on Google?
4. Are you feeding these photos back on your website?
5. You could also consider asking some of your guests to write a short blog story about their stay and utilise this as part of your content strategy on your blog. Here are some ideas… 

55% like Facebook pages specific to vacations

1. If this is not a reason to give your Facebook Page a lift…. Have you updated your Facebook page since the new Timeline launch earlier this year?
2. Have you searched for Facebook pages of similar businesses as yours? Here is a great one from Brisbane Holiday Village, a social-media-active caravan park.

The power of social media is growing everyday and the Tourism Industry is both leveraging from the boom, and being hit by it. The days of doing nothing are long gone. Which side do you want to be on?

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
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
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.
Free?
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

will come via mobile devices. Is your current web presence ready to support this phenomenal growth?

This article will help you assess & improve your business’ mobile marketing strategy and is based on the presentation that Adam gave last night at Mooloolaba for the members of Tourism Sunshine Coast:

Mobile optimisation / responsive design workshop – Sunshine Coast

To get started, think about which of the below components of online marketing is the most important to your customers. Is it:

• Local search: being able to quickly find the information they are after while in your region
• Social media: taking a photo, sharing with their Facebook friends
• Sharing impressions: posting a review on your TripAdvisor page
• Get directions: using their smartphone as a GPS
• Booking online: does your online booking system offer a mobile-friendly interface?
• Last but not least: your website – is it easy to navigate on a mobile device?

Mobile marketing 101

Mobile marketing is defined as a set of practices that enables organisations to communicate and engage with their audicence in an interactive and relevant manner through any mobile device or network. In short, it means that your company needs to be able to engage with your audience on their terms, at a time and location that suits them. 

One key feature of mobile marketing is mobile search, particularly location-based search. With over 85% of smartphone users looking for local information using their devices – e.g. searched for “accommodation” whilst on location – tourism businesses that ignore mobile search will miss out on numerous potential sales.

However, mobile marketing offers many other facets such as coupons, SMS/MMS and mobile apps.

Mobile marketing – a step by step guide

We have identified 5 steps that need to be completed to successfully engage in mobile marketing. Each step is addressed in details in our mobile marketing presentation and in the checklist – both of which you can download using the form located at the bottom of the post.

Step 1- Get a mobile optimised website

Step 2- Focus on your content marketing strategy

Step 3 – Tailor your content for each stage of travel

Step 4 – Consider how you can distribute your content as widely as possible

Step 5 – Look for opportunities to be innovative with your content creation

Is your website mobile-friendly?

Let’s do a quick exercise – pull up your iPad or smartphone and answer the following questions:

• Do you see broken images or missing content?
• Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling?
• Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb?
• Are navigations options obvious?
• Is search functionality easily accessible?

What about your booking engine or shopping cart?

• Do you see broken images or missing content?
• Can you read the text without zooming or scrolling?
• Can links and buttons be clicked with a thumb?
• Are navigations options obvious?
• How quick can a user make a purchase?

Making your website mobile-friendly – your options

There are different ways to make your website mobile friendly and our presentation available for download at the end of this article reviews each option in further details. The table below offers a summary.

Mobile-friendly website – Responsive Design

The Smart Tourism Website version 3 is built using Responsive Design. Visit our latest project, www.tamborineaccommodation.com.au from your desktop computer or laptop and resize the window using your mouse. You can also visit it from a smartphone or tablet device to see the different smartphone layouts directly.

Time and time again I get calls from small tourism operators asking for a new website but when I ask the dreaded question of “how many bookings does your online presence currently generate for you” not many are able to give me a precise figure. Which makes it harder for us as our priority is to help operators increase their online bookings.

What I have come up with over the past months is a simple yet effective way for travel and tourism businesses to ascertain how many bookings their online presence is currently generating and which channel works best. It is a little Word document that will give you a snapshot of your bookings per month. To download it just scroll to the bottom of this blog post!

Origin of online bookings

As a tourism business your online bookings would generally take place on 2 locations:

• Your own website
• Your online channels (such as wotif, booking.com etc)

Bookings taking place your own website

Depending on the quality and functionality of your webiste, your web visitors may have different ways to make a booking (or an enquiry). For the purpose of the exercise we will call them both “conversions”.

1. Using the online booking button: did you know that many travellers now book their holiday on their smart phones and/or tablets? how mobile friendly is your website & your online booking system? in 2012 Google predicts that 8% of mobile users will be booking their travel from their mobile. Since 99% of of travellers have a mobile that would signify that this year 10% of your bookings could originate from mobile devices!
2. Using the contact form:some people still are old school and prefer to use a contact form
3. Clicking on your email address directly: if you believe you should’t list your email address on your website because of “spam” you are mistaken. Not listing your email address risks you losing communication from those that prefer this form of communication. Simply get yourself a decent email program and you will never be bothered by spam.
4. Using the LiveChat functionality:  for a demo of LiveChat just look at the bottom right of this blog post or visit this article to learn how to set it up.
5. Picking up the phone and calling the phone number listed on your website: sometimes it is just nice to have a personal call (and pretty handy for those who spend a lot of time behind the wheel who only have time to organise their family life whilst commuting to and from work)

Having a blog is one thing, but coming up for content to write about is another! Today I will give you 4 ideas on what you could write about if you are a tour or activities provider.

#1 Top 7 things our guests say about us

“Top x things” are articles that always catch people’s attention. Build out this blog post’s content by leveraging from:

• Recent TripAdvisor and guest reviews

TripAdvisor review integrated to blog post

• Utilise photos you took of people on tour
• And if you have a letter you have received in the mail why not scan it and include it as well
• Aim to also get a video review from your clients (using your iPhone is fine) a few days before you plan on writing the blog post

#2 The perfect itinerary when visiting “insert your location here”

Your guests will most certainly be doing a pre and a post activity or looking for pre or post accommodation. Why not make it easy and create an itinerary for them?

• Pretend you were one of your typical client and put yourself in their shoes when you write the article
• Aim to list 3 accommodation providers you recommend for your visitors to stay at. Do not just use a bullet list but highlight the benefits of each with a link to their website
• Insert some quotes from your past guests (try not to make them up!). Things like “I really enjoyed visiting xyz’s winery down the road – they had really packaged the wine tasting experience well and for $5 dollars it was a great way to end our day
• Insert a map as well. Google Maps allows you to easily create a personalised map (view here how to do it)

#3 10 things to visit on your way here from “insert closest airport”

Extend your reach by thinking about where your visitors are coming from. Create an itinerary from the airport. You will kill 2 birds with one stone as you will also be able to send them this blog post as a nice “thank you for your booking here is how to get to us” email as soon as they booked. They will really appreciate the personalised contact. Don’t forget to include elements such as:

• Tolls: is there a toll road on the way? If they are renting a car make sure you include information on how to pay the toll
• Is there a nice place they could stop half way for breakfast/lunch/dinner
• Will they land late? Do you recommend an accommodation house close to the airport?
• Are there specific things you recommend for couples vs. for families with kids in tow?
• It would also be nice to add a Google Map of the best recommended route

Creating a custom Google Map

#4 What to look for when booking a “insert your activity name here”

Now is the time to shine. Without naming your competitors (whilst being fully aware of your differences and USPs) build an article that highlights your USPs and why they are so important. If you are a hot air ballooning company for instance, you could come up with points such as:

• What is the safety rating of the provider
• Is early pickup and drop off included
• Will I receive a free photo
• Will I be fully refunded or just given a voucher in case the trip needs to be cancelled due to weather?
• Who is the pilot? is he/she a local?
• Why not creat a little video about your business and posting it on YouTube and embedding it in the blog post?

How often should I be blogging?

Blogging continuously adds fresh content to your website. This in turns attracts search engine robots to your website and shows them that you are being “active” in cyberspace. Give it a good 6 weeks and you should start to reap the rewards and see your search engine rankings improve.

On average, aim for at least 2 blog posts per month. Plan your topics in advance using our simple to use one page social media communications calendar. If your online competitors have a more active blogging strategy than yourself you may well need to up your blogging to 1 or 2 posts a week. If blogging is not your thing or you don’t have the resources to do it in house our team at UntangleMyWeb.com can help you by helping you define your communications calendar and blog on your behalf. Just
drop us an email if you would like one of us to ring you back.

Why bother – 0urs is working just fine! 

Over the years I keep on thinking I have seen it all when it comes to dicey email setup. Yet once a month there is a new winner. Are you one of them?

Can you afford to have a risky email setup run your business?

• During the QLD floods, many companies couldn’t use their email to communicate to their clients because their email server was located in their building and the power supply to their buildings had been turned off.
• Are you one of those? You need to ring your wife/on site manager/cleaners to turn the office computer on as you forgot to confirm a booking and your email only lands in that computer’s inbox
• Once your emails have been downloaded to one computer they don’t get downloaded to your others
• You don’t want to display your email address on your website because your inbox suddenly gets clogged up with spam (remove the email from the website and watch those bookings drop!)

1. Use a professional email address

2. Get given access

To recap, in Part 1 we looked at how things have changed for tourism businesses and some of the technological changes you have already made (maybe without realising). This week we are taking a look into how it affects you, what could be expected in the future and what needs to be done to ‘stay in the game’.

“How does the technological shift affect you?”

(report distributed 24th February 2012: written by Michelle Shuttlesworth)

Joel Ross, HotelNewsNow.com columnist, explains in “The Digital Revolution Impact on Hotel Demand” that with all of the new technology available, hotels need to re-evaluate how and what features are important to guests. The new changes in technology may mean new changes in room/facilities layout. Ross says that rooms should have:

• nice sized desks to accommodate guests’ laptop or other work devices
• hotels should have extra chargers of phone and laptop chargers to hand out to guests who forget their own
• Hotel rooms should also have flat screen TVs that can connect to the internet (so the business guest can communicate back to his/her office)

Basically the goal is to make sure that each room is well equipped to deal with any type of technological devices.

For instance, the development of the laptop and iPad has revolutionized the way people can conduct business. This allows people to work from wherever they may be, even in hotels, which means that they will most likely stay longer and travel more. Ross speculates that since portable computer devices are on the rise, the business center of hotels will probably result in lower demand. With people bringing their own means of business and communication, the guest room becomes the new business center.

the development of the laptop and iPad has revolutionized the way people can conduct business

Where could it go?

In the article “How Smart Devices Will Change Hotel Technology” Les Spielman , CEO of Hospitality Automation Consultants, an independent hospitality consulting firm, talks about some of the very recent developments that some hotels have already adopted.

He discusses new ways that can ease hotel check-ins. With smart phones, you can acquire an app that allows you to check-in without having to go to the front desk. The same application can even unlock the door without the use of a room key (Spielman). As more people begin to accustom themselves to these new products and applications, hotels are going to need to keep up with the fast pace by investing in the new technology.

Doug Rosen and Erica Arnold co-authors of the article “Is Change Stressing Out Your Workforce?” discuss what kind of changes can affect hospitality and tourism employees and how future stress can be avoided. Some of these changes include:

• new technology
• keeping up with the rising expectation of guest preferences
• industry standards
• unusual work hours.

Rosen and Arnold say that if these situations aren’t handled properly, it can create large amounts of stress on employees as well as the company.

As far as keeping up with new technology, updates on property management systems are common. Updates on PMS’s are meant to help employees by creating more efficient ways to do routine tasks, but the employees have to relearn how to work the program. By constantly having to adjust to the updates, it can cause a “decrease in productivity and increase stress levels of employees” (Rosen and Arnold).

As younger people who grew up with the state of the art technology and social networking enter the workforce, the way business is conducted will be making a major change (Ross)

Adaptation is required:

The technology of this world is only going to get more advanced and creative. It is prudent for tour and accommodation providers to observe and follow these trends. As younger people who grew up with the state of the art technology and social networking enter the workforce, the way business is conducted will be making a major change (Ross). It is necessary that management stays updated and committed to keeping employees educated about the new developments. This way employees stay motivated and happy in their job (Berberoglu).

This concludes the guest posts with a special thanks to Michelle Shuttlesworth of OleMiss University USA.

What can you do NOW (that doesn’t cost)?

One of the things we suggest to our clients to try is to a new technology focus to an existing task. Something a majority of Tourism Businesses have that is not only part of the required tasks but is essential to a successful strategy is a database.

Your database is all of the contact details you have for past guests that you refer back to when you want to send them a reminder or perhaps make a return offer. This is often a bulky desktop excel file, or maybe an outsourced newsletter provider. But wouldn’t it be good to have control over your list and be able to sort the list into logical segments for targeted information?
You can! Give yourself the the goal of setting up a MailChimp Account to store all of your database. This will allow you to send specific emails that look professional, adhere to spam guidelines and you can track if people have opened the email!

The account is free to setup and there is a BOUNTY of support available from their website. There are getting started guides, understanding reports and there is even a guide called Common Rookie Mistakes.
Set yourself some time to start (don’t pressure yourself into thinking it all has to be done in one sitting- if you are keen then go for it!) and just take it step by step. Have another staff member do it with you so you can both learn and take turns in sending out campaigns (MailChimp speak for newsletters). Learning is more fun when you can discuss it and ask questions, so don’t be afraid to pull in the support crew and tackle it together!

While we might curse it at times, technology IS our friend and this friend is not going anywhere, so it’s best to get to know each other!

At UntangleMyWeb we often hear stories of operators in distress (and some still in denial) from the power of technology for their business and the resistance to embrace it in order to maintain profits. If you know an operator experiencing these challenges, please share the link to this article with them, knowing you are not the only one can sometimes be just the nudge you need.

“The Impacts of New Technology on Tourism & Hospitality Operations and Employees”

(report distributed 24th February 2012: written by Michelle Shuttlesworth)

Technology for the hospitality and tourism industry is advancing. Hotels, Motels, B&Bs and experience-based businesses all have to quickly adapt to these changes.

Demands of guests are rising with the evolvement of new technology, so it is important that these businesses fulfill these demands and keep up with changes like:

• updating hotel management systems
• online booking systems,
• and transitioning to social networking.

Implementing these changes can cause a lot of stress on employees which can be detrimental to their health and work, but if business managers can create an easy transition then it could be very beneficial for the business and employees.

Choosing technology that will support their business processes and day to day activities will allow managers and employees to have a smooth transition 

Technology has revolutionised the business world with its nonstop inventions and updates on already new devices like smart phones and the iPad. The tourism and hospitality industry, with its main purpose of service, is greatly affected by the constant development of new and improved products of this digital world. The employees have to learn and adapt to these constant changes which can be very stressful. Too much stress can be very unhealthy and affect their work. This report will bring notice to the negative and positive impacts that new technology has on the industry and their employees.

The technology of communication and computers play a large role in the day to day activities of accommodation providers and tour operators. Most people call or go online to make a reservation. Computers can hold the bulk of the work in these businesses. For example, there are specific computer programs created just for hotel use. These programs are called property management systems (PMS). They help hold guest reservations, guest information, and billing information.

Most larger establishments (UMW edit: and now a lot of smaller establishments thanks to the Smart Tourism Website) have their own website that contains:

• general information
• amenities
• rates of rooms
• place to create your own reservation.

In the article “The Impact of E-Commerce and Social Networking on the Hotel Industry,” Jonathan Jaegar, a graduate of the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University, discusses the positive and negative effects that social media and third party internet has on hotels. He claims that social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are a great way to advertise and give “hotel operators the opportunity to directly connect with a new generation of travelers” (Jaegar).  Hotels are being smart in taking advantage of these networking sites to advertise discounts to encourage demand and increase profits. Internet marketing is smart and innovative and gives hotels the opportunity to “create a positive image” and gain more customers (Jaegar).
However, Jaegar says, this method does not always end in larger profits. He says that hotels must calculate a break-even amount to know how many rooms can be sold at the discounted rate before they can sell all of these rooms and at a lower price.

Jaegar proclaims that “third party internet sites have exploded.” Some of these websites include Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz (UMW edit: Wofit, Booking.com, Stayz are some of the sites available in Australia). Hotel consumers have started to go to these websites because they believe they will find the best possible rates. Though it’s good that these third party internet sites help sell these vacant rooms, it can also lead to some negative effects. When people go to Travelocity or Orbitz, it takes away some of the profits from the hotel. What most people do not know is that the discounted rates can be located on the hotel website itself, not just the third party websites. (*UMW: Even though Jaegar’s example is referring to Hotels, this applies to almost all businesses in the Tourism Industry- particularly Accommodation providers.)
Booking straight with the accommodation providers website can guarantee room type and any other specific requests. (UMW: Be sure to remind your guests of this on your social media sites!)

In summary, what does all the above mean for my tourism business?

In conclusion of this first post (we don’t want to overwhelm you) there are many changes that will affect not only how your bookings are taken, but also how your day to day business tasks are completed. You probably find that you have made a lot of these changes already. This might include:

• Taking Credit Card Payments online using an online merchant account
• Using Email for correspondence/bookings
• Using MYOB or other account systems (we love the web-based system called Saasu)
• Ordering business supplies online
• Online Bookings
• Adding a TripAdvisor listing

Congratulate yourself on what has already been conquered… (it may seem like there is a lot to get a hold of but a little patience and determination will go a very long way)… and get ready for the next blog post which will be looking at:

• how this technology boom affects you and your employees
• where it could lead to for future business
• what is required from you to stay in the game

We will also provide you with some tips to get into the technology swing and how to source help when you need some motivation.

Here at UntangleMyWeb.com we get many questions from tourism operators with regards to online booking systems, such as:

• Which one do you recommend?
• Does this one integrate with my reservation system?
• Is it ATDW/TXA friendly?
• Will it allow me to integrate with Google Analytics?
• When do I get paid by the booking system provider?

The Tourism Ekit provides a solid base and reviews over 40 systems but it doesn’t (yet?) include a full review of each of the features of online booking systems.

This article lists and review some of the new (and not so new) features that distinguish a good from a great online booking system.

Design and look and feel

Control the look and feel of your system

Does your  online booking system allow you to control the look and feel of the online booking component, are you stuck with a standard template or require the services of a web developer to tailor the system to your customer needs and brands?

Integration with your content management system

A feature we love is when online booking system providers make the job of tourism businesses much simpler. The folks at Rezgo have done exactly that with their WordPress plugin. They have developed a little application that is free to use and allows to mirror your online inventory into your website directly. No need to reinvent the wheel and upload your description both on your website and on your online booking system.

Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)

A nifty feature that has started to appear over the past few years is the access to a CRM within your online booking system. Some systems offer it, some systems integrate with major CRM systems and some don’t. Is this a feature you require?

Mobile devices

And one of the most important features: how mobile-friendly is your online booking system? Is there a special layout or even application available to those customers wanting to make a booking from their smartphone?  What about for you, the business owner or manager, can you easily check your bookings and assign rooms using a smartphone app when you are out of the office? GuestPoint have  got both an iPhone booking app and an iPhone management app integrated to their software.

Sales maximisers

Does the system support upselling with optional extras

Can your guests buy a champagne breakfast in addition to booking their room? What about if they want to make their decision closer to their arrival date, can they update their booking online?

Email marketing integration with key systems or solid email marketing capabilities

Keeping contact with your past guests is so important. Does your system offer an email marketing functionality or – even better – does it integrate with key systems such as MailChimp.com?

Support for different currencies

This one is rather self-explanatory. Can your customers pay in their own currency? Systems such as Rezdy offer this as part of their core features

Partner Bookings

Does your system allow trusted partners to login and access your point of sale? For instance, can concierges log into your system to make bookings?

Promotion codes

Imagine being able to send your clients who haven’t booked in say over 12 months a special promo code (you would do so using email marketing). Does your system allow you to redeem promo codes?

Social media

Facebook app

Does your system seamlessly integrate with Facebook to allow your likers to buy from Facebook? Have a look at what the Booking Button has setup.

Support

Support via live chat, web based

How can you get support from your online booking system provider? is it on the phone? do they have a database for you to look at? even better, do they have LiveChat?

Training

How is the original training provided to you? Can you use a test site? Will you be given one on one training? Do they have videos to support it?

System

Cloud hosting

With loading speed being crucial for both yourself and your clients, it is important to consider where your system is hosted. Does it reside on your computer? Is it in the cloud? or a combination of both? Systems such as GuestPoint allow you to use a combination of local and cloud hosting that seems to offer the best of both worlds!

Payment models

Last but not least: how and when will you get paid? Does the money go directly in your bank or is it held by the online booking system company? If so, when will it reach your bank account?

If you have an online booking system and are not sure it supports such functionalities, why not give them a call? Many of them offer variations of the above options.

Are there other features that make your operations much easier?

1. Modify or develop your social media plan

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Assess your social media plan and see what’s working for you. For example, use Facebook Insights to see which types of posts engage your users the most. If you’re posting day-by-day, this is a good opportunity to reevaluate how your Facebook Page fits in with your overall social media strategy.

Here are seven questions you need to answer to get a social media strategy in place:

1. What are your goals for your social media activities?
2. How do you plan to achieve these goals?
3. How will you monitor and respond to conversations about your brand?
4. How do you plan to engage your audience through your content?
5. How often will you communicate your content?
6. What purposes does each social network serve to your business?
7. How do you plan to improve your social media activities overtime?

2. Create a lasting impression with your cover image

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One of the more exciting features of the Timeline is the cover image, a large image featured at the top of your page. Use this opportunity to create a lasting first impression for every single person that visits your Page. You can change the image frequently, allowing you to create a new impression every time. Try uploading an image that best represents your unique selling proposition; once you’re comfortable with the new timeline, you can start getting more creative with your cover image.

Keep in mind, cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and must not contain:

• Price or purchase information, such as “30% off” or “Download it from our website”
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as “Sign up now” or “Invite your friends”

3. Use the profile photo to display your brand

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Your profile photo is the first thing users see when browsing through Facebook’s search results; use this opportunity to create further brand awareness for your business. Keep in mind that Facebook displays this image at 180px by 180px and any image with a lot of details may not look as good.

4. Choose your tabs wisely

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If you have custom tabs installed, it is important to change the custom tab image. Use the new dimension of 111px by 74px to create bigger, attention grabbing icons for your tabs. If your tabs have simple names like ‘Welcome’ or ‘Accommodation’, make the effort to change them to something more actionable or informative such as ‘Get 20% Off’ or ‘Special Offers’.

Keep in mind, with one space locked for native apps like Photos means that only three tab panels are viewable at any given time. So pick your top three tabs to display and change the order of apps accordingly as they will likely be the first to be interacted with, or entirely ignored if not optimized for the new experience.

5. Update or create your landing tabs

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Your landing tabs can now only be seen if users click on the tab icon under the cover image or you link directly to them. This is not to say that fan gating is not an option, as you can entice fans to Like your page in order to reveal sweepstakes, voting contests, and other promotions.

Have a 520px tab? Don’t worry, it still works in the new Timeline format

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Even if you have already switched to Timeline, your 520px tabs will still function. With the extra 290 pixels, your 520px tabs will get centered in the middle of the 810-pixel layout without any adjustments.

6. Go back in time and tell your story

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With Timeline, you can now add company events dating all the way back to its beginning. Take this opportunity to go through your company’s history and mark your company’s milestones such as the date you were founded, your first customers, when you moved to a new location, when you added new services, or increased staff.

Fans like to see businesses adding a personal touch to a Facebook page, and everyone enjoys a good startup story. Take this opportunity to tell your business’ story, add personality, let people know how it all began and share with others about how you got to where you are today.

7. Highlight what’s important

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Learn to highlight posts (expands to widescreen) you think are important. This will allow you to emphasize key moments on your Timeline in a more strategic and unique ways. Experiment with this feature as it may prove to be more engaging than a Landing Page.

8. Pin your posts

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While you no longer have the ability to create a default landing tab, you can now “pin” your posts to the top of the Timeline. Similar to marking a blog post “sticky,” a pinned post remains at the top left of the Timeline for seven days. Keep in mind, you can pin only one item at a time. Once the seven days are over, the post will return to the date it was originally posted on the Page’s timeline.

Use this feature to spotlight new and interesting content. You can even use it to create call-to-actions or special promotions with the opportunity to have your post shared by users.

9. Encourage users to send you a personal message

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Businesses can finally send and receive private messages with users. This allows for much deeper consumer interaction, and will also enable Page managers to take extended customer inquiries off the Timeline and into a private message.

These inquiries can be better serviced in a more one-on-one manner, reach out to the consumer with a private message and resolve his/her question. It’s a good opportunity to yield both a happy user and a clean Timeline.

10. Ultimately, focus on creating more engaging content

It has been shown time-and-time again that businesses posting content that shows behind-the-scenes activities, exclusive updates or promotions encourages user interactions and promotes higher engagement rates. Using interesting milestones to craft the story of the business over time can help to stimulate conversations around major achievements. Remember to update the Timeline with new milestones as they happen.

Once you’re happy, publish your Timeline

Timeline for businesses will certainly shake things up for everyone who’s looking to make an impact on Facebook. One thing is for sure: The way content is shared and viewed within a Timeline Page is incredibly important. Businesses that consistently create engaging updates and share important milestones will continue to gain users’ attention. The switch to Timeline will put the focus on getting users to Like you because your content is informative and engaging not because they are being forced to like you through a fan gate. Create and rotate new apps for engagement, pin relevant and timely content, and update the feed with user-friendly dialogues to stay relevant in this new space.