SuperControl

Browsing To Booking

Posted on March 19, 2018

Browsing To Booking

Examine your browse to booking system and remove any barriers. Pic. Potters Resort.

Examine your browse to booking system and remove any barriers. Pic. Potters Resort.

In today’s competitive market, holiday parks must to do everything they can to stand out from the crowd. It’s not enough just to have a website, for example – it has to be well designed, Google-friendly and optimised to drive bookings. An online brochure is so 2008. “A strong online presence is vital to success,” says Pitched Director Andrew Hampton. “It’s essential to have a website that stands out from the crowd; one that ranks well in Google for a park’s key search terms; and one that also offers a slick user experience for those browsing on a mobile phone – which is becoming ever more important.”

MIXED MESSAGES

“The aim is to get people from browsing to booking as quickly and easily as possible,” continues Andrew. “A website needs clear calls to action and a straightforward and simple booking process. Mixed messages and convoluted online booking steps are prohibitive to this – but are so often seen on holiday park websites. “Make the customer’s journey an easy one (especially on a mobile device) and you’ll see far less drop-off in the booking process.” “Don’t create any barriers to booking,” adds SuperControl’s Marketing Executive Jo Blaylock. “Be flexible with your start days and enable short breaks (even if that’s only at certain times during the year). Most people want to book and pay online, so let them, but make sure the booking and management software you choose is established, safe and secure.” Jo also stresses that it’s vital to add your prices as far in advance as possible. “If people are searching for their big holiday for 2019, they can’t book it if you haven’t entered your prices yet, so get them added. “The further away the start date, the higher you can put your prices because guests are less price sensitive when they are planning ahead.”

PRINT MATTERS

In addition to a hassle-free online experience, Andrew stresses that it’s also important not to forget the role of traditional printed material like brochures, mailers and postcards. “Sent out ahead of key booking periods, they still have a vital role to play. Where an email can be deleted, or a social media post ignored, a brochure will be picked up time and again. The key is to let your personality show through in your holiday park marketing.” Relationships are important in the holiday park business and your guests are one of your best resources. Stay in touch. Use their feedback to continuously improve, share photos and testimonials on your social media platforms, engage with them and encourage conversations. A happy guest can be your number one ambassador!

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Net Gains

Posted on September 8, 2015

Net Gains

Almost 80 per cent of Brits now use the internet to research their holidays.

Almost 80 per cent of Brits now use the internet to research their holidays.

Revolutionising the way that we live, work, shop, and communicate, startling figures from the National Office of Statistics revealed that 38 million adults in the UK accessed the internet every day in 2014. What’s more, 74 per cent of people bought goods or services online, up from 53 per cent in 2008.

The tourism industry is continuing to evolve around technology, with increasing access to information and services available at the customers’ finger tips. Guests now expect to see clear and representative images of accommodation and resort facilities online before they book. They want to read reviews, share other people’s experiences of the resort so they can decide whether or not it meets with their needs. And they expect to be able to do all this online, using whatever device they choose, whether it’s a smartphone, tablet PC, handheld computer or laptop.

“Users are booking when it’s convenient for them,” says Dawn Bee of website and business system provider Netguides. “Younger users don’t want to talk to anyone to book, it’s just not familiar behaviour for them anymore so they feel uncomfortable doing it. This means you are missing out on a lot of customers if you don’t take online bookings.”

Niall Norris of management and booking software CampManager concurs: “The number of holiday parks and campsites taking bookings online has increased dramatically in recent years,”

“We can see similar trends from all our clients across the UK, Ireland and France, that the proportion of bookings being made online is now averaging between 50 to 75 per cent of all bookings.”

The number of holiday parks and campsites taking bookings online has increased dramatically in recent years. Pic: CampManager.

The number of holiday parks and campsites taking bookings online has increased dramatically in recent years. Pic: CampManager.

Keeping up-to-date with the latest technology by moving to a computerised booking and management system may seem daunting, but Niall stresses the importance of moving with the times: “The right booking and management system will actually save you money, generate more business and free up so much of your time.

“We recommend that all parks to update their online booking pages and websites to be Mobile and Tablet compatible. We see clear trends that over 50 per cent of online bookings are now being made on Tablet and Smartphone devices.” He adds: “To ensure that you are catering for these customers and not losing out on bookings, it is important to address this immediately.”

CampManager offers a complete end to end process for managing a caravan park or campsite. Covering all aspects of site management, booking management and online booking, the system is user-friendly and can be tailored to suit the individual needs of each park.

“It is important to remember that not all visitors to your website have stayed at your park before. Therefore it is hugely important that your website is maintained as much as the park,” advises Niall. “An old and tired looking website, with poor quality photos will not attract new customers. Also a poor booking system that takes a long time just to check availability and does not provide alternative dates will frustrate your customers and potentially drive them elsewhere.”

The biggest change to online bookings that Dawn Bee of Netguides has seen in recent years is the move to mobile responsive online booking. Dawn explains: “There has been a surge in the popularity of mobile responsive bookings following Google’s emphasis in their search algorithm for mobile search and the growing use of mobile devices to book online.”

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