Restaurants, hotels, and other reservation management stores and facilities can increase sales efficiently by accepting reservations. However, it is often the case that employees are burdened with managing reservations, such as accepting, changing, and canceling reservations. Inadequate reservation management may result in trouble with customers. By streamlining and accurately managing reservations, you can build trusting relationships with both customers and employees.
Two ways to create a reservation system
There are two ways to build and manage a reservation system. Here we will explain the overview and advantages of each method.
Use of system creation tools
By using a reservation management system creation tool, you can relatively easily introduce a system that suits your store. Basically, it is designed to be embedded in a website, so you can create a reservation form on your own site. Packaged reservation system creation tools come equipped with a variety of functions for reservation management. Another attractive feature is that they are easy to introduce if they can be linked to the system your company uses.
You don’t need any special knowledge to customize and create a reservation management system with a tool. The user interface is generally designed so that even beginners can use it. The advantage is that you can get started easily.
Plug-in installation
To implement a reservation management system on your company’s website, you can use a plugin for the tool you use to create the website, such as WordPress. By rewriting and customizing the code, you can create a reservation management system that suits your company.
WordPress plugins require coding and programming knowledge to customize. However, since they are open source, you can freely customize them in-house. If you have in-house IT engineer resources and would like to optimize your reservation management system in the future, it is efficient to use plugins.
What to look for when choosing a booking system
To streamline reservation management, it is important that the system has a wide range of functions. Here we will introduce the functions you should check before implementing the system.
Reservation management function
The most important feature of a reservation management system is the reservation management function. The reservation management function is the function that manages who uses which service and when. It is also useful if it can handle reservation changes and cancellations and reflect the current reservation status in real time. Convenience is also increased if you can set the degree of freedom when accepting reservations from users and the reservation contents.
For example, some systems allow you to freely choose your preferred time when making a reservation, while others allow the store to set detailed schedules for when reservations can be made. There are also systems that meet the needs of clinics and beauty salons, such as those that allow you to specify staff when making reservations. To make a reservation management system more efficient, it is important to consider what kind of reservation method is desired.
Customer management function
If your reservation management system is equipped with a customer management function, you can manage customer data and use it for marketing. If you set up a system where users set their ID and password and register an account when using the reservation management system, you can accumulate a history of reservations, usage, cancellations, etc. for each account.
Some reservation management systems have customer management functions that are realized by external integration. By integrating with CRM or SFA, it is possible to centrally manage customers, including reservation history. Since this information is important for promoting marketing to customers who have made reservations, it is important to consider the necessity of customer management functions when introducing a reservation management system.
Payment function
Some reservation management systems are equipped with a payment function. For example, at restaurants, it is common to pay on the spot by cash or credit card depending on the meal. However, some reservation management systems allow users to register their payment method. By using this function, it is possible to collect cancellation fees in the event of no-show cancellations, or to offer special benefits in exchange for payment of membership fees.
With a payment function, you can also set up tickets, coupons, and monthly services. This makes it easier for users to pay, and is especially convenient for fans who use the service multiple times.
