
Neither diesel, nor petrol, nor LPG, neither electric, nor hybrid - simply one of the modules of a decent, truly comprehensive hotel program. It's technically called booking engine, but since it's possible to replace an English loanword with a rather elegant-sounding Polish equivalent, the native expression should be promoted. Therefore, as the name suggests, the booking engine in the hotel program is responsible for the process of booking new stays.
Simply put, it's the ability to book online on your website. This allows guests to check availability and prices at any time, make a reservation, and even pay instantly online. This is a very convenient feature for both the guest and the hotelier.
This isn't a solution that will completely replace hotel reception staff with advanced computer software. A much more accurate statement would be that such technology will create an additional reception desk in the virtual world.
More specifically, a 24/7 online customer service point on the website.
Of course, a tourist can't negotiate the cost of their stay with a booking engine—and many people won't forgive themselves unless they try to lower the price—but this type of machine has a number of other advantages. First and foremost, it's worth reiterating that the online booking module on the website works continuously, even late at night. This is an extremely convenient method for potential customers.
For your future guest to make a reservation, the booking engine needs to know if the date is available. How does it know? It connects to the NFHotel calendar. This is where you set rates, restrictions, and decide whether to make all available dates available or just a few. If a reservation (from Booking.com when using the channel manager or manually entered by phone) falls into your schedule, that date is automatically blocked on your website.
Since the element hotel program is to simulate a reception desk, one of the first tasks for the system to perform will be checking available dates.
From a technical perspective, it usually works like this: the website user first provides specific arrival and departure dates, as well as the number and age of travelers. Only then does the software offer a selection of room types that fit within the specified time window, along with the price.
Although it would probably be useful to have a variant in the booking engine where the customer can provide a wider date range and the system displays all rooms along with information about which days they will be available. In other words, adjusting the length of the stay to suit the availability of the property, with the option of allowing a "move" during the process. The practicality of such a solution remains to be discussed.
It all depends on the specific accommodation facility, but the number of possible options is huge.
A number of variants food, optional trips and other free time activities, individually ordered sets of beauty and relaxation treatments in the SPA & Wellness zone, discount vouchers for friendly tourist attractions in the area, a ticket to a cultural event organized in the facility... not to mention special stay packages such as a romantic weekend for two or Christmas holidays.
And what does a booking engine have to do with all this? It's a cliché – a price calculator. The cost of accommodation is one thing, but various additional options can significantly increase it. And customers prefer to know everything in advance, not just at the checkout.
Therefore, in online bookings, all prices should be recalculated dynamically and on an ongoing basis, after selecting and deselecting subsequent options.
A good booking engine should be expected to allow not only booking the chosen date, but also making instant payments. To finally confirm your reservation: either by paying the full amount upfront to get everything out of the way, or by paying a deposit in the amount set by the hosts of a specific accommodation facility.
There are countless methods for quick online payments. Equally important is ensuring that the customer's email account receives appropriate confirmations. The faster the better, which is why a properly configured payment system in the hotel software is the best solution.
Especially since NFHotel allows you to create beautiful templates that look like a neat business card for a resort. Guests will also be spared a lot of stress when waiting for their check-in. confirmation message (e-mail or SMS) from the booking engine will be counted in seconds, instead of minutes, hours or days.
The NFHotel hotel program booking engine is an excellent solution for online bookings for websites. Connection with channel manager ensures constant updates on room availability, and the clear and aesthetically pleasing design simplifies the entire booking process for tourists. We charge 2.91 TP3T only for completed reservations.
Make your website sell accommodation - add a booking engine to it.
