GLAMPSITES FIVE TECH OPTIONS FOR YOUR GLAMPSITE While the types of tech you choose to implement will be a matter of personal preference, the one key point to remember is to prioritise operational technology. Tech which helps you streamline tasks that take up a significant portion of your day and are going to make the biggest impact on your business. Think: managing glampsite bookings, addressing guest enquiries/recommendations, providing cleaning instructions and guiding staff communications. 1 CHANNEL MANAGER Gone are the days of manually updating and editing your property listing information on each individual booking platform. If you’re done with multiple online travel agency (OTA) dashboards, a channel manager lets you sync and manage every aspect of your glampsite’s listings across all major booking sites from one convenient location. A channel manager lets you retrieve reservation information as well as automatically sync glampsite availability, preventing any dreaded overbookings or double booking scenarios with your guests. Our top choice for this is OwnerRez, which offers users a powerful, flexible way to manage holiday rental properties. The property management tool features a host of tech including a channel manager, property reporting and analytics, accounting, and website and branding assistance. 2 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A property management system (PMS) amalgamates all booking information surrounding your glampsite, offering one centralised point for you to review and manage operational and administrative workflows. A PMS often includes modules to help you efficiently monitor and upkeep administrative tasks related to reservation management, guest check-in and check-out, housekeeping and revenue management. Many PMS offerings also provide website builders to assist you in setting up your own direct booking site. This can be a valuable way to increase your glampsite’s revenue, as most major OTAs take a fee off the top of your bookings for operational purposes. Our friends over at Anytime know how to do a PMS right. Their fully-supported property management software is ideal for outdoor holiday businesses, helping you to streamline direct and third party bookings while delivering the best guest experience. 3 SCREENING TOOLS Implementing screening protocols can ensure your guests are those that you want to welcome. A screening tool prevents the tyre kickers, party crashers and even illicit activities from taking place at your site. SUPERHOG lets you affirm ground rules with guests, clarify guidelines via instructional videos and impart screening processes to ensure your visitors are the right fit for you. 4 DIGITAL GUIDEBOOK Eliminate repetitive guest questions, deliver practical and personalised recommendations and empower your guests with a digital guidebook. Easy to download and accessible offline, a digital guest welcome book replaces your tired, mangled and outdated house manual and replaces it with a sleek, shiny interface your guests will love to use. Letting you reclaim the joys of hosting your glampsite while helping you run a more efficient business, a digital guest welcome book also makes it easy to update the content as new attractions, eateries etc. spring up in your area. Touch Stay’s digital guidebooks for glampsites perfectly deliver need-to-know and want-to-know information to guests. Entirely customisable to suit your brand, they have multiple language options for guests coming from far and wide. 5 SMART HOME DEVICES Last but certainly not least on our list, smart home gadgets are super fun, yet effective gizmos. From noise monitoring systems, WiFi thermostats and smart locks to more familiar forms of entertainment like Google Home Minis or Amazon Alexas, smart home gadgets create a welcoming environment suited to your guests’ temperature, lighting and entertainment needs. Make your WiFi work for you and your guests with StayFi. StayFi lets you create custom splash pages for guest WiFi access, personalised to your glampsite’s branding while collecting valuable marketing information in the process. StayFi uses cloud-managed WiFi technology, letting you collect emails from every guest that uses your WiFi. In turn, you can use this information to create automated drip email campaigns while building out a substantial guest list for repeat bookings. What’s more, StayFi lets you monitor all of your WiFi networks remotely – no need to harangue guests onsite in the event the WiFi stops working. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kate Stinchcombe-Gillies has worked in holiday rentals since 2006, helping to grow holidaylettings. co.uk and then TripAdvisor vacation rentals, although her career began in hospitality. At Touch Stay she combines her marketing head with her nose for memorable guest experiences to help operators achieve competitive advantage. Touch Stay digital guidebooks are designed to help any type of hospitality professional better communicate with their guests. Touch Stay has gone on to become the highlight of guest reviews worldwide and is cited as a reason for repeat bookings, longer stays and – most importantly – happier guests. www.touchstay.com Both OwnerRez and Anytime integrate with Touch Stay digital guidebooks for seamless operation. 38 WWW.OPENAIRBUSINESS.COM
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