El motor de reservas y la venta directa

In the current moment of development of the engines of reserves, there are multitude of elements that have been included and that are indispensable to be able to speak a competitive product. Most of those in the market already offer all the basic solutions needed, such as usability, speed, multi-language, responsive…

At Dingus we believe that, in order to optimise distribution and direct sales, the hotel must first and foremost have platforms that allow it to increase its competitiveness and market its entire offer. They need to have the ability to control their web in an ideal way. But previously, they must know the keys to choose the best tool. These are some of our suggestions.

Bet on a customized product

It is no longer a trend, but a reality: the product offered for sale on the hotel’s own website must be as complete and personalised as possible. We all know that this portal has to be more competitive than the other channels (with specific offers from the website, added value, better cancellation conditions…), but all this has to be transferred to the booking engine in an agile and simple way, making the work easier for the hotel.

Our opinion is that, as a starting point, the establishment must be able to have a complete tariff structure on its website, as this is the basis on which to start building. We speak, for example, of quotas per channel for the sale of the last available units, of multi-tariff, of occupations allowed only in the portal or some concrete channel, of closings by regime, occupation, management of extras, rates per hour, per market, children’s sections… the without end of possibilities arbitrated by the hotel. Does it look like a good solution that with a single charge of rates and inventory the hotel can distribute to all channels simultaneously, without forgetting its own website, which is already included?

Payment security

The concern for security – in general, but also in this aspect – is a reality that has led us to develop Book&Payment. It is the platform that can be fully integrated with our booking engine, which allows us to adopt PCI DSS standards and which is designed as an optimized solution for the management of booking collections and the security of credit cards sent through the different channels. In addition, it allows the establishment of flexible charging rules, very useful to apply on the web. This added value translates into reliability and trust.

Best Partners

We are pleased to have numerous integrations with suppliers that become true strategic allies. All of them are leaders in offering solutions so that the hotel can choose the one that best suits its needs, be it digital marketing platforms, communication, social networks, online reputation, RMS, etc. Because of the rapid and constant innovation, to be able to integrate with this ecosystem of partners is fundamental, since each establishment can define a strategy to promote its direct sale depending on its typology, type of marketing, and all the variables of the market: a holiday hotel in Cancun is not the same as an urban hotel in Barcelona.

We are convinced that a booking engine supplier must cover the basics of selling… but in the future it will not be able to cover the multitude of solutions available. In this way, the important thing is to have a platform that allows the integration of the different alternatives that are demanded at each moment. In our business model, we face this on the basis of a fixed cost as an alternative to the variable, but with the possibility that the client can hire additional services among a wide catalog of specialized partners.

Tailored Loyalty

Today, the use of discount codes is no longer enough!. At Dingus, we believe that the hotel should be able to offer complete loyalty programs that allow it to target each customer profile and segment the products. This is something that is especially useful for the hotel chains we work with. And we take care of this by allowing the creation of different levels of loyalty to personalize that ‘prize’, with automatic change of conditions when a certain level is reached.

Call Center ready

Although technological progress brings with it the rapid growth in the use of mobile devices, the hotel has a great opportunity to offer personalized attention that allows it to offer products tailored to the real needs of its customers, or simply resolve unforeseen events. The Call Center adds great value to direct sales, and differentiates the hotel itself from other distribution channels. Thanks to our CRS module, Dingus offers the possibility of including the reserves generated via this sales channel in the system.

Constant evolution

Although we have only focused on some aspects that we consider important for the choice of a booking engine, according to the complex and changing scenario of marketing and distribution of the current hotel offer, we know that the main challenge for the supplier is continuous, constant and effective innovation. We assume that the technical and economic complexity of keeping our tools constantly evolving is a commitment that, increasingly, understand and value our customers, channels and partners. Because for a reserve engine -or any other product- to meet expectations, behind it must be the financial, human and technical resources to give it solvency.