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June 2024 Newsletter

June 2024 Newsletter

Welcome to the June 2024 edition of the GuestPoint Newsletter! This month, we delve into the recent industry shift towards digital bookings and provide a comprehensive guide to demand forecasting in our latest blog. We’ll also tackle the issue of resolving re-opened accounts within your property management system and offer a detailed breakdown of your dashboard, explaining what each feature means. Plus, don’t miss our “Did You Know” section—you’re sure to discover something new!

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Industry News

Increase In Digital Bookings

The travel sector in Australia and New Zealand has made a near-full recovery since the pandemic, yet the landscape of travel has changed drastically. The outlook for the industry is promising, with the international travel market reopening and expanding.

The industry has transformed significantly over the past three years. Many businesses have transitioned to online operations, embracing a digital-first approach to their properties. This shift is driven by the growing demand from travellers for seamless online experiences when booking holidays and accommodations.

What Does This All Mean?

Recent studies reveal that digital sales channels are experiencing unprecedented growth. Currently, 56% of all bookings are made through digital channels, up from 43% pre-pandemic. Nearly one-third of these bookings are made directly on operators’ websites. Consequently, having a strong online presence with a clear, engaging website that encourages direct bookings has never been more critical.

Utilising Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) remains an effective strategy for many properties, accounting for a quarter of all bookings. Diversifying your presence across multiple OTAs can boost bookings both directly and through these channels. However, driving traffic to your website and encouraging direct bookings is essential. This can be achieved by optimising your OTA listings to suggest visitors check your website for more information subtly.

The necessity for automation in the hospitality sector has become increasingly evident. Automating processes ensures smooth operations and prevents double bookings. Implementing a channel manager to automate OTA management enhances efficiency, allowing you to focus more on your guests. Currently, about 56% of property owners have adopted automated systems, a significant increase from 11% in 2019.

In summary, the travel industry in Australia and New Zealand is not only recovering but evolving. Embracing digital transformation and automation is key to thriving in this new landscape.

How to Adapt

If you are behind the industry standard and are looking to move more of your operations online, GuestPoint is here to help. GuestPoint offers a plethora of solutions that intertwine with our property management system allowing you to create management efficiency. Such as automating your OTAs through the use of GuestPoint’s Channel Manager, which has a list of standard and premium connections that allow your connections to be fully automated. Additionally, offered are choice-made websites that give you the best chance to convert lookers into bookers. Our website designers understand the accommodation industry and can increase direct bookings based on their industry knowledge. 

Explore our solutions further: 

GuestPoint Websites
GuestPoint Channel Manager
Blog Article

Demand Forecasting

What is Hotel/Motel Forecasting? 

Hotel/Motel Forecasting is the strategic utilisation of historical data and market insights to anticipate future demand patterns across different timeframes. It involves synthesising your property’s historical performance with an understanding of peak periods for your location.

Armed with this knowledge and a keen awareness of potential demand surges, your property can proactively adjust pricing and staffing levels to optimise revenue streams and enhance your bottom line. Not only does this approach facilitate revenue growth, but it also mitigates operational challenges such as inventory shortages.

This meticulous process integrates internal data from your Property Management System (PMS) alongside external sources, including local event calendars and market dynamics. By leveraging comprehensive reporting tools within your PMS and staying attuned to external factors, you can construct a yearly forecast calendar, offering valuable insights into anticipated demand fluctuations.

Forecasting offers a window into the future, providing a myriad of advantages when regularly integrated into your operational strategy:

  • Anticipate Demand Fluctuations: By forecasting, you can accurately predict both peak and off-peak periods, allowing you to adjust operations and resources accordingly.
  • Maximise Revenue Opportunities: With insights from forecasting, you can strategically plan for busy periods, implementing targeted pricing strategies and promotional campaigns to optimise revenue streams.

 

  • Efficient Inventory Management: Forecasting enables you to anticipate demand for essential items, ensuring adequate stock levels to meet guest needs without overstocking or shortages.

 

  • Set Informed Business Goals: By basing your goals on forecasted demand and market trends, you can establish more realistic and achievable targets for your business.

 

  • Tailor Marketing Efforts: With a clear understanding of upcoming events and demand patterns, you can tailor your marketing efforts to target different customer segments effectively.
motel receptionist using Guestpoint motel software solutions

By integrating forecasting into your operations, you’re not only better prepared for the present but also empowered to enhance the guest experience by anticipating their needs and delivering exceptional service.

What data should you be looking at to forecast? 

When conducting your forecasting research, delving into a multitude of internal and external data points is essential. The specific areas to explore may vary depending on the type of forecast you seek, but for a comprehensive overview, consider analysing the following factors:

  1. Booking Data: Reviewing past booking data spanning several years can unveil recurring trends. Compare this with competitor data, if available, to identify peak periods, shoulder seasons, and low-demand periods.
  2. Cancellation Data: Analyse which types of guests are more prone to cancelling reservations and identify any seasonal patterns in cancellations.
  3. Pricing Data: Evaluate your pricing strategy in comparison to competitors and assess how pricing fluctuations correlate with changes in demand.
  4. Special Events: Examine the impact of unusual occurrences such as one-off events, adverse weather conditions, or event cancellations on past demand levels.
Read the Full Article Here
GuestPoint Guide to:

How to Resolve Re-opened Accounts

The following step-by-step process will walk you through resolving re-opened accounts:

  1. Click on the ‘Management’ tab 
  2. Under ‘Daily Tasks’ Click on ‘Roll Over’
  3. Once it expands click on ‘Today’s Roll Over’ 
  4. Under ‘2 Confirm Check-Outs’ the first row should be red and state how many re-opened accounts you have, click on the underlined words
  5. From here find the booking you would like to resolve and click on it
  6. To find and resolve the issue click on ‘Room Account’ 
  7. Here you will find the issue and if you wish to resolve the issue click on the Red Icon to the right with a circle arrow that reverses the issue
Management Tips & Tricks

Understanding the Dashboard

The ‘Overview’ page is the first screen you see when you click on the ‘Dashboard’. This page presents all the key information in the dashboard, with the option to view data from previous months. The first graph, ‘Average Occupancy’, shows the occupancy percentage for the selected month. Next is the ‘Average Revenue PAR’ graph, which calculates your total revenue per available room by dividing your total room revenue by the number of available rooms. The third graph, ‘Average Revenue Per Day’, lets you compare your property’s full potential revenue to your actual earnings. Finally, the ‘Average Revenue PRU’ graph displays revenue per room used, considering only the rooms in use.



Exploring the Dashboard further, you can delve into revenue, occupancy, booking sources, and sales analysis. The ‘Revenue’ and ‘Occupancy’ tabs allow you to analyse current month figures and compare them to other months within the same year or the same month from previous years. The ‘Booking Source’ tab features a pie chart showing the origin of your bookings, enabling you to assess the effectiveness of your OTAs and direct bookings. The ‘Sales Analyzer’ tab lists your rooms, detailing their sales performance and average rates, along with the highest and lowest rates achieved.

Updates

V12.2

 It contains the following new features

  1. EFTPOS integration with GuestPoint Pay.

It contains the following improvements 

  1. Improved the performance of the Group Reservation feature.
  2. Enhanced the Housekeeping Schedule feature. 
  3. “None” can now be selected in the booking source drop-down list in Reservation Reports.
  1. The Make Payment screen won’t be brought up again when the user clicks on the Make Payment & Check-in option.
  2. Implemented Exclude from POS Interface option for properties using POS int
Properties of the Month

Tropic Coast Motel

Flourishing along the Coral Sea Coast in Queensland, the Tropic Coast Motel is prime real estate in Mackay. This property offers everything you desire from a coastal property. 

Mackay is truly a gem along the Queensland coast, with something for people of all ages and demographics. Sprinkled throughout the coast’s natural beauty is a vibrant music scene and a rich art history. The Tropic Coast Motel buys into this vibrant music scene holding ‘Sunday Sessions’ once a month which has live music and encourages locals and those visiting to have a drink and listen to live music at their in-house restaurant.

With an onsite swimming pool and dining area, the property allows families to enjoy the relaxed aura of the coast together. The property offers all-inclusive rooms, with something for everyone. 

This motel is located in the heart of West Mackay and is within walking distance of various restaurants and shops. The location of this property is a focal point for guests who stay here. With everything a traveller needs within walking or driving distance, Tropic Coast Motel is location-personified.

Tropic Coast Motel believes clear communication with their guests is key. Within their Property Management system, they emphasised using the SMS feature to communicate arrival times and other key details about people’s stay. Additionally, the use of arrival forms being sent out before the guest arrives allows for a swift check-in process so their occupants can get some much-deserved rest. The quick check-in process is assisted further through GuestPoint with the easy-to-use quick check-in feature. 

This property utilises GuestPoint’s Channel Manager and uses this system to its potential. Highlighting the ability to quickly adjust rates and set cut-off times, allowing management to enjoy their own time. A majority of their bookings come through OTAs, so having the channel manager is a must. However, they ensure that regular guests are made aware that direct booking is cheaper, creating a stronger relationship with their regulars.

Tropic Coast Motel

GuestPoint Did You Know

If you were to visit a different Australian beach every day this venture would take you 29 years to visit everyone. There are over 10,685 different beaches across Australia. 

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