24 minute read
Booking Systems
BOOKING
Systems
Choosing the right booking system for your glamping site is an important decision, but due to the large number of providers available, this decision can quickly become overwhelming.
International Glamping Business reporter Annie Hilton has reached out to a number of booking system providers to get you the information you need to make an informed decision.
ANYTIME BOOKING
anytimebooking.co.uk
Anytime is well known for our flexible software, packed with features to support the complexities of a diverse outdoor hospitality industry. Our users include green field campsites, holiday parks, glamping, motorhome hire and holiday let agencies. Our multiaccommodation focus is one of our key differentiators in this market and we understand the nuances of supporting businesses in this space. We also believe our support to our clients is as important as the software we have created, a winning combination. We take the time to learn about our clients to make sure we transform how they take and manage bookings in the best way possible for them.
There are two routes to bookings. It is usual that we host the search results and booking forms here at Anytime, and we design the booking process to match the client’s website. This is the off-the-shelf route most of our clients choose to take. But, if a client wants to create a bespoke booking journey, they can ask their web developer to design it using our powerful API and host it on their own website. This route obviously incurs a higher cost to the client, but the results are stunning.
Our pricing depends on the infrastructure of the site and number of units we’ll be servicing – and it can scale up or down. Prices start at £30 a month. Our advice is to look at the value of the expertise you are getting in establishing a booking partnership, not just the nuts and bolts of a system. It’s a relationship that will ultimately really get you somewhere – or not, as the case may be. Price shouldn’t be the main or only driver in your decision.
We fully train our users as we onboard them into Anytime so that they are completely au fait with making changes themselves at any point. If they’ve forgotten how to do something, it’s really no problem, someone is always on hand to help. In the case of booking software being used across multiple websites, what happens in the instance of a double booking?
The dreaded ‘double booking’! Some providers will say they can guarantee that double-bookings don’t happen, but this really is a golden goose! Technology is not infallible and with more connections, come more points of failure. Here at Anytime, we don’t experience many double-bookings, but we do have scripts in place to detect them so we can notify clients to act straight away. Transparency is so important in the client/booking provider relationship so that we can work together for the good of the guest.
We are often told our support is exceptional and that is really important to us. It’s because we care. Our firsttime response to client queries is usually within a few minutes and we work hard for fast resolutions.
We have one of the most flexible pricing systems out there; there’s not a lot you can’t achieve with the module.
Continued on page 28
Users can offer as many extras to their guests as they like through the booking process, but there’s an added cool feature here where they can also set up an automated email to the third-party supplier whenever an order is made by a guest. We do like to help!
BEDFUL
bedful.com
Bedful is the only booking system to offer real time availability and pricing integration with the main UK glamping booking channels Cool Camping and Glampingly, as well as other websites. So, you don’t have to update your price changes across those platforms, it all happens instantly for you. Our dashboard is also easy to use – we get that feedback a lot from owners who were worried about using a booking system for the first time.
Yes, the booking software can sit as a widget on any website. It’s simple to add to your website, but we can help to get that installed if required. The customer then starts and ends the booking journey on your own website, and although the actual booking itself happens on the Bedful system, it’s branded with your own logo and colours, so it’s a seamless process for the customer.
What are the costs for site owners using your booking system? Is there integration available with other online camping/glamping travel agents?
Connectivity is key to giving Anytime users a competitive advantage. We have a good choice of direct integrations, such as Campsites.co.uk, Cool Camping, Pitch Up. We are working on a direct connection with Airbnb as we speak. We can also deliver bookings on iCal from Canopy & Stars, for example.
Site owners scoping out booking software should also ask what service integrations they support to enhance the guest experience – we have many! Touch Stay is the next in line, who offer digital welcome packs on a mobile phone, a firm favourite with guests. We also have an integrated Website Builder so clients can onboard to our system with a beautiful, affordable website with no need to code. And we have integrated booking protection to boost consumer confidence as we recover from the pandemic. We are always looking at ways to add value for our clients and their guests.
Bedful starts from £22/month, but the cost depends on how many glamping units there are and what features are required. For example, 3 treehouses on our Bedful Light package would cost £26/month, but for those looking for extra functionality such as multiple users, custom messages, security deposits and automatic balance payment notifications, we would suggest the Bedful Plus package at £31/month. There is no set up fee. For more information see the price calculator at bedful.com.
Users can log in to access their own Bedful dashboard. They get complete control of all their information, including units, rates and seasons and they can update them at any time using our easyto-use dashboard.
Due to our real time integration, double bookings are impossible for Bedful users also using Cool Camping, Glampingly and Cool Places to generate extra bookings. We also integrate availability for many other channels including Airbnb, Booking.com and Pitch Up which minimises double bookings. Most double bookings occur as a result of accommodation partners trying to keep
Continued on page 31
other systems updated manually, which we do not recommend.
We have extensive help docs which can be accessed at any time and answer most questions. We also have a Customer Happiness team in Birmingham should any extra help be needed by email or phone. You can also pre-book slots with our team – it’s like going to an Apple store!
We offer the most flexible pricing of any booking system – come and put us to the test! Because we developed Bedful in conjunction with glamping and camping site owners, we had to accommodate all kinds of pricing: per person, per night, per stay, base rate plus extra people, extra dogs – you can even charge different prices for different aged children! And yes, you can set a different price for hiring the whole site, or a group of units together, which is only offered when all those units are available.
We have a comprehensive and flexible Extras dashboard, which our partners use to generate higher revenue per booking for things like hampers, firewood, bedding hire, breakfasts, bike hire and even massages! You can set certain stock levels, for instance if you only have a certain number of bikes to hire. Thirdparty suppliers can be given a report of extras ordered or can be given a log in to view extras ordered.
Yes, we have real-time availability and pricing integration with the main UK glamping channels Cool Camping, Glampingly and Cool Places. We also have availability sharing with Airbnb, Booking.com, Campsites.co.uk, Canopy & Stars, Glampsites, Pitch Up and others so you don’t have to keep your availability updated manually with those channels.
CAMPMANAGER
campmanager.com
CampManager is trusted by over 550 campsites, holiday parks and glampsites, and has become the UK's leading booking and park management system. Its intuitive design makes it simple and easy to use from any device. Our dedicated support team are on hand to ensure you always receive a reliable and superior level of service.
Many owners choose CampManager due to its ability to automate many tasks, save valuable time and money. Direct API integrations with online travel agents such as booking.com open a world of opportunities and bookings, free from error and double booking. CampManager is flexible to suit the specific requirements for your site and retain your brand, with booking pages designed to match your own website for a professional and seamless integration.
CampManager is a cloud-based system which operates in real-time. This means that you don’t need to install or host it yourself. You can access CampManager anywhere, anytime - all you need is a computer, tablet, or smart phone with internet access. What are the costs for site owners using your booking system?
CampManager is modular and each
Continued on page 32
system is tailored based upon the requirements of the site. The annual subscription fee is based upon the number of units and modules required. This means that you don’t have to pay for parts of the system that you don’t need, and scales well, even for smaller sites with only a few units.
CampManager will help setup your system. A member of our team will be assigned to create your system and will be available via email or phone call throughout the process, to ensure your system is set up to specifically suit your site’s needs. We will add your accommodation, tariffs, deposit options, booking confirmation emails etc.
CampManager also allows you to import your existing bookings from other systems, making the process seamless and painless.
When you receive a booking via a third-party website, CampManager will automatically import this into your system. If for any reason the unit is unavailable and cannot be imported, CampManager will automatically detect this and notify you.
CampManager connects to some Online Travel Agents such as Booking.com via a direct API connection. This means that you are in complete control of your bookings and as it operates in real-time, the chances of a double booking are virtually impossible, especially when compared to other systems that use iCals.
Full email and telephone support is available during office hours. There are also staff on call outside of these times to help with urgent queries.
CampManager is extremely flexible and can handle even the most complicated of pricing. You can charge per night or per stay, have multiple seasons, set arrival dates with minimum and maximum stays. You can also charge based on the number of adults, children, infants or pets, or set rules, for example to include 2 adults within the base cost and charge for additional adults thereafter.
CampManager also allows you to offer multiple rates at the same time. For instance, you could offer two rates for your accommodation, one which is a standard rate and subject to your normal cancellation and refund policies, and a second which is cheaper but non-refundable and requires guests to pay upfront and in full. This aids cash flow and reduces admin moving or cancelling bookings.
CampManager allows you to generate additional revenue by upselling and giving customers the ability to add extras to their booking. For example, offer champagne and chocolates on arrival, activities and packages, breakfast hampers or fire pits with kindling.
CampManager is integrated with many online travel agents, such as Booking.com, Airbnb, Glampsites.com, Pitchup, Campsites.co.uk, Cool Camping, Expedia and others. CampManager’s direct real-time integration with booking.com continues to provide owners with the exposure to millions of customers, generating new opportunities and bookings. CampManager links directly with these travel agents without the use of middlemen or third-party channel managers.
CANOPY AND STARS
canopyandstars.co.uk
Since 2010, Canopy & Stars has curated a collection of only the most inspiring places to stay in the great outdoors, connecting independent owners to guests in search of a life more wild. Joining Canopy & Stars enables our owners to reach a readymade audience that is looking for unique holidays in the great outdoors. We know all of our owner’s needs are different and we create a personalised approach to meet them, whether that is hands-on, strategic planning and support or fitting to the existing systems of an up-and-running business. Our team is an extension of an owner’s business and we see ourselves as partners and a community of like-minded people. Our owners benefit from our industry leading marketing & PR team, constantly looking to better our reach and engagement, we have over 375k followers on social media and our website had 2.3 million users in 2019.
Whilst owners can’t host our booking software on their own website, most of our owners see the benefit of being able to link through from their webpage directly to their unique page on our website as it creates a connection to the Canopy & Stars brand seen as a mark of quality. If owners are using their own independent booking platform, many of them have the functionality to synchronise with our booking system, which creates a hassle-free process for owners. When an owner joins the collection, we offer advice and guidance on the best booking platforms in terms of synchronisation and how to set them up.
We work as an agent, working on a commission basis. We talk through the commission structure with owners on an individual basis as they apply as we love speaking with owners directly.
We do this for them. We appreciate our owners are busy people, running their site, looking after their guests and in most cases juggling other jobs, running a farm and home-schooling. Our Account Management team looks after all page updates and changes to take this added work away from owners. It’s also a great opportunity to chat to owners, find out how things are going, offer advice and help optimise their listing.
Our team is dedicated to avoiding double bookings, we have set up and continue to improve synchronisation between independent platforms, we work with owners to ensure they keep their calendars up to date and we have a Guest Experience Team on hand to help should something occur. This is also part of the reason we ask to be sole agents – it’s incredibly important from a brand perspective, both the owners and our own, that double bookings don’t occur and ensuring they don’t happen is a big part of our strategy.
Our dedicated Account Managers are on hand to support owners using our platforms. Our in-house tech and digital teams are on standby to quickly resolve any issues and are constantly improving systems.
Complete customisation, at Canopy & Stars we think it’s important that owners have autonomy when it comes to their pricing. Equally, using our inhouse pricing analyst and revenue
Continued on page 34
manager, we have a wealth of experience which we share with owners helping them to develop pricing structures.
As our owners are all independent creative folk, the extras they offer vary greatly and on this basis, we leave owners to manage these directly, some options extras such as pets and extra guests can be handled via our system.
As mentioned, we work as sole agents with our owners with just us and the owner directly taking bookings.
GEMAPARK
gemapark.co.uk
One of the best ways to pick a booking system is to get references. If you ask around you won’t have to go far to find someone recommending GemaPark. GemaPark is actively developed with input from our customers to ensure it adapts to your needs. This has been particularly critical over the last year where sites have seen new requirements thrown at them almost weekly.
With GemaPark you are not only buying into one of the leading products on the market but also into a team of dedicated professionals available to on-board, support and develop with you.
The online booking process can be embedded in their own website using our easy to add widgets or our full access API, alternatively we can host the booking process and they can simply link to it.
The cost is based on the size of the Park but starts from £65 per month plus a small setup fee.
This can all be added via the admin interfaces in the product, however as part of the on boarding process we will enter all the initial set up information and get them up and running.
For websites booking directly into GemaPark such as Campsites.co.uk there will be no double bookings. For websites synchronising via a link or channel manager there is a small chance of double bookings happening between synchronisations. If this happens GemaPark takes the details and raises a task. From the task the customer can view the booking information and if they can rejig availability they can then import it.
GemaPark has a very responsive support team, always ready to help. We provide support over the phone and via a ticket system and also provide an emergency out of hours phone number.
GemaPark’s pricing model is completely customisable. You can do anything from individually price every night for every pitch to setting up standard week tariffs with percentage based short break rates that can be applied to multiple units. You can then overlay discounts, free nights, membership pricing, and more, and we are always here to help you set it up. In addition you can price as far into the future as you want.
GemaPark allows you set up selling of any extras you want and also has the ability to manage and sell limited availability or timeslot based extras e.g. bike hire, fishing, events
GemaPark integrates with Pitch up, Campsites.co.uk, Air BnB, Booing.com and Hoseasons.
GLAMPINGLY
glampingly.co.uk
The sole purpose of Glampingly is to promote the glamping industry to a wider audience and generate bookings for our partners. So, if glamping owners are looking for more exposure and more bookings, without having to do all that marketing themselves, then the Glampingly platform provides a good solution. Some of our partners don’t even feel the need to have their own website – we just generate and process all their bookings for them, so they save money by not having to run a website, pay for a full booking system or invest in marketing. They get all that included. We can of course integrate availability with other booking systems, for those businesses that have their own website. Can site owners host the booking software on their own website? Or is it accessed exclusively through yours?
Glampingly is a booking platform for consumers to easily find and book amazing glamping places – so Glampingly handles everything on its platform, in the same way that Airbnb does. Glampingly bookings can then be automatically sent through to other booking systems, if required by the glamping business.
The Glampingly collection is curated so that we can maintain our reputation for high quality accommodation. Approved sites would need to pay a joining fee of £299, and then as we generate confirmed bookings, a commission of 15% is deducted to cover our marketing and platform costs. Owners generally find that the commission represents good value as they are able to quickly reach a much larger audience for a low cost.
Users have access to a dashboard to add and update their information.
If glamping owners are taking bookings on other platforms alongside Glampingly, we recommend using one of our booking system integrations to avoid double bookings.
Our UK-based customer support team are available if any help is required.
Pricing is completely customisable and flexible. Owners can have as many
different seasons as they want, different prices for various nights of the week, overlayed with lower prices for a 5-night or 7-night stay, for example. We can offer the option of a whole-site-hire price.
Extras can be added to our platform easily, and again, pricing is very flexible to accommodate the different types of extras that glamping owners offer. We know that take-up of extras is higher if they are presented in the booking flow, when users are ready to make a purchase, rather than later on, once the main transaction is complete. Is there integration available with other online camping/glamping travel agents?
Yes, we have real time availability and pricing integration with Cool Camping and Cool Places as well as to the Bedful booking system. We also have integrations with all the other main glamping channels including Pitch Up, Airbnb, Booking.com, Campsites.co.uk, Canopy & Stars and more.
TRYBOOKING
trybooking.com/uk/
Trybooking.com is an easy to use, pay as you use, web-based booking/ticketing solution. Site owners only pay for Trybooking when they are using the platform. We enable them to integrate our booking pages fully to their website or social media.
Yes, they can fully integrate the booking pages to their website. What are the costs for site owners using your booking system?
All details about our low fees are available on our website.
By logging into our website from anywhere on any device and updating details be it dates, prices, plots, capacities etc.
If they are using the Trybooking booking link across multiple websites or social media platform there can be no double bookings as all bookings come into one place.
We have a very easy to follow online Learning Centre and most importantly access to a UK based Customer Service Team Monday to Friday.
The site owner can set up as many different pricing scenarios as they wish. Many sites offer optional extras such as welcome packages or activities from third party suppliers, can this be handled through your booking system or will it have to be done separately via email? Yes, they can add any number of add-ons which can be booked and paid for at the same time as the booking.
No.
