Would you use Management Tools?

• Are you running a holiday letting business?
• Are you interested in using software to help you run your business?
• Would you use Management Tools if they were available via the Bookster Self Catering console?

If you have 30 seconds, let us know what you think.

We have updated the guest booking page in the Bookster Admin Console to assist with usability.

Old booking page

New booking page

So why did we change?

The old booking page did not distinguish between the different elements on the page very well so it was difficult to read and take in at a glance.

What did we do?

We had a look at all of the information that was on a booking page and tried to arrange it in order of importance to our Bookster Admin Console users.

We then moved the important information to more prominent areas and distinguished the areas from each other. It is now easier to take in a booking quickly without having to scan down the page.

We have also more clearly hidden the information that is not required often under expandable regions.

New look booking calendar widget and booking screens

We have updated the look and feel or our availability calendar widget for holiday homes and apartments.

Place this gorgeous iframe widget on your website to show prices and availability to prospective guests - and of course, with Bookster, let them book.

Look for the "share" link in the Admin Console.

It is slicker and more modern - we hope you like it!

Use the widget on your holiday home accommodation website by registering for Bookster Self Catering and adding your rates and availability.

And the best thing is - it is FREE.

New! Take deposit payments via PayPal

Self catering property managers can now use PayPal with Bookster Self Catering.

• Bookster can now take deposit payments via PayPal directly into your PayPal account
• As and added bonus, this also allows guests to make their deposit payments using their PayPal account

So when guests place a booking for your apartment or holiday house their payment will be made directly on the PayPal secure site at the final stage of the booking process.

Check out www.paypal.com for more details about PayPal.

New! Support for the Cardsave payment gateway

Self catering holiday property managers can now use Cardsave with Bookster Self Catering.

We have a "direct/integrated" integration with Cardsave. This integration method provides a high level experience for the customer as the payment section is integrated fully into the website. The look and feel of the payment page complies exactly to the website visual specification.

Bookster now enables guests to place their holiday booking for your apartment, cottage or holiday home and make a payment via Cardsave directly into your bank accout.

The guest will make their payment directly through the Bookster booking screens without leaving the booking process.

Cardsave adds to the currently supported gateways - Sagepay, Cybersouce and PayPal.

Check out www.cardsave.net for more details about Cardsave.

New rates interfaces

Today we updated the Bookster Self Catering rates interface in the Admin Console.

Setting up rates for your holiday home or self catered apartment is now even easier.

Why?

When we added the ability to change Weekend Boost, check in/out and minimum night stay for Low, Med, High, Peak and Event periods we also made it more difficult to understand and use the rates interfaces.

We have now made it more intuitive to update rates inside Bookster Self Catering, Bookster Rooms and Bookster Pitch.

New rates edit screen:

• Set nightly rate
• Weekend boost (%) - increase your nightly rate on Friday and Saturday nights
• Nights - set the dates that you want the "High" season rates to apply
• Check in/out - when are guests allows to check in and out
• Minimum night stay - the minimum period your accommodation is available to book for (e.g. 7 nights)

Try them out for yourself for FREE.

New! Set a minimum deposit

Bookster Self Catering holiday home managers can now set a minimum deposit value (in £) that they wish the guest to pay irrespective of the length of stay.

Example:

• A booking comes in at a value of £300, with a depost set at 25% 
• The minimum deposit is set at £100 (see below)
• Prevously Bookster would have taken a deposit of £75
• Now it will take £100

Note: If the value of the total holiday is less than the minimum deposit, the value of the total holiday is taken.

New! Apply settings by date

The most common feature request has been to allow holiday home managers to apply various setting by date.

Bookster Self Catering holiday property managers can now set in date band:

• Weekend boost
• Check in / Out
• Minimum night stay

New rates interface

When might this be useful?

• In peak times, you might want to offer your holiday home for Saturday to Saturday bookings only, to maximise occupancy and income
• At other times of year, you may be willing to accept shorter stays at your vacation rentals

New! Booking summary

In the Admin Console...

... under the bookings tab we now give you a summary of the number and value of holiday bookings taken for your holiday home(s).

This provides a quick and easy way to see the how you are doing across all your self-catering holiday properties.

The values will also dynamically update as you apply advanced filters too.

We hope you find it useful - as always, feedback welcome.

New! Booking Timeline

We are introducing a Booking Timeline that allows holiday property managers to view bookings and availability for all their holiday properties.

Toggle on / off:

• bookings
• blocks (unavailable periods)
• availabiliy graph

Other features include:

• zoom in and out to show different date ranges
• view in a full screen mode
• click on bookings or blocks for summary information

Where do I find it?

Log in to Bookster and click on the Bookings tab - you will now see a "Timeline (beta)" link.

It is a work in progress and we are looking for feedback - we hope you like it and let us know what you think!

The Booking Timeline is currently in beta.

Tribalogic Property Portfolio websites

Tribalogic do more than just Bookster Self Catering...

• looking to replace or improve your holiday home website?
• want availability searching and online booking?

Get the most from your vacation website with the perfect companion for Bookster Self Catering - a Property Portfolio website.

Put your properties into a portfolio today and make it easier for your guests to search and filter your apartments, cottages or houses and book online via Bookster Self Catering.

All of this is placed inside a world class Content Management System that will let you update any of the content on your site - why not start your own Blog or update your About page?

Learn more »

Industry Statistics

From now on we will be publishing free industry statistics from across all our clients to help our clients benchmark themselves against their fellow self-caterers.

We will update and add to these as time goes on.

We hope these will prove a useful and valuable tool.

Full payment for late bookings

Bookster will normally take a percentage deposit payment for you when the guest makes the holiday home booking, now there is the option to take the full payment for late bookings.

Full payment within X days of stay

A setting in the Admin Console will allow Bookster to take the full payment for a holiday booking if the arrival date is within X days before the stay.

Why is this useful? If your standard terms are to get the balance from a customer within say, four weeks of arrival at your holiday home, it allows bookings to be taken much closer to the date of their holiday. 

Booking process branding

The Bookster Self Catering secure booking screens can now carry your logo and colouring right the way through the booking process.

This tie to your website will give your prospective guests more confidence in the booking process and a more seamless booking experience.

Bookster users can upload a header image and control the colours of the screens from within the console.

Your header image will also be used in the confirmation emails that go out to guests so you control the booking experience from start to finish.

Find the settings for controlling your booking screens by clicking on "my account" in the Console.

We have introduced the ability to add:

• a banner image;
• background colour;
• foreground colour;
• text colour.

Interesting Article from tnooz.com on Vacation Rentals websites

Valyn Perini on tnooz.com has posted this fantastic article on Vacation Rentals websites and is well worth a read.