Ghislaine Oliver, Director of hotelinfo, is an online connectivity specialist with extensive experience in e-Distribution within the accommodation sector. She has been assisting SilverDoor for almost two years with the enhancement of our online booking capability - we sat down with her for expert insight into how online connectivity can benefit serviced apartment operators.
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| In broad terms, what is online connectivity?
Online connectivity facilitates real-time bookings with instant confirmations based on live rates and availability.
In this digital age, the ease and speed of a process is the critical factor in its success. Self-booking with live availability and dynamic client rates offers a feeling of empowerment, instant gratification, and control over choice and spend – it’s the standard expectation of today and the natural progression for our sector.
| What does online connectivity allow operators of serviced apartments to do?
Online connectivity gives operators a stronger market presence, more visibility to bookers and buyers, and the ability to receive bookings without manual intervention. It is a more cost effective and less time-consuming way to complete the transaction.
Not having your property available in an online environment is suppressing its potential and likely to be having a significant negative impact on booking volumes, so it’s always advisable to “put yourself out there” to ensure you get your fair share.
Bookings can be automatically received by the operator via tools such as a Property Management System (PMS), channels manager or Global Distribution System (GDS) which, using two-way connection, synchronises all data to include dynamic rates and availability. Circulating stock to multiple channels this way allows operators to achieve greater visibility, higher occupancy and more bookings from both new and existing guests.
As well as synchronising your availability, these distribution tools update and circulate your live basket of rates plans for different apartment types and dates, making your property instantly bookable online across multiple different channels.
| What are the benefits of online connectivity for serviced apartment operators?
Online connectivity means the booking process of serviced apartments can match more closely to other online booking experiences. Ultimately, it increases the competitiveness of the serviced apartment product against other types of accommodation providers and boosts traffic from lookers to bookers. More and more apartments are using this distribution method to gain more extended-stay bookings, for example.
| From an agent’s perspective, what is the most important part of online connectivity?
One of the distinct benefits for serviced apartments is that online connectivity enables them to compete with the mature hotel sector and increase their market share. Often you will be able to provide better value because appearing in a dynamic environment makes it easier for fair comparisons to be made.
| What are your top tips for creating an effective rate plan?
Be creative with your rate plans, simple is not always best. Explore length of stay discounting options and reap the benefits of mid, long and extended stays, whilst optimising with gap filling. Be tactical, add promotions, keep it relevant and timely, but most importantly engage in negotiated and defined viewership rate plans, so that you have a strong core of corporate and loyal bookers.
| How can we balance on- and offline enquiry management?
Of course, the here and now is online, but online capability is only one piece of the puzzle. Successful functionality of online, digital, automated bookings is only possible with the offline, back-office support of strong account management, rate solicitation, and negotiation processes. When there is a cohesive offline infrastructure, the full potential of the online approach can be reached.
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Get in touch with a member of our Partner Relationships team for more information about online connectivity.
Click here to learn about the SilverDoor API and how you can use live connectivity to increase your presence to clients.
“No hesitation, no procrastination; it’s time to refresh, update and reap the benefits!” - Ghislaine Oliver
