August 23, 2020
3 minute read
I often hear hoteliers speak about a conflict they face when running their business: how can they protect their time and profits while ensuring that the customer enjoys a personal service and experience? Often, their reservations team can spend hours of each day speaking to clients, answering their questions and ensuring that their stay will be special and unforgettable. There is a desire to automate this process as much as possible without taking away from the guest experience. However, up until now, this technology has not existed.
When building OneJourney, this conflict was at the forefront of our minds. We built a platform that allows the customer to do everything in one online transaction without the need to pick up the phone, while also ensuring a personalised experience.
OneJourney allows you to display all of your guest experiences in one place, meaning that your clients have ultimate freedom when building their stay. No longer are they obliged to stick to packages that don’t quite work for them, but they can pick and choose their room type, spa treatments, restaurant bookings or golf options. Best of all, your hotel team will be free to focus on clients staying at the hotel, meaning that the personalised experience is consistent throughout their stay.
I have spoken with many spa teams who can spend 20 minutes or more on the phone to one client, listing their availability and treatment options. Not only is this time that could be spent looking after guests currently in the spa, but it becomes frustrating for the potential guest on the phone who cannot easily see their options and availability. By having full visibility on the OneJourney platform, clients can take their time viewing all the options and seeing what is available to make relaxed decisions; this is likely to lead to a higher basket value. A spa break should be a time for total relaxation – the booking process included!
Another key consideration when building OneJourney was the look and feel of the booking platform. Too often, guests book through an external Online Travel Agent or third party, without even visiting your website, meaning that the booking experience is not aligned with your beautiful website and hotel. Even if they book directly, they may be taken to a booking engine that feels disjointed from the rest of the website. And even after their initial booking, the guest is likely to book further options, such as spa treatments and restaurant reservations, through different platforms, leading to a fragmented experience. OneJourney is totally customisable with your branding and imagery. That, paired with the simple-to-use platform, means that the guest has an elevated, flowing experience all the way through from viewing your website, to booking their stay and arriving at the hotel. This emotional engagement with your brand is sure to drive more bookings.
Any hotelier would agree that the customer experience is the most important consideration when running a hotel. Satisfied guests mean good reviews, recommendations and repeat bookings: all of which adds to your revenue. It’s time that booking a hotel was as simple and enjoyable as any other online shopping experience. With OneJourney, the hospitality industry finally has the solution.
