How does it work?

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More than 60% of online travelers begin their search for online accommodations through online travel agents like Expedia.com, Bookings.com or Lastminute.com. Once they find the accommodation that fits their needs, travelers search directly for the property’s website to find out more information about pricing and amenities. It is the perfect opportunity to capture their attention so make sure your web design, website content and website navigation are impeccable because they play a very important role when differentiating your property from your competitors and converting visitors into guests.

See how GuestCentric can transform your website design for maximum visibility.

Stay tuned for next post about BOOK

GuestCentric Systems celebrates Social Media Day and offers a one time promotion for Social Media Cloud Solution

Nowadays, being able to expand your brand is a key success factor for independent hotels and social media networks like Facebook and Twitter can play a very important role in this matter. By using the proper social media tools you not only increase your brand visibility but you are able to offer a better service to your customers that will generate more revenue for your property. If you are a hotel operator looking for end-to-end social media solutions to expand your brand with the use of viral marketing strategies and engage customers through social networks then we have the perfect solution for you.

Sign-up for GuestCentric’s social media cloud service through GuestCentric’s Facebook local business page, will get 25% discount off the Social Distribution and Followers Specials annual fee. The offer is only valid on June 30 for more information and to see the terms and conditions go to: http://www.guestcentric.com/social-media-day-promotion/

Strong presence

The most important aspect of e-commerce has to do with the way you present your business and sell your service. It is not only about the looks but also about the navigation, how the information is presented, trust mechanisms, simplicity in the transactions and confidence that your website transmits to the visitor. You need to use your website as your best sales representative and for that you need to provide it with the proper tools to stimulate visitors to book and stay on the website.

Offer diversification

Knowing what your customers want is very important but it is even more important to be able to provide it to them. Your website should not only offer the best available rate but also it should offer a range of different experiences where the visitor can choose from. That way they are going to be able to book a room based on their needs and not necessarily because is the cheapest offer. This will certainly increase your revenue and make customers happier with their choices.

Good visibility

It is also very important for a business to successfully drive traffic to their website. I like to say: “no traffic no business” you need visitors to buy your rooms. This task is not easy and can be time consuming but when is well executed it provides great results. Luckily there are technology partners for the hotel industry that can provide you with tools to easily manage your online visibility.

Staying on top of the game

E-commerce success is an ongoing process; you need to stay alert because with new online technologies, travelers quickly change their searching patterns. What is fashion now might not be in the next 6 months. So make sure you know what is going on in the industry and what social media channels your customers are using.

This process takes time and it requires you attention to work properly, but once you have set your strategy you can put it on automatic pilot and enjoy the ride.

If you website lacks to accomplish what we mentioned before then contact us.

GuestCentric offers 3-month free service to hotels in the Gulf of Mexico coast line affected by the BP oil disaster. GuestCentric wants to contribute to the recovery of the region and simplify the direct communication of hotels and customers. To read the conditions

by Michele McDonald from Travel Technology Update

Large hotels and hotel chains leverage technology extensively to distribute their inventory, but it’s not so easy for smaller properties. For the manager of a 25- to 150- room hotel, technology can be expensive. It’s often difficult to use. It might require special knowledge. Read more

Like many other hotels all over the world, Cuatro Naciones experienced a dramatic drop of 50% on their reservations at the beginning of 2009. Aware of the changes in preferences of the travelers towards online services, the hotel had to look for online solutions to help them overcome the economic crisis, provide exceptional services for demanding travelers and increase their direct online booking. After an exhaustive search with different providers, the manager of the hotel found in GuestCentric Systems the solution that best fit their needs; a company that focuses primarily on independent properties and provides a one-stop-shop online solution at affordable prices.

The Hotel Cuatro Naciones adapted GuestCentric’s e-Comerce solutions that included a full-feature platform, which provided them with powerful online marketing and distribution tools like:

• A brand new hotel website design
• An innovative booking engine
• A reservation platform
• Direct social media integration with Twitter and Facebook

The results exceeded all expectations. Within a month and a half of launching their new website and booking engine, the hotel had a 190% increase on their direct online reservations.  And in the middle of an unfavorable economic period, within 3 months of deployment the online reservations alone were responsible for an increase of 180% on the overall hotel business.

It is very important for the hoteliers to have a simple and integrated platform that allows them to spend more time in strategically planning and taking care of their customers rather than only managing reservations. See case study

Learn more on how GuestCentric can help you grow your online business.

We just launched GuestCentric’s new Spanish website, take a look and tell us what you think.

Send us your feedback about your experience with the website to marketing@guestcentric.com

Last week I came across a very interesting Facebook initiative of a property in Finland. They created a special offer on their Facebook business page that targeted people with flight problems caused by the volcano in Iceland. The property posted a message announcing a 50% discount to all passengers whose flight had been cancel due to the eruption of the volcano. The result of this initiative was an increase in people that like and follow Dream Hostel Facebook business page.  This creates a snowball effect on the property’s brand because now friends of friends of friends are going to know about this property and consider it when traveling to Finland. Its important to see opportunities to expand your brand in difficult situations, especially when they don’t take a lot of time and effort.

Do you want to learn more about how to enhance your social media? take a look at The Social Media Series and The Revenue Management Series II Social Media and Rate Recovery.

Are you a dynamic, innovative, fun and responsible Graphic Designer seeking to work in a company that offers the best cutting edge technology for the hotel industry?  GuestCentric’s Product management team is looking for star people like you to join them in the Lisbon office.

Responsibilities

• Create and develop user interface designs, specifications and usability storyboards
• Support usability research efforts and recommend UI enhancements
• Set high levels of UI innovation with the collaboration of internal creative and technical teams
• Design and build web prototypes
• Create and maintain a set of design guidelines to ensure high levels of usability

Read more about the requirements and benefits

How to apply: Send your cover letter and resume to hr@guestcentric.com with the subject line: Position: PLM Designer. We will only consider prospects that include in the cover letter the expected annual salary before tax.

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