To say that the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on the hotel industry is a huge understatement. And although hotel occupancy in South Africa is significantly higher than in 2020 and 2021, hoteliers continue to be cautious with their budgets, seeking out cost-saving initiatives to stabilise their bottom line.
Adopting hotel management technology can lead to significant cost savings, all while boosting efficiency and increasing revenue. And thanks to cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service contracts, upgrading your hotel management system to a more user-friendly model is no longer as daunting and expensive as before.
While hotels wait out the quiet winter months in South Africa, it is important to look at the role technology can play in helping cut costs, attract more bookings, streamline operations, and maximise revenue in preparation for the busy summer season.
Niels Verspui, Market Head of RoomRaccoon South Africa, shares three ways a Hotel Management System can help hotels cut costs while increasing revenue:
Automation can help boost efficiency
Automation allows hotels to run their business with fewer resources and reduced budgets. An all-in-one Hotel Management System, or HMS, acts as a central control hub that coordinates various services and software, automating property operations while improving the guest experience. It’s like having an extra employee for a fraction of the price!
The best hotel Hotel Management Systems offer a range of tools like reservation management, channel management, online check-ins, guest communication, revenue management, accounting and more. The entire system helps to increase productivity by reducing repetitive and time-consuming administrative tasks. This frees staff to focus on improving the guest experience and generating more revenue.
Decrease hefty OTA commissions with a smart website booking engine
Direct is best when it comes to bookings. For hotels looking to cut down on pricey OTA commissions and capture more direct bookings on their website, it is important to choose a hotel management system that includes integrated website booking engine software. Based on RoomRaccoon’s performance data, hotels can enjoy up to 43% more direct bookings with a smart website booking engine – all commission free!
That’s not to say that OTA’s don’t play a part in a hotel’s sales strategy. Research by Expedia Group shows that 65% of travellers book directly with a property after discovering it on an OTA. To entice guests to book directly, RoomRaccoon offers capabilities that can optimise the booking engine with smart tactics such as: special package deals and direct booking discount codes.
With features like automated upsell, hotels can easily increase their revenue per available room. A RoomRaccoon client with 32 rooms in Cape Town generated R85,295 in extra revenue in 2021 by upselling in-room extras and room upgrades during the booking process.
Reduce no-shows, card fraud and chargebacks with integrated payments
It takes a lot of hard work to get your customers to the point of booking. The last thing you want is for something to go wrong and lose out on a potential sale. Using a Hotel Management System with an integrated payment solution can save hotels money by optimising the booking process, reducing no-shows, and decreasing the risk of chargebacks and fraud.
RoomRaccoon is fully integrated with Peach Payments, a payment gateway that offers seamless and secure transactions at the click of a button. Hotels can seamlessly process online payments 24/7 through the booking engine and request full or partial payment to decrease the risk of dreaded no-shows.
Another benefit of using an integrated payment solution like Peach Payments is that hotels can process payments with 3D Secure and tokenisation, both of which are PCI-DSS certified. This not only makes your guest feel safe but reduces the chance of card fraud and chargebacks.
What’s even better is that Peach Payments offers some of the most competitive rates on the market, giving hotels more bang for their buck.
Save with RoomRaccoon
Join RoomRaccoon before the end of August and we will waive our standard activation fee worth more than R5000.
The offer is valid for FEDHASA members who complete an order confirmation before 31 August 2022 and commit to a minimum of 12 months.
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About RoomRaccoon
RoomRaccoon is an innovative all-in-one Hotel Management System that empowers independent hoteliers with powerful cloud technology to boost operations, maximise profitability and deliver a memorable guest experience. The system is intuitive and simple to use and offers outstanding support, should you need it. Based in Cape Town, RoomRaccoon is trusted by thousands of independent properties across the globe and was voted as the #1 hotel management system by hotel operators and industry experts in the 2020 and 2021 HotelTechAwards.
