ReservationKey

A Few New Features

2012-02-28T17:02:00.000-08:00

Recently we've added a few miscellaneous features which are useful, but might not be too obvious, so it seems a good idea to highlight them here.

Thanks to popular demand it is now possible to set whether or not the deposit amount includes taxes. Simply check the box "include taxes" when setting up your deposit amount. This works when the deposit is calculated as a percentage of the total, or first/last night.

Also thanks to user requests, we've added a few new merge codes in the email templates section. We also removed the ability to click the code and have it appended to the bottom of the email template text. It seemed this was causing too much confusion about what the links did. The codes have also been reorganized slightly. The new codes are:

{{guestsfirstnames}}
{{fractionoverroomname}}
{{arrivalday2digit}}
{{arrivalmonth2digit}}
{{arrivalyear2digit}}
{{arrivalyear4digit}}
{{departureday2digit}}
{{departuremonth2digit}}
{{departureyear2digit}}
{{departureyear4digit}}

The code {{guestsfirstnames}} is useful when you have two people (such as a couple) listed on the reservation. It will combine the first two names such as "Jack & Jill." So you can create an email template with something like "Dear Jack & Jill," or if there is just one name listed the system will automatically switch to just the first name such as "Dear Jack."

The code {{fractionoverroomname}} will replace show the fraction name if it exists, otherwise it shows the room name.

If you manage several/many properties, you may need to send different sets of emails depending on the property your guest booked. Now, when adding internal reservations, you can set both the Email Schedule to use and the Payment Page. These settings can be turned on under Preferences in the Settings tab.

Click the black bar above the room names on the internal calendar to see all your notes for a range of dates. All the waiting list inquiries from public reservation pages get added to the notes bar, so being able to search by a date range can be a useful way to quickly see all the waiting list requests and any other notes you have added.

ReservationKey Facebook Apps

2012-02-27T16:33:00.000-08:00

It seems more important than ever these days to have a Facebook presence. From looking at a lot of Facebook business pages it seems that people set up the page but then don't really know what to do with it. And, the more online ventures you get into, the more time it takes to maintain everything. The more you can manage data from one central place, but distribute that data to various channels, the less time you will spend maintaining duplicate content.

Since your reservation information and property information is already in ReservationKey, it makes sense to use that data to create content for Facebook. Now, with our new Facebook apps, it is extremely easy to set up a tab in Facebook for online reservations, another tab for information about your business, and up to three more tabs with content of your choice.

Take a Tour of Our Facebook Apps

Read Our Facebook Apps Documentation

View and Add Our Apps

Online Reservations

Adding online reservations is as simple as duplicating your existing reservation page settings by setting up a new reservation page within ReservationKey (new feature allows you to select a page to duplicate when adding a new page) and setting it to use our Facebook theme. Once the app is added to your Facebook account you just need to select the reservation page you set up to use with Facebook.

Information Page

Setting up a property information page is even easier. You just add our app, and then select which properties and units to display on the page by checking boxes. We will display a Google Map at the bottom if you enter your property address. You can also add a header message if you want to really customize the page. The header message is pulled from the Website Messages section in ReservationKey so you just need to set up a new message there first and then select it in the Facebook tab options.

Additional Tabs

Using our three additional tabs for content of your choice you can basically build a whole website just on Facebook. Think of each tab like a separate page on your website. With our HTML editor it is really easy to customize these pages and add graphics.

Reasons Why People Switch to ReservationKey

2012-02-22T17:37:00.000-08:00

I am sure there are lots of reasons people switch to using ReservationKey versus selecting a different system. There are so many systems out there that it seems people often are overwhelmed when trying to select a new reservation and management system. Those that are the least worn out by the process of selecting a new system are people that read recommendations about us on forums (special thanks to innspiring.com posters!) or know someone that is using ReservationKey.

Today I was helping a new user get set up on our system and she happened to mention a few of the reasons that she is switching services. When she told me that she was going to tell her current providers she was finished with them, I became worried because I worked with another user for a long time to get them all set up, but then they decided to stay with their current provider when their provider enticed them back with the offer of a free year.

But this user seems to have some pretty good reasons to switch, so I don't think I need to be worried that our setup effort was for nothing. Here is what she said about why she is switching:

There are several reasons for switching. One I have the programs for the system on my PC and I am not able to access the reservation system unless I am on my home computer. Which means that my husband cannot access the reservation system from his office. Secondly the price is ridiculous. Thirdly they do not capture the security code for credit cards which means I am struck with processing credit cards through Quicken Merchant Services which is higher than other credit card processing services. Overall my cost of ownership will decrease on a monthly basis. Also if I ever wanted to I might be able to use a MAC and not a PC.

The reason I have to contact them is that because I use the Rezovation system I was able to sign up for booking through Expedia etc. They have to disconnect this part in their system.

Hope this eases your mind. Additionally, your customer service is much better.

I asked her about not being on Expedia, and she replied:

We don’t get that many bookings and the commission is pretty hefty (35%). I also have to maintain to separate calendar so that I can block dates that I don’t want the cottage to be available through them which is a nuisance.

If you've switched to ReservationKey, feel free to add to this list by leaving a comment.

Do You Need Your Own SSL Certificate?

2012-02-22T14:39:00.001-08:00

The following information applies to users that:
1. ask for credit card information on their reservation page, and
2. want to emebed their reservation page in their website.

An issue arrises when users want to embed a ReservationKey reservation page that asks for guest's credit card information into their website using iframes, but they don't have their own SSL security certificate. Whenever the reservation page includes credit card fields ReservationKey automatically uses https instead of http. But when the link to the iframe is buried in a larger page, the fact that the iframe content is secure is not obvious to the guest making the reservation.

Because the iframe is secured, you don't have to get your own SSL certificate, but your guests might not feel quite as comfortable entering their credit card numbers into a site that appears to not be secure.

When you see a site with https that means it is using a secure SSL certificate. When all the content on the page is secured (no links to content using http) many browsers will show a green padlock in the browser address bar.

Sometimes a https page will pull content from sources using http and the user will get a warning that not all the content on the page is secure, and then browser will show a broken padlock.

The above example shows that even though the page is on our server, not all the content is secure. This is because we have linked to some images that are hosted on our user's website and are not located on our server. If this user wants us to host their page then we will copy all images that are linked to from their reservation page and put them on our server. This way, there is not a problem with some content being located on a http server.

For users that want the system to be embedded in their own website the solution is to obtain their own SSL certificate. That is a matter of talking to the hosting company and purchasing a SSL certificate, which range in price from $10 to $60+ per year, depending on where you purchase the certificate. Once the certificate is purchased and properly setup on your server, you can then use the https://www.yourdomain.com version of your website.

If you want your reservation page to be embedded in your website, but don't want to get your own SSL certificate, we can host the page on our server, using our SSL certificate. The drawbacks are that users will know they have been redirected away from your site for the reservation system, and, if you want to change the page that the reservation system is embedded into, you will have to contact ReservationKey in order to have those changes made.

Red Flag Guests / Set Alert

2012-02-17T20:59:00.001-08:00

By popular demand, we have added the ability to flag specific guests. Users have been asking for this in order to be warned when the guest books again, or for an obvious reminder for a current guest.

This feature can be used to red-flag a guest as someone you might not want to stay with you in the future, but also to set alerts of any type for a guest. For example, you could put in a green color alert for a vegetarian guest, or an orange alert for a guest that has special needs. Of course you can also put this information in the Contact Notes field, but by using this special alert feature your note will stand out better than if were just in the notes fields.

Attached to Email Address

The alert is tied to the guest's email address. Whenever a guest books using an email address with an alert attached, that alert will added in several ways:

- At the top of your email notification from ReservationKey regarding a new booking will be a box with your alert color and message:

- The guest name section background color in the Reservation Summary will be your alert color and contain your message:

- When you search for a guest using the Search feature from the Reservation Summary, when you click to add the guest to a reservation, a warning box will popup with your alert message:

Adding an Alert

To add an alert, simply edit the contact details and check the box "Show Alert For This Contact." You also can enter the alert message and color.

You also can quickly add an alert to a guest that is already attached to a reservation by clicking the link "Contact Alert" located at the bottom of the contact section in the Reservation Summary page.

Monitor Searches on Reservation Pages

2012-01-26T10:29:00.000-08:00

We've just set up a way for you to monitor activity on your reservation page(s). Now, whenever a search is made on a reservation page, the system automatically records this information to the Activity section. We record the dates searched, number of nights, IP address of the person searching, and the reservation page from which the search was conducted.

In the above screenshot you can see searches were made on several different reservation pages. Clicking on the blue links opens the reservation page.

Because this data could be overwhelming and clutter up the Activity screen we made it so that Availability Search activity is viewed separately from the rest of the automatic activity entries. To view the Availability Search Activity simply select this as the activity type from the drop down field at the top of the Activity screen.

New Waiting List & Inquiry Form

2012-01-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

You never want to lose a lead, even if you don't have any availability for the dates your prospective guest was searching for. A newly released feature addresses this issue. Now when a search is run and you have no units available for the dates searched, a form appears where guests can send an inquiry, or be added to your waiting list.

The text that appears by default in the messages field of the form is editable under the Website Messages section. Create your message, and then select it as the message to appear in the Reservation Page settings. Use the codes {{checkin}} and {{checkout}} to include the dates searched in the message.

The message submitted through this new form is sent to your ReservationKey account email and added to the notes bar for the arrival date the prospective guest searched. Adding the information to the notes bar is especially useful since it ties the request to a specific date. If you have a cancellation and a room opens up, instead of trying to remember what dates you had an inquiry for, you can see that you have a note for that date already set up with the wait list guest's information.

Click the orange blocks in the notes bar to view the notes.

This inquiry form now appears whenever no units are available, the page is offline, the dates searched are outside of the booking range, or bookings are disabled for the period searched. This way you can capture the lead's details even if they are not able to immediately making a booking.

In the calendar search mode we added this form as a link, "Send Inquiry," since the system always shows a calendar.

Like with all system text, you can edit any of the labels on the form using the Custom Text feature. This way, you could rename the form. Instead of the default "Add Yourself To Our Waiting List / Send Inquiry" you could do whatever you like, such as "Join Our Mailing List."

If you only want to take inquires through your website, and not use the online booking features, now with this form you can do that too. Just create a Reservation Page where you've set Online Bookings to be disabled for a big date range. Then the inquiry form always will show.

If you don't want to use this new feature, it can be hidden by adding the following line to your custom theme:
#inquiryform_div {display:none;}

Luxurious B&B In San Poncho, Mexico

2012-01-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

The last stop on the ReservationKey Mexico tour was at Casa Obelisco in San Poncho, about an hour drive north of Puerto Vallarta. John and Judi Levens graciously agreed to host me at their luxurious four bedroom bed and breakfast. They built this villa about ten years ago to be their dream home plus give them something to do in their semi-retirement. They live on the top floor and the four guestrooms are located on the lower, poolside, level. As they Levens also ran a Mexican art gallerty, they are experts in the local handicrafts and styles which they used to decorate throughout the villa. Especially unique is the large flower “obelisco” mosaic they commissioned for the floor of the pool.

Of course no visit to a client goes without a review of their use of ReservationKey and how they might better use the system. In this case, Casa Obelisco is new to ReservationKey so we spent several hours reviewing the main functionality and discussing how to best migrate from their existing paper and Excel spreadsheets over to our program. They really liked that the program will automate a lot of the email correspondence with their guests. Also, they liked the automatic emails that can go out prior to and after a guest’s stay, which will enhance their guest’s experience. Having a web based management program will work especially well in their case since they manage the B&B with another couple, trading off on which months each couple is responsible for operations. With our real-time web system any of the managers can check in on things from anywhere. No longer will they need to be physically present in order to review reservations and cash flow.

In addition to the management features of ReservationKey, the Levens were happy to be able to easily add a booking engine to their website. Now it will be easy for their guests to check availability and reserve rooms. Personal contact with guests is important, so they will still include their phone number and email address in case a guest wants to talk to them first, but now the guests have an additional booking option, and can book online 24 hours a day.

Now that the Mexico trip is over, we will be back in full gear finishing up a few new credit card integration options, as well as a number of other interesting features. We also are welcoming the many new users that have recently signed up with our service, and helping them get up and running. Lots of former Webervations users (especially Webervations 2.0) are finding us to be a great replacement for that system, as it is being discontinued. And many Webervations users that are on 1.0/Pro are also switching over since they are looking for a more modern system, and also one where they don’t need both a “desktop” backend system and web reservation system. With ReservationKey, we offer a complete package so only one system is needed. Most B&B’s are budget conscious, but still want a system that can handle the majority of their needs. These users often feel like they are being forced to upgrade to systems that are much more expensive and often aren’t always exactly what they need. So they are glad to find us, and we are happy to welcome them on board!

San Poncho, Mexico - Best Clients Ever

2012-01-22T18:33:00.000-08:00

In my previous career I worked as an attorney, and what a contrast in clients compared to the people I now work with. Maybe it is because they are in the hospitality industry, but my clients now are the best. Take Jane and Earl, proprietors of Roberto's Bungalows in San Poncho, Mexico. We had never met before, but we immediately hit it off. From our stroll down to the beach to watch the sunset, then dinner at Puerco Azul, and another dinner the next night at their home, they are the definition of hospitable.

Their charming ways also pays off in their business where they guests love them and they have an 80% occupancy rate, which is really good for this area. I enjoyed spending the morning with Jane showing her some of the more advanced features of ReservationKey. She actually wasn't aware of the occupancy report, so we took a look at that, discovering how to run a report for several months at time in order to get a nice overview of guest activity. We also built a few custom fields - one to track how guests found their B&B and another for internal use, to leave notes for the maid which show up on the housekeeping report. And we tweaked one of the income reports to add a column for the memo section of the payments area.

My Tour de Mexico is almost over, but not before I visit one more B&B, voted the most romantic B&B in the world. More on that in the next post. Meanwhile, I am still pinching myself as I still can't believe how lucky I am to be able to work with such great people and work from such great places.

Punta de Mita, Mexico - The Utmost in Relaxation

2012-01-20T20:26:00.000-08:00

Next up on my client visit itinerary was spending a few days at the incredibly relaxing Punta de Mita area, at the outer edge of Banderas Bay, just north of Puerto Vallarta. I was hosted by ReservationKey user Hotel la Quinta del Sol, by far the most charming boutique hotel in the area. In an area with lots cookie cutter condo buildings, staying at a more typical Mexican hotel is a real bonus.

Although Punta de Mita is meant for relaxing and surfing, thanks to great internet connections I kept busy working with new accounts and tweaking features on the system. Spending mornings with Larissa, the hotel manager was a real treat as I was able to get a very first hand look at how she uses ReservationKey to streamline her hotel operations. There is no replacement for meeting with clients in person to get feedback and ideas for new features. Also I enjoyed showing Larissa some tricks and some features she wasn't aware of. And a sneak preview at a few new things in the works...

I also was fortunate to meet some people with condos in a very nice building across from the hotel. Terrific pool and ocean views and a new ReservationKey user!