Starting with Booking Experts

Gather the information in advance

Nothing is easier than being able to start immediately. Do you already know that you will be making a switch? Then start collecting information. We often see that a new customer has been using the same reservation system for years. In the course of time, a lot of information has been added and existing settings and information were no longer examined. You're going to switch so this is the time: be critical!

Tips to save time

Here are three examples of how good preparation can save you a lot of time.

Example 1 - Do you still have a pricing policy without a clear structure? Then switch to a new version now. Choose the Bungalow 4 persons as your basic price list, the Bungalow 2 persons is 30% cheaper and the Bungalow 6 persons is 30% more expensive. Do you make price changes during the year? Then you only need to do that on one type and then it goes automatically to the other types.

Example 2 - We see a lot of packages, especially for campsites. Most packages are made to oblige the guest to stay during the entire Whitsun period. This is not necessary in Booking Experts: you simply set this in the price list. An package is only used for promotion if you give an extra with the reservation, like free bike rental or a BBQ package.

Example 3 - Look critically at your texts. Both the descriptions of the types and the website texts. Is the information still current? Is there coherence between the texts of the types and do you provide the information that is important for a guest? 

Set up - What information is needed?

Below is a short list of information that is required during the set up. This can be collected and checked beforehand.

Basic data:

• Name, adress and any deviating invoicing data from your holiday park;
• Types - think of the descriptions, characters and photos;
• Numbering of all accommodations;
• Future prices;
• Summary of the cost items + prices;
• Summary of the channelsCancellation policy
• Payment policy;
• Your logo and mood photos for the search & book in the highest possible resolution.

Financially
First you supply us with the general ledger scheme. Then you can assign > or set the general ledger accounts to which they apply. Are there any other specific details? If so, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can think along with you about the correct set-up.

Owners
If the accommodations are entered, we can focus on the owners.

• Commission agreements - incl. percentages, settlement times etc;
• Periodic costs that owners pay to you - incl. dates/periods they pay;
• Name and adress details of owners.

Tasks
Within Booking Experts we have a task app. This allows executives to log in and complete their tasks. Planners are kept up to date about the tasks and this way they can work efficiently. The tasks must therefore be set up correctly from the start.

Setting up the tasks is done during the setup. The easiest way is to have a complete list of tasks with the way they should be scheduled. For example, a cleaning task on the departure day of a reservation and placing a baby cot on arrival if a guest has added by booking. Linking the task lists to the right performers can be done at a later time.

Checkout
From the cash register you sell, for example, a newspaper and sandwiches. You can create your own products and control the payment methods. An overview of the products you offer with their prices allows you to create them quickly. This is not necessary before going live.

Import and convert

Now that the basics are in place, we can move on to importing the reservations. We can import the past and the future reservations. To do this, you need to provide us with  a suitable export from the old reservation system. You can ask for a complete export of the reservations in the old system.

Import
We will import the export from the old system into Booking Experts. This way you keep all the data from the past. There are often some reservations we can't import. This is for example because guests are allowed to bring a pet in an accommodation which is actually pet free. These reservations can be imported manually in Booking Experts.

Convert
Optional - From some reservation systems you will not get complete invoice data in the export. This means that no invoice can be created with the import. You can create these invoices again in Booking Experts by converting the reservations, as we call them. The advantage of creating new invoices is that you can immediately test whether the settings in Booking Experts are to your liking. If this applies to you, we will make sure you get a clear explanation.

Testing

Afterwards, we will go through the processes together once more. The administration in Booking Experts will then be converted to a test phase. We would like to see you extensively test your administration again to make sure everything works as desired.

During this phase you can make extensive use of our chat. Our support team is ready to answer all your questions! Together we pick a date when you want to go live with your system.

Going Live

There you go! Congratulations! The administration has moved from a test phase to production and from now on you are live with Booking Experts. 

Academy

If you start somewhere new, there's a lot of information coming at you. We like to help you, and all colleagues, as much as possible on the road with the use of our reservation system.

For this we have developed the Academy Booking Experts Basis. This is a textbook which, with the help of text, examples and assignments, teaches you the basics of Booking Experts. Have you not yet received a textbook? Send an email to support@bookingexperts.nl. This is of course completely free of charge.

Have you completed the Basic Academy? Then we also have additional academies on specific topics, such as prices and owners. You can read more about the academy here.