An online booking system is a software solution that enables prospective customers to self-book and pay via your website as well as other channels, while also providing you with the best tools to run and scale your business. However, before you select a provider, it’s a good idea to weigh the benefits of an online booking system to ensure the software is right for you.
Advantages of Online Booking Systems
Your company is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Using an online booking system means that your business is open around the clock. Customers who want to book a tour or a rental don’t want to wait for you to get into the office; they likely want to arrange the process in their own free time.
Online booking systems and scheduling software save your staff time
When you consider your customer service staff’s process flow, it is clear that a significant amount of time is spent handling phone calls from people trying to book, discussing options to customers, and managing schedules.
A phone-based booking system necessitates having someone on staff available to take reservations at all times. You may not think this is an issue if you have customer service personnel on hand, but imagine how many man-hours might be saved by switching to an online booking platform.
If a slot is available for a given date, customers can easily choose their options, choose a date and time, pay, and obtain an email confirmation without requiring any human contact on your part, relieving your staff work on more important things with their time.
Payment is quicker
You may ask customers to prepay for the activities and reservations availed using an online booking system. This puts money in your wallet quickly and ensures that you don’t have to think about payment on the day of the case, allowing you and your customers more time to enjoy themselves.
It’s easy to keep track of your schedule
You can verify your reservations and availability from anywhere using any mobile device with online booking systems. Your company is always up to date, and your schedule can be easily handled from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
Disadvantages of Online Booking Systems
Internet access is a need
To check your reservations and add online bookings, you’ll need dependable Internet access. If you run tours and events in remote areas where you can’t get online, online booking might not be the best choice for you.
Comes at a price
One of the most significant drawbacks of online booking systems is that, despite their many benefits, they do come at a cost – don’t trust all the false promises trials or free online booking systems.
Stay alert for website crashes
With an online booking system, there can be a high influx of customers and can cause your website to crash due to high traffic like what happened to Walgreens’ site for booking Covid-19 vaccines.
At the end of the day, you should always consider the initial investment, both time and money, and whether it’s best for your business. Now that you’ve understood the benefits and drawbacks of using online booking systems, is reservation technology right for your company?