PlanPay’s Post

Hotel and Accomodation Owners and Operators - this is for you. Over the past 16 months, I’ve spoken with more than 100 senior-level executives across the hotel and accommodation industry—from marketing directors to revenue managers, finance managers, operations directors, CEOs, and heads of strategy and development. No matter their role, the challenges they face are strikingly similar: 1. Shifting customer bookings from third-party to owned channels 2. Reducing reliance on OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia 3. Maintaining merchant of record status, and thus the customer relationship and data 4. Competing with OTAs in delivering cutting-edge technology for customer acquisition 5. Achieving all of this without overhauling legacy tech stacks 6. Increasing booking windows 7. Boosting average customer spend That’s exactly why we built PlanPay—to help hotels and accommodation providers overcome these challenges. Let me clarify what PlanPay is NOT. - We are NOT a booking engine, PMS, or standalone payment gateway. We’ve integrated with the world’s leading IBE, PMS, and payment providers, meaning you can keep your existing tech stack intact—no need to change what’s already working. - We are NOT a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solution. This means you remain the merchant of record, you hold the financial agreement, and you own the customer relationship and data - and no virtual credit card sent as payment. With customers booking an average of 7 months in advance and paying directly in installments using their own money, we’ve seen: - Improved cash flow for hotels - receive 100% of the funds prior to guest check-in. - A 90% increase in customer spend - budgeting makes it easier to manage upgrades. - Increased booking windows - Higher conversion rates on owned channels - all bookings happen on your own website. - Larger average order values In today’s market, consumers are choosing their next stay based on how they can pay for it. We offer a payment technology that not only costs far less than the margin charged by OTAs, but also delivers a competitive edge with a technology they don’t yet have. Now is the time to get on board and implement a payment solution that works for you—the owner, the operator, the one welcoming the guest. I will be attending NoVacancy Hotel + Accommodation Industry Expo next week. Reach out if you are ready to own your customer. Michael Boaden. MBA, MCiMDave ChowJeff LewisLauryn Wilson

🌎🖥️Here Are 🔝 clever ways to market your hotel beyond booking sites:- ✍️TAKE NOTE:-As a hotelier running a small or boutique hotel, you’ll want to maximize your distribution channels. While a lot of hotels rely on OTAs like booking.com and Expedia,i would like to help you think out of the box and explore other ways of reaching customers. 🌎🖥️1.First, why look beyond booking sites? Aside from maximizing and diversifying your channels, you may have other reasons to reach customers without booking sites. High OTA commissions will eat into your profit, but you can still reach that wide audience through the other means. However every hotel should use OTAs to some extent and should always adjust rates to compensate for the commission charges. 🌎🖥️2.Managing booking channels: Another reason why you may choose to step away from booking sites and seek alternative booking channels is the issue of channel management. Unless you have the right tools to adjust rates and number of rooms, you’re going to be floundering in management and administration. If you are using several OTAs, you should have a boutique accommodation management system, channel management software and a payment tool, and all three of these systems should be integrated. Of course in an ideal world, your hotel would use OTAs, the tools mentioned above, and finally the additional booking channels we’re about to explore. 🌎🖥️3.Use your database: In your time as a hotelier, you may have heard that it’s easier and more profitable to target your former customers than it is to reach new customers. This is true of any business. For this reason, making use of your existing database of guests will be a top marketing channel. Keep in touch with former guests through emails and updates, by highlighting special offers and events. You don’t always have to be pushing a product but just letting them know that you’re still around. Returning guests generate revenue without commissions, and they’ll refer you to their family and friends. Your past guests can be fantastic network to tap into. 🌎🖥️4.Partnerships: Get in touch with businesses in your area and band together. You’ll want to target like-minded businesses who fit in with your hotel’s particular brand, for example, restaurants, events and fashion designers that your target market would be interested in. This low-cost marketing is mutually beneficial, and creates a close community of support. 🌎🖥️5.Use social media: A lot of small hotels use social media as an alternative booking channel to great success. Facebook and Instagram in particular are hot global channels that you can use to promote your hotel to a huge audience. Use social media to share images and good reviews, and also to invite influencers to stay at your hotel. These influencers will promote your hotel through their own following, indirectly growing your exposure. ✍️WAH-REPORTS 2024,📰🗞️ ✍️WALTER ALALA ✍️NAIROBI KENYA.

📣 EXCITING UPDATE!!! Launching this autumn after a year in development, Rezcontrol is delighted to introduce its brand new booking engine. Fast, flexible and frictionless, it will bring together room, extras and table booking in one streamlined process - making the booking process easier for guests and hotel staff alike. Key features: 📌 Single basket with room, table and extras in one place, and a single booking confirmation 📌 Build fully-flexible packages to include all your optional extras 📌 Live inventory for extras such as early check in or extra beds 📌 Alternative dates and locations if the chosen ones aren't available 📌 URL-driven promotions for special occasions or flash sales, as well as direct booking links ideal for wedding or event reservations 📌 Unlimited rate options with dynamic pricing - updating automatically and always showing the cheapest available rate. Take a look 👇 https://lnkd.in/eYfiSyKF #bookingengine #onlinebookings #reservations #hotels #hospitalitytech

Is It a Good Idea for Hotels to Use OTAs ? In today’s highly competitive hospitality industry, the use of OTAs like Booking.com and Airbnb has become a major part of how hotels attract guests. The Pros of Using OTAs: 1. Increased Reach: OTAs give hotels global exposure. Millions of travelers visit these platforms daily, offering your hotel a chance to be discovered by guests who may never find your direct website. 2. Simplified Booking Process: For many independent hotels, handling bookings, cancellations, and payments can be overwhelming. OTAs offer a streamlined solution, taking care of everything from reservations to secure payments. 3. Marketing and Reviews: OTAs invest heavily in marketing, and your property benefits from this exposure. Additionally, guest reviews on OTAs build credibility and trust, encouraging future bookings. 4. Access to New Markets: OTAs provide access to international travelers or niche markets that your hotel may not typically attract, opening up new revenue streams. The Cons of Using OTAs: 1. High Commission Fees: OTAs take a significant cut of your booking revenue. The commission can range from 15% to 30%, which can greatly impact your profit margins, especially for smaller hotels. 2. Reduced Control Over Customer Relationships: When guests book through OTAs, you lose the ability to build a direct relationship with them. This makes it harder to promote loyalty programs or encourage future direct bookings. 3. Price Wars: OTAs create a highly competitive environment where hotels are pressured to offer lower rates to stay competitive. This can lead to a race to the bottom, eroding profitability over time. 4. Over-Reliance on OTAs: Relying too heavily on OTAs can be risky. Changes to their algorithms or policies can directly impact your bookings, leaving your hotel vulnerable. Striking the Right Balance While OTAs offer significant benefits, it’s important for hotels to avoid over-reliance on them. • Invest in Your Direct Booking Channels: Focus on making your hotel’s website user-friendly and mobile-optimized. Offering incentives such as exclusive discounts or personalized experiences can encourage guests to book directly. • Use OTAs for Visibility, but Prioritize Direct Engagement: OTAs are great for attracting new guests, but once they are on your property, build a relationship with them. Offer them reasons to come back and book directly with you next time. • Track Performance: Use data to analyze the impact of OTAs on your business. Understand which markets they are helping you reach and where it may be more cost-effective to focus on direct bookings. In conclusion, OTAs can be an excellent tool for increasing visibility and bookings, but they come with costs. Hotels should aim to strike a balance between using OTAs to reach new markets while also building a strong direct booking strategy to maximize profitability and control.

In 2023, Expedia Group, Booking Holdings, Airbnb and Trip .com Group spent $16.8 billion on sales and marketing. This showcases the financial power of OTAs, which most hotels—even large chains—struggle to compete with. But despite this imbalance, hotels have one thing that OTA's don't: the opportunity to personally connect with their guest. This is where loyalty programs come in. They help maintain this steady customer base, reducing the need for expensive marketing campaigns and commissions paid to OTAs in every new booking. Checkout the full article to see more reasons why loyalty programs are worth it 🔗https://hubs.li/Q02Vs39N0

33 part 2 Terms used widely in hotel industry 18.Business Development: Developing business and expanding the scope to increase revenue and growth. Example: Expanding the target customer base for a hotel by establishing partnerships with new travel agencies. 19.Organization Chart: A chart illustrating the administrative organizational structure of the company or institution. Example: Displaying an organizational structure for work teams in a hotel. 20.CAPEX - OPEX: Capital expenditure versus operating expenditure. Example: Analyzing CAPEX and OPEX to estimate the costs of opening a new hotel. 21.OTA (Online Travel Agency): An agency that offers booking services for travelers online. Example: Booking.com and Expedia. 22.STR (Smith Travel Research): A company that provides data and analysis on the performance of the hospitality and hotel industry. 23.SynXis: A technology platform that provides solutions for reservation management and marketing for hotels. 24.MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing): A system for designing, installing, and maintaining mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in buildings. 25.Low Current: Low-voltage electronic systems such as communication, security, and audio systems. 26.Leadership: The ability to guide and manage a team to achieve specified goals. 27.Strategic Planning: Developing long-term vision and goals and devising plans to achieve them. 28.New Trends: like sustainable practices, contactless check-in, and tech-integrated rooms are continuously shaping the industry. 29.E-Commerce: Electronic commerce, i.e., buying and selling online. 30.Guest Experience: The experience of the guest or customer during their stay at the hotel or establishment. 31.Sustainability: This is becoming an increasingly important trend in the hotel industry. Hotels are focusing on eco-friendly practices to reduce their environmental impact and attract environmentally conscious guests. 32.Technology: Technology is constantly evolving and having a major impact on the hotel industry. Examples include self-service kiosks for check-in and check-out, mobile apps for booking rooms and ordering room service, and contactless payment options. 33.Sharing Economy: The sharing economy, with platforms like Airbnb, is impacting the hotel industry. Hotels are looking for ways to compete and cater to guests who are looking for alternative lodging options. AI by Amin Hassanin

What should hoteliers do about Booking..com new hotel pre-paid rates policies? Booking..com has begun not featuring properties’ advance payment/prepaid rates unless Booking..com charges the customer. Recently Hospitality Net and its topic champ Fabian Bartnick asked its World Panel of revenue management experts to elaborate on the implications of new policies. Here is my take. Hotel advanced booking/pre-paid rates are typically 10%-20% below BAR (Best Available Rate). These rates have always been an important strategy to put as much business on the books and to decrease cancellation rates plaguing the industry for years, reaching as high as 50% in some destinations. Booking..com has been shifting its business model from agency to merchant for years. Booking began its operations 100% in the agency model (commission-based, similar to traditional travel agencies). It provided this OTA with competitive advantage over Expedia, which operated 100% in the merchant model (prepayment of all reservations at time of booking). Over the years, Booking embraced the merchant model, especially after acquiring Agoda in Asia Pacific. In Q1 2024, more than 57.5% of Booking..com's reservation revenue came from merchant revenue, an increase of 16.2% YoY (Year-over-year); agency revenue decreased to 42.5% from 51.5% a year ago. Now, Booking..com wants to get their hands on the lucrative hotel pre-pad rates. It is as simple as that. Can revenue managers do anything about it? Yes, together with marketing team, start promoting AGGRESSIVELY its Advanced Booking Rates (prepaid rates) at 15%-20% discount to BAR on the property website and via digital marketing to bring price-conscious customers. https://lnkd.in/eJCzHenq

Optimizing Direct Bookings for Hotels Maximizing direct hotel bookings is crucial for increasing revenue and minimizing the costs associated with third-party booking platforms. Many travellers prefer popular travel websites that often charge high commission fees, impacting a hotel’s profitability. However, by utilizing an effective booking engine, hotels can enhance their direct bookings and improve financial outcomes. A booking engine serves as a 24/7 virtual concierge, allowing guests to check availability, pricing, and special offers directly from the hotel’s website. This eliminates intermediaries, enabling hotels to maintain control over pricing strategies and strengthen brand identity. A well-designed booking engine streamlines the reservation process while providing a seamless and secure experience that builds trust among guests. To boost direct bookings, hotels should focus on several essential features in their booking engines: Responsive Functionality: A mobile-friendly design ensures smooth operation across all devices, allowing guests to finalize bookings easily. Special Offers and Promotions: Highlighting exclusive deals and loyalty rewards during the booking process adds value that third-party sites may lack. User-Friendly Interface: An intuitive interface minimizes steps required to complete a reservation, reducing abandonment rates and increasing conversions. High-Quality Visuals and Descriptions: Engaging images and detailed property descriptions create an emotional connection with potential guests. Real-Time Availability: Providing real-time updates fosters transparency and builds trust, preventing double bookings through integration with property management systems (PMS). Secure Payment Gateway: Robust security for online transactions protects guest data while offering multiple payment options. 24/7 Support: Real-time assistance through live chat can address guest inquiries promptly, converting hesitant visitors into confirmed bookings. Investing in a comprehensive booking engine is essential for hotels aiming to increase direct bookings and enhance guest satisfaction. By prioritizing features such as responsive design, user-friendly interfaces, secure payment options, and personalized promotions, hotels can create a seamless booking experience that boosts revenue and cultivates guest loyalty. #DirectBookings #HotelMarketing #BoostRevenue #GuestExperience #BookingEngine #revenueoptimization

Is Expedia’s Last-Minute Deals a Good Deal For Hotels? Expedia is actively promoting its Last-Minute Deals and brands them as hotelier’s’ opportunity to target high-converting last-minute audience with same-day deals and last-minute campaigns. Last-minute sales in travel are not a new phenomenon. There have been many attempts to find a way to dispose of these empty airline seats, idle rental cars, and empty hotel rooms at any cost. Theoretically it makes economic sense: it is 4PM, I have 20 empty rooms, and if I sell them at 50% off rack, I will still be making some money from my otherwise perishable inventory, right? Wrong! Why last-minute discounting is bad for hotels? Last-minute sales in hospitality at lower discounted rates are not sustainable as this approach jeopardizes all other distribution channels (hotel mobile site, hotel traditional website, GDS, phone reservations, even OTA distribution). Travel consumers are shopping around like crazy - Google claims that the average hotel booker goes through 48 digital touch points before making a hotel booking. How would they react when they find out that the $200 room they booked a week ago could now be booked for $125 on Expedia Last-Minute Deals? In my view, last-minute discounting is a super lazy and rookie approach to revenue management and a sure downward spiral to hotel insolvency. One question: why airlines and car rental companies never engage in last-minute discounting? Because they are smart and understand that whoever books the last minute has either urgent need or urge to travel and is willing to pay more to satisfy this need or urge. Hospitality should finally learn something from the airlines who invented revenue management more than half a century ago (they call it yield management): the closer to the departure date, the higher the airfares! What Should Hoteliers Do to Avoid Last Minute Sales? To begin with, if hoteliers are doing everything right in the direct online channel, the hotel would not need to use last-minute discounters. Instead of relying on last-minute discounters, hoteliers should invest in the direct online channel and make it a mission to decrease dependency on OTAs and intermediaries. The only time to engage in any kind of discounting is for a) advance bookings and b) selling on value and not on rate alone. In conclusion: Revenue management 101: the closer to the arrival date, the higher the rate. Whoever books the last minute has either urgent need or urge to travel and is willing to pay more to satisfy this need or urge. Read the full article in the first comment below.

Completed task given by Code Alpha Task: Create a Hotel Reservation System that allows users to search for available rooms, select room categories, and manage their reservations. Users can book rooms, view booking details, and process payments, with the system calculating total costs based on room type and stay duration. This project aims to provide an efficient, user-friendly experience for managing hotel bookings through a simple, console-based interface. Description: Developed a console-based Hotel Reservation System in Java that allows users to search for available rooms, make reservations, and manage booking details. The application categorizes rooms by type, processes payments, and calculates total costs based on room category and stay duration. With a straightforward text-based interface, it provides an efficient booking experience tailored for ease of use. Key Features: Room Search and Availability: Users can search for available rooms based on desired check-in and check-out dates. Room Categories: Offers various room types (e.g., standard, deluxe, suite), each with its pricing. Reservation Management: Allows users to make, view, and cancel reservations, offering flexibility in managing bookings. Payment and Cost Calculation: Automatically calculates total cost, including any additional charges, and processes payments. Booking Summary: Provides a detailed reservation summary, including room type, stay dates, and cost breakdown. Why It’s Useful: This project simplifies the hotel booking process, providing users with a streamlined way to check room availability, manage reservations, and handle payments—ideal for travelers looking for an organized and efficient way to book and manage their stays. Github link: https://lnkd.in/gGeRFv3h #codealpha