What is a Hotel Reservation System?

July 1, 2023 Nicky. M
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A Hotel Reservation System (HRS) is a sophisticated software application that simplifies the booking process by allowing guests to search, select, and reserve rooms online. It integrates room availability, rate calculations, secure payments, and real-time updates. A hotel reservation system enhances efficiency for hotels and provides a seamless guest experience.

Once the data has been captured, it is then passed into the Property Management System (PMS) or reservations calendar. Additional platform features may come with a PMS – for example, an integrated booking engine and channel manager, and other helpful tools, like automated reservation confirmation emails.

A reservation system is the perfect option to cater to the needs of the modern online booker. Prospective guests want quick access to information like room rates, availability for specific dates and the ability to book without external help. Prospective guests can also pay a deposit on the spot to secure their reservation.

How Exactly Does a Hotel Reservation System Work?

A hotel reservation system works by maintaining a database of available rooms, processing bookings in real-time, handling secure payments, and generating confirmations for guests and hotels. It streamlines the entire booking process, ensuring efficiency and convenience for all parties involved. Here is a breakdown of the process:

How a hotel reservation system works: step by step process

What Are The Benefits of Using a Hotel Reservation System?

A hotel reservation system is an indispensable tool with a multitude of benefits that can revolutionize your business.

From maximizing occupancy rates and streamlining operations to improving guest satisfaction and boosting revenue, it’s a must-have solution that can skyrocket your hotel’s success. Here are ten benefits of using a Hotel Reservation System:

1. Save up to 4 hours a day

By automating the process of updating reservations from multiple distribution channels, a hotel reservation system frees up significant time for hoteliers.

Manual tasks such as managing availability and rates across various agents become streamlined and effortless. With live rates and availability automatically updated by the software, the risk of overbooking is minimized, ensuring a smoother operation for your hotel.

This time-saving solution allows hoteliers to focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences, optimizing revenue strategies, and making informed decisions to drive overall efficiency and profitability.

2. Maximise revenue

Any guest reservation is exciting, but what if you could maximise each of those sales to boost your revenue? Third-party sites like online travel agencies (OTAs) bring bookings to your hotel, especially in periods of low demand.

Although they offer good online visibility, their commissions cut into your profits. However, with the strategic use of a yield management tool and a powerful booking engine, you can maximize your revenue by offering potential guests the right price at the right time, enticing them to book directly on your website.

Pro tip: We’ve introduced a range of free hospitality calculators designed to help you calculate important industry-related metrics and KPIs, like occupancy rate, Trevpar, Revpar, GOPPAR and ADR. Learn more here.

3. Increase online visibility

Expand your property’s reach and attract more guests by seamlessly connecting to a powerful channel manager. With our Channel Manager, you can effortlessly synchronize rates and inventory across multiple leading online travel agencies (OTA) such as Booking.com, Airbnb, and Expedia.

This streamlines the booking process, improves overall revenue, and ensures your property is visible to a global audience of travelers. By registering your property on various channels, you significantly enhance your online presence, allowing you to reach a larger pool of  travellers and drive occupancy rates to new heights.

4. Foster guest loyalty through personalized direct bookings

Direct bookings offer numerous benefits for your hotel business as an accommodation owner. RoomRaccoon findings reveal that guests who book directly on your hotel’s website are more likely to become repeat visitors.

Establish lasting customer relationships by delivering a consistent and personalized brand experience from the start. By showcasing your hotel’s ethos, values, and offering exclusive discount codes, you not only provide valuable insights to guests but also incentivize their return, resulting in improved customer retention rates.

An integrated booking engine enables easy management of the booking process, while delivering a personalized experience before, during, and after their stay, strengthening guest loyalty and creating meaningful connections.

5. Better guest experiences

Elevate guest experiences by offering the convenience of self-service technology through our online check-in and check-out software. Simplify guest registration and departure by allowing them to check themselves in and out conveniently via a secure link in their email.

With RoomRaccoon’s document module, you can send personalized check-in and check-out emails throughout their stay, providing a seamless and efficient process. Say goodbye to manual front desk labor and embrace a more guest-centric approach that enhances their overall satisfaction.

6. Generate supplementary revenue

Unlock additional revenue streams by leveraging upselling and cross-selling opportunities. Understand your guests’ preferences and needs to offer relevant upgrades, amenities, and packages that enhance their experience and increase the average spend per guest.

Tailored offerings like spa treatments and dining experiences boost profitability. With RoomRaccoon’s Upsell feature, empower guests to create custom stays and generate extra revenue effortlessly.

7. Gain a competitive edge

RoomRaccoon’s powerful booking engine is also equipped with a Price Checker, a guest-oriented feature for users seeking competitive pricing information.

It compares your direct booking rates against other popular booking platforms, such as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, and Airbnb by swiftly retrieving and displaying up-to-date prices from all the providers who are offering the same product or service.

This concise and efficient tool enhances the guest’s user experience by delivering accurate and real-time pricing data working with a yield manager tool that automatically raises or lowers your rates across all sales channels, including the booking engine making it a breeze to compare prices and make informed booking decisions.

8. Streamline payment management

RoomRaccoon’s modern hotel reservation system includes the advanced payment module, RaccoonPay, designed to centralize payment management and expand payment channels.

With options like card machines, payment request links, pre-payments, and online check-in/out, RaccoonPay ensures easier and more efficient payments for your hotel.

Create professional invoices, effortlessly track payments, and manage outstanding balances, all in one user-friendly platform. Simplify your payment processes and enhance efficiency with RaccoonPay, a valuable feature of our hotel reservation system.

9. Make data-driven decisions

RoomRaccoon’s built-in analytics and reporting module empowers hoteliers with valuable insights into their hotel’s performance. From revenue analysis to occupancy trends, leverage data-driven decisions to optimize operations and enhance profitability.

Gain a deeper understanding of user behavior through integrated analytics and reporting features, enabling you to identify conversion bottlenecks and fine-tune your strategies accordingly.

10. Integrate with the tools you already use

A hotel reservation system like RoomRaccoon offers seamless integration with over 400 platforms and tools, allowing hoteliers to streamline workflows and leverage existing systems for enhanced efficiency and productivity.

It’s not common to see a contact form on a hotel website. The outdated practice does not serve today’s demand for instant gratification. Customers want quick access to information like room rates, availability for specific dates and the ability to book without help.

A reservation system shows all the necessary information about the hotel rooms, including the rates, room descriptions, amenities and bookable add-ons. Prospective guests can also pay a deposit on the spot to secure their reservation.

The 6 Best Hotel Reservation Systems For 2024

Looking for the ultimate hotel reservation system? Look no further. We’ve compiled a list of the top 6 systems, carefully selected based on real hotelier feedback. Discover the perfect solution for your needs with the insights of experienced professionals:

RoomRaccoon

The ultimate, award winning all-in-one platform that combines a Property Management System, Booking Engine, and Channel Manager in a single solution. Unlock the power of this feature-rich platform designed to boost direct bookings and increase revenue, unlocking your hotel’s full potential.

CloudBeds

Offers a developed integration of Property Management Systems, Booking Engines, and Channel Managers. Their integrated solutions enable efficient management of hotel operations while eliminating repetitive administrative tasks.

ResNexus

Offers progressive reservation, property management, and guest communication tools. Ideal for hotels and campgrounds, their solution is flexible and caters to multiple property types.

InnRoad

InnRoad offers a comprehensive hotel Property Management System (PMS) that includes features for reservations, front desk operations, housekeeping, reporting, and guest communication.

Thinkreservations

All-in-one solution that offers features such as online booking, availability management, guest communication, and reporting.

Little Hotelier

Perfect for small hotels and bed & breakfasts, Little Hotelier combines central reservation systems and a user-friendly Booking Engine.

Considering the multitude of software providers available, RoomRaccoon is still considered the optimal all rounder choice. Our software, designed by hotel owners to alleviate common pain points in the industry, showcases our unwavering commitment to supporting hoteliers comprehensively.

Our commitment is evident through our satisfied clients worldwide. They have benefited from our carefully designed features that simplify daily operations and increase profitability with minimal effort required.

How Long Does it Take to Implement a New Reservation System?

On average, it takes around ten days to set up and integrate a new reservation system. At RoomRaccoon, we aim to complete the process within nine days. This timeframe aligns with industry standards, while still taking external factors into account, such as historical database, property size, and staff training needs.

During implementation, our dedicated Implementations team works closely with the hotel to ensure a smooth transition and seamless integration. This includes transferring all relevant data from the existing system and guiding stakeholders through the process, ensuring a comprehensive and accurate information transfer.

How Much Does a Hotel Reservation System Cost?

The pricing of a hotel reservation system can vary, but our software ranges from R2100 upwards. This cost depends on various factors, such as the number of rooms, payment frequency (annual or monthly), and the chosen package as we currently have four tiers: entry, starter, premium and enterprise.

With RoomRaccoon, you can benefit from flexible packages that have no hidden fees. RoomRaccoon also offers a 30-day free trial period, allowing you to experience the all-inclusive solution without any upfront costs.

Our subscription plans are tailored to accommodate different property types, room capacities and payment frequencies, regardless of which subscription is chosen. To explore our pricing options in detail, please visit our dedicated pricing page.

Get Started Today

In sum, a hotel reservation system simplifies the booking process, enhances efficiency, and provides a seamless experience for guests. With its ability to integrate room availability, rates, secure payments, and real-time updates, it saves time and increases commission-free bookings.

RoomRaccoon is a highly recommended option, offering a user-friendly interface, all-in-one solution, channel manager integration, direct website booking engine, analytics, multilingual support, and cost-effective pricing. Choose RoomRaccoon to optimize your hotel’s operations and deliver exceptional guest experiences.

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Nicky. M

Nicky is RoomRaccoon's Senior Content Manager, combining a love for travel with a practical approach to improving hotel performance through tech and insightful tips. Join her journey where travel, hospitality, and technology meet.

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