Tag: property management

The Importance of Employee Training in the Hospitality Industry

Posted on by Aleksandar Zovko

Did you know that based on a LinkedIn study, 94% of employees consider quitting due to a lack of training provided in their company? Let us add that 94% of employees would consider staying if new training and growth opportunities were provided.

That’s a HUGE number. The workforce has spoken and has made it clear that fun and proper training is mandatory.

Investment in employee training reduces employee turnover rates, increases customer retention rates, boosts productivity, and increases revenue in the long run. We’re about to tell you how training impacts the development of your hospitality business.

Let’s hop right into it. 

What is Hospitality Industry Training? 

Hospitality training is a specific process that equips your employees with crucial skills and knowledge so that they can carry out their roles productively. Training isn’t a one-time ordeal; it needs to be continuous.

Training and development shouldn’t be a flashback to falling asleep to history presentations in high school but a fun, hands-on experience employees can remember. 

Setting up a well-thought-out training program or outsourcing a great training program keeps the learning flow in motion.

The importance of training staff at hotels staff retention in hospitality

Onboarding 

Onboarding should include:

  • Employee handbook 
  • Clear explanation of company ethics and standards 
  • Meet the staff (Team members and Leaders)
  • Job description 
  • Team building information

Engaging Training

Emphasize the availability of hands-on interactive training.

  • Workshop events
  • Personalized learning through the LMS (Learning Management System)
  • Scenario based training
  • Virtual reality training
  • Interactive videos

Annual Refreshers

Keep the learning flow going. Brushing up on training quarterly or annually keeps the material fresh, leading to improved workplace efficiency.

Consider covering the following:

  • Customer service
  • Industry standards
  • New Technologies
  • Company Policy
  • Safety protocol 

Why Employee Training is Crucial for Success in the Hospitality Sector

Imagine you walk into a specialty hardware store after deciding to start a home project, but you lack basic knowledge about the tools and materials needed to complete the job. Typically, you’d think to walk up to a staff member and ask for some advice, but they lack education and training, so they respond with vague or misleading information. 

Now, you’re misled, frustrated, and probably heading to a different store. In this current store you just left, lost a customer due to poor employee training and overall service quality.

The same conflict can and will apply to the hospitality industry without employee development. 

Employee training is fundamental in the hospitality sector because it directly influences the quality of service provided. Having a staff with proper training enhances your company’s ability to meet guest needs effectively, resulting in guests more likely to stay.

Not only are guests likely to stay, but so are your employees. A well-trained staff reduces employee turnover rate and ultimately boosts staff confidence.

An employee confident in their role is likely to provide better service with fewer errors and overall workplace efficiency. An army with low morale is an army doomed to fail. 

Enhancing Customer Satisfaction Through Employee Training Programs

Effective training programs equip employees with the skills to respond to customer needs promptly and effectively. 

Online training modules, virtual simulations, and mobile learning apps make it easier for employees to access training materials anytime, anywhere.

Additionally, technology allows for personalized learning experiences, enabling staff to learn at their own pace and focus on areas where they need improvement, ultimately leading to a more competent workforce.

There are tools to help you pick out the best employee development programs for your company and provide exceptional education. Let’s take a quick dive into learning management systems. 

Hospitality Learning Management Software (LMS)

A hospitality LMS is a cost-effective learning management system for the hospitality industry. Using an LMS allows you to track training progress and see where some employees are falling behind, offer interactive training on the go, personalize learning, and more. 

Global hotel investment is expected to surge from 15% to 25% in 2025, fueling the demand for cost-effective training programs. 

What are Some Soft Skills Needed in the Hotel Industry?

Being well rounded within the technical and deeper aspects of the hotel industry is crucial, but keep soft skills in mind too. 

These aren’t personality traits but interpersonal abilities. Soft skills are traits and behaviors that directly contribute to how well one interacts and collaborates with others. Learning and developing these skills play a crucial role in guest satisfaction.

Communication

Communication isn’t solely reserved for couples, it applies in the world of business. Having staff trained in soft skills such as communication allows them to offer direct and comfortable communication to guests. Nobody wants to be beat around the bush.  

Problem Solving

Skip the back roads to a solution, they take too long. Well-trained staff will handle guest complaints and requests directly with professionalism. The quicker a conflict is resolved, the more satisfied your customer will be.

Emotional Intelligence 

Being able to read the room is key to exceptional customer service. Understand the importance of recognizing emotions and responding to them appropriately. 

Applying EQ effectively ensures successful interactions when dealing with a variety of different cultures, points of view, and other stressful situations your hospitality staff might encounter. 

The Role of Technology in Modern Hospitality Training Programs

In today’s digital age, technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing skills training in the hospitality industry. Having a variety of ways to train employees will keep things interesting and engaging. 

  • Virtual simulations
  • Online training modules
  • Mobile learning apps
Thw role of technology in modern hospitality training programs, using VR, online and Ai to train staff in hotels and hospitality

Online Training Modules

Offering online training allows your employees to work from home or on downtime, with the ability to keep track of their progress. Checking in on staff training progress allows you to see skill gaps, and see their overall advancement.

Virtual Reality Training Programs

Investing in virtual reality training is a fun, hands-on experience your team members can participate in.

Gamifying learning and development keeps the process entertaining. VR can be used for scenario-based training and other variations of interactive learning. 

Mobile App Training

On-the-go. You’re sitting down at a coffee shop with some downtime or traveling but don’t have a computer with you to catch up on some training. Just pull up your training on the mobile app! 

Workforce: The Long-Term Benefits of Investing in Employee Training in Hospitality

While investments can be costly in the short run, it’s important to consider the long-run benefits.

  • Customer & Employee Retention
  • Boosted Productivity
  • Leadership Development 
  • Increased Service Standards
  • Revenue Growth

Boosted Productivity

When a team knows what they’re doing and works in harmony, efficiency spikes. 80% of employees in 2022 reported training benefits their productivity.

When you have an increase in productivity, you see an increase in profit. After applying learning and development solutions in the workplace, companies have seen a 17% increase in productivity and a 21% increase in profit.  

Statistic of increased profit in hotels that invest in staff training

Revenue Growth

Studies show an increase in return on investment (ROI) ranging from 10-40% after investing in versatile training solutions.

These numbers are based on an upward shift in guest satisfaction and loyalty, employee retention, together with workplace efficiency simply from investing in employee training and development. 

Customer and Employee Loyalty

One of the biggest issues the workforce faces is stagnancy. The world of business is about growth and opportunity, a standstill is a recipe for failure.

Employee performance is based on self-confidence, which is directly linked to workplace efficiency and the feeling of moving forward in a career.

Consider also fostering a positive work environment, this will increase workforce morale and motivate staff to participate in staff training.  

Customer retention is directly linked to customer satisfaction. Well-trained staff ensure that the hotel guests are being offered exceptional service, a byproduct of comprehensive training programs.

Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning

Creating a culture of continuous learning encourages employees to seek ongoing development and improvement. This can be achieved through regular workshops, mentorship programs, and opportunities for advancement that motivate staff to enhance their skills.

A learning culture not only benefits individual employees but also enhances the overall performance of the organization, fostering innovation and keeping the business competitive in a rapidly evolving industry.

Overcoming Training Budget Challenges 

Investing in growth and development always comes with great long-run benefits, but budgeting properly to make sure other areas of the business aren’t being overshadowed could be a challenge. 

Manage Your Budget 

  • Outline ALL training related costs
  • Track spending and make sure you are within spending threshold
  • Be prepared for any training priority changes as it will affect spending
  • Communicate with employees to see if the current training procedures are working for them and properly align with your business objectives

Reduce Training Costs

  • Invest in a learning management system (LMS). They keep everything online in one place and help streamline the training process, resulting in reduced spending on physical trainers, classrooms, and travel.

Focus on Needs

  • Identify the most common skill gaps and prioritize essential training where it’s needed most
  • Be sure that your training courses are aligned with your business objectives 
  • Hands-on training or in-house training allows employees to learn on-site in real scenarios without strictly outsourcing learning programs, ultimately reducing spending 

How Can OTA Sync Help? 

OTA Sync is an all-in-one, cloud-based software solution for managing hotels and apartments. Because of cloud-based technology, costs are drastically reduced, daily tasks are automated, and the overall efficiency and revenues of the property are increased.

OTA Sync software is suitable for medium and small hotels, boutique hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and apartments. The company has over 2.000 satisfied users in 17 countries around the world.

There are four complete solutions for managing hotels and apartments:

We offer a professional grade reception system that will ensure your employees and future hires gain practical, relevant experience that will enhance their development in the hospitality industry and prepare them for success.

🚨Special Offer

Want to stay on top of things and receive special offers and discounts? We’ve got you!

OTA Sync rewards smart hoteliers by giving out special discounts. To receive yours, click HERE.

Keep Reading

  1. Cloud VS On-premise PMS: Comparison To Choose The Right One
  2. Virtual Credit Cards: Everything You Need To Know 
  3. The Glamping Business: How To Increase Your Revenue 

How To Increase Hotel Occupancy In Low Season?

Posted on by Milica Radojčić

Every year, the same question arises for every professional who wants to increase hotel revenue – how to get more bookings during the off-season?

Everything is perky during peak season. Hotel occupancy rates are high. When the slow season comes around, hotel revenue starts to be low.

Most general managers in the hospitality industry know what hotel seasonality means and why it is so important to know more about it, so let’s define it.

Let’s dive right in.

Why Is Seasonality Important For Hotels?

The basic definition of seasonality is variation in demand for hotel services at different times of the year. Hotel demand changes cyclically and since it follows the same patterns, it can be predicted. 

The demand equals revenue. The more guest visits a hotel, the higher its revenue. So, the occupancy rate is directly connected to hotel income, and that is the answer to why it is so important.

The only real result of working in any business is good income. The situation is not different for the hotel business – when you have a full hotel every time of the year, we are sure you are doing well.

But when a good discount for guests is not enough to increase profits, you need new strategies.

In seasonality, you can distinguish three periods important for revenue management:

  1. Peak season
  2. Shoulder season between the periods when prices are relatively moderate
  3. Off-season
Low season in hotels: how to increase hotel occupancy during low season

What Is Off-season And What Does It Mean For Hotel Occupancy?

Low or off-season, is a time of the year when the demand for accommodation is low, and prices need to be even lower if you want to fill your rooms. This period can be challenging for those in the hotel business.

The off-season depends on the specific location of the hotel, the target audience, and other characteristics connected to the hotel. Every hotel is different so the ways to boost hotel occupancy during the low season also are.

For the seaside hotels, the typical busy season is summer. The sunny days, warm weather, and often activities near the sea invite tourists to come to the location.

For ski resorts situation is the same during the winter, snowboarding and skiing are tourist’s favorite activities.

But, when different weather comes, certain activities are no longer present. Tourists simply do not show interest during that period. When this time rolls around, you need to rethink strategies to increase hotel occupancy and make your hotel active again.

As we said, the reasons why a period like that is called low variates from hotel to hotel. There are ways to boost hotel occupancy and hotel revenue during the low season. You just need to analyze the situation with patience.

How To Determine Low Season For Your Hotel?

The first answer you need to find out is when is the start of low season for your hotel – at what period the booking rate goes down. 

The second goal is defining everything that affects your hotel in a certain period. Is that weather, a holiday, or some kind of event?

The next step is to determine the most common factor that affects the low period for your hotel. There may be more than one factor. We will help by listing potential factors that affect the low season.

What Are The Most Common Factors That Affect The Low Season?

We already know the core information – every hotel is different and low season often depends on things we can’t control, like the weather. But there are other things we can control to improve the hotel’s business.

These are the most common challenges that we can overcome with a careful marketing strategy. Let’s find ways how to increase demand and revenue during the low season.

Factors that affect the low season in hotels, including weather, holidays, the economy

1. The Weather

The weather brings a lot of challenges during the off-season.

This is the most common factor because it affects the needs and wishes of the guests. This often means the absence of some activity under seasonal weather conditions.

If your hotel ski-in ski-out, you already notice changes when there isn’t much snow around. The same goes for the hotels on beach-side destinations.

But what about the city hotels? Are changes in high and low season the same? The answer is yes, but you can’t see drastic changes like in specific destination hotels. 

So what should you do? What is the right way to increase hotel revenue? 

Try to think about other activities for guests, so they will have a reason to stay at your hotel.

2. The Holidays

During the festive season, hotel rooms can be full and income high. But immediately, when it comes to the end of that period income goes down for plenty of hotels. 

There are different types of holidays that affect your hotel’s occupancy.

🎉School Holidays

If your hotel is located in a destination popular for families, school holidays can potentially have a big impact because families are more likely to take their children on holiday.

Accommodate these guests by having family-friendly spaces ready for them. Playgrounds for children as well as educational workshops made for them are a great way to go about this.

Want to see them come back outside of these holidays? Use automatic mailing options on your property management system to offer them a special discount on family or even adult-only visits. Parents deserve a getaway as well!

Consider sending them a coupon as low season approaches and see these families become loyal guests!

💡Shining The Spotlight

We’re shining the spotlight on OTA Sync’s property management system that allows you to send out automatic emails to guests. It can be coupons, birthday greetings, you name it!

🎉Local Holidays

Similar to school holidays, local holidays have a big impact on the hotel.

If you know the main local holidays you can control hotel revenue during the off-season and build your plan perfectly. For example, a lot of people will stay at home to celebrate holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. On the other side, New Year or Labor Day are famous times for trips.

On the other hand, small local holidays can be something that can boost your hotel’s occupancy. Is there a lesser-known tradition or carnival going on locally? Promote it and attract tourists to come and experience the authentic atmosphere of your culture.

Additionally, include locally sourced ingredients in your menu. Travelers love unique and authentic experiences.

🎉International Holidays

It is important to plan for all types of holidays. If some holidays are not generally known to you, it does not necessarily mean that you will not have guests from the area that celebrate that type of major holiday.

Research and try to attract new guests by promoting special deals for international holidays. Don’t stop there.

Create partnerships with other local businesses like car rentals, to ensure these international travelers have everything they need in your hotel. What a package you are offering now!

Low season? Never heard of it.

3. The Economy

Economic factors shape guests’ willingness to spend money, and as a result, they tend to choose not to visit certain places or not to travel at all.

The first problem with the economic trend is that is not a season, so it’s not easily predictable. High interest rates, inflation, and large-scale layoffs have a big impact on hotel occupancy.

This is important for the both, leisure and business sectors, guest experience is the same.

These situations give you an excellent opportunity to express sympathy. Creating special deals and talking about these conditions in your campaigns can give your hotel a good rep.

How To Overcome The Low Season?

Every hotel, from the biggest to the smallest experienced this kind of problem. For each problem, there is an effective solution, you just need to get creative to choose the best ways to increase income. 

The main step you need to take to maximize revenue and increase bookings is to build an effective marketing plan. Every time of the year can be good as high season if you carefully build your marketing strategies.  

Here are some ideas on how to increase demand and boost hotel occupancy levels by paying attention to certain things.

1. Pay Attention To Hotel Guests

Does a good experience in your hotel, guarantee a return guest?

The critical part of growing a successful business is to build strong and trustful relationships with your customers. In any hospitality business, you need to build a good strategy to keep guests, the same as gaining new ones. 

It’s important to ensure the best experience for guests, but first start by analyzing your target audience – who are they?

Once you have figured out your target audience make sure to offer them additional interactions that will have them feeling like they are right at home.

The first data you need to analyze when it comes to your target group is basic: age, gender, occupation, interests, and general lifestyle of guests who frequently visit your hotel. Then it will be clear to you what exactly you need to pay attention to, to offer guests what they want.

Business travelers? Quiet spaces and good internet. Families? Entertainers for kids that give the parents some time off. Couples? Candle-lit dinners are a spark of romance.

Details go a long way.

💡 Shining The Spotlight

Don’t worry if your target groups are confusing you! Our software will help you improve your guest experience.

OTA Sync automatizes all tedious tasks in your hotel, giving your staff the time to dedicate to your guests.

There is no better achievement than a happy guest who will promote your hotel after having the best experience. Once you know who your customers are, you will know what services they will be most satisfied with.

 2. Loyalty Programs

If you’re not sure why it’s important to keep guest information after they leave, we are about to give you some fresh insights.

Email and other contact information are just some of the details you need to ensure your guests return in the right way. 

Loyalty programs will ensure that your relationship with your hotel guests is much stronger. So make sure the hotel stays in touch with them. Don’t forget to sort their email addresses where you can send them discounts, offers, and similar benefits to ensure their loyalty and return next time.

If you want to retain guests who are traveling for business, you can remind them of previous events they attended at the hotel.

3. Online Presence

Online presence plays a very important role in today’s era.

Today, the vast majority of travelers and potential guests book accommodation online. For those who know how to properly utilize the online world, it can bring a lot of profit to their business.

So hurry up and start to find ways to promote your hotel online, the outcome will be more reservations. 

4. Accessibility And Visibility

It is very important to have a well-developed website where guests can see all the important information they need.

A presence on platforms like Booking.com and Airbnb.com is essential as it is one of the most common ways for guests to find accommodation in today’s era.

5. Reviews

Don’t forget to ask your guests to leave you a review, especially on popular review sites like TripAdvisor.com, Yelp.com, or Google Reviews.

6. Marketing And Promotions

Email marketing and social media can be great contributors when it comes to maintaining a brand’s online presence and digital transformation.

7. Easier reservations

An online booking system, like Booking, is important because it makes the reservation process easier, especially for the younger generation.

A suggestion that can make a significant difference in your hotel’s occupancy is to create an option on your website to make direct reservations. OTA Sync Booking Engine can help you with this, handling every booking on your website with ease!

8. New Hotel Spaces

Creating new spaces within the hotel itself can contribute to higher revenue.

As long as the hotel is in the mountains, during the summer days you can create a space with a spa center, or swimming pools to attract guests with such amenities. The same thing applies to hotels in summer destinations in the winter.

There are many ideas for new spaces, from a coworking zone, and a wellness center to a business meeting room. It’s up to you to decide and beat the competition next season. 

You just need to be a little creative and the revenue will come. Good luck!

🤓 If you are interested in hearing more about the topic, hotel business tips, and the way to increase hotel revenue, you can find out on our OTA Sync Blog.

How OTA Sync Can Help

The solution to save time and increase income is here! With our software comes a reduction in time spent on tedious tasks that would otherwise be done manually, and with that comes an increase in revenue. 

Our 2,000 satisfied users in 17 different countries speak for us. If you manage medium and small hotels, boutique hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and apartments, OTA Sync is the ideal solution.
See what we can do with simple use but effective software:

✔️ The Property Management System

✔️ Booking Engine

✔️ Channel Manager 

✔️ The Guest App 

📲 The mobile app is now available, significantly increasing the time-saving potential.


All of this is aimed at ensuring that guests leave happy and return with the best experience at your hotel. 

Keep Reading

  1. Cloud VS On-premise PMS: Comparison To Choose The Right One
  2. Virtual Credit Cards: Everything You Need To Know 
  3. The Glamping Business: How To Increase Your Revenue 

The Glamping Business: How To Increase Your Revenue 

Posted on by Andjela Toncev

You’ve heard of camping and probably enjoyed a night beneath the stars yourself. 

Make way for camp’s fancy cousin – glamping! 

With winter around the corner and many tourists wanting the camping experience but not the weather discomfort that comes with it, glamping is a perfect solution.

This blog will discuss how to take your business to the next level. We will also mention some marketing tips and tricks here and there.

Most of all, we will focus on helping you increase your revenue as a business owner.

Let’s dive right into the world of glamour and glitz of glamping!

What Is Glamping?

The word originates from a fuse of two words: glamourous and camping.

As the name suggests, this form of vacationing appeals to travelers who want to experience adventure and nature, but don’t want to compromise on comfort. 

This trend has gained a lot of traction in recent years and has attracted a new audience of nature lovers and luxury tourists.

A glamping accommodation could be:

✅ Luxury Tents

✅ Yurts

✅ Geo Domes

✅Bell Tents

✅Cabins

✅Pods

✅Shepherd Huts

✅Treehouses

How The Glamping Business Rose To Popularity

The hustle of the city never slows down. Gone are peaceful evenings with the family, big cities never sleep.

Paired with the marketing efforts of this new hospitality branch, the glamping experience quickly appealed to a broad audience. Not giving up comfort yet having an opportunity to escape to nature appealed to many.

The main draw for this kind of vacation is the visual experience. Accommodations are usually set in beautiful nature resorts or scenic locations.

Catering to these travelers can be a bit of a challenge. These tourists expect the sites to be sustainable and eco-friendly since their stay is about connecting with nature. 

3 Types Of Glamping

If you want to focus your brand, you should know what different types of glamping there are. 

Once you find something that rings a bell, focus your business plan and marketing strategies according to your brand. 

3 types of glamping: luxury glamping, adventure glamping and eco-friendly glamping. Tips on how to increase your ROI in glamping.

1. Luxury Glamping

Tourists interested in luxury glamping want an exclusive experience and fine dining set in picturesque nature sites. High-end hospitality combined with the beauty of nature is what makes the allure of this type of experience.

💡Marketing Pro Tips

  1. When trying to appeal to these kinds of travelers, emphasize the look and design of the accommodation you offer. Showcase the blend of luxury, comfort, and scenic nature that surrounds it. Focusing on what sort of guest experience you offer can be something that separates you from the crowd in social media marketing.
  2. You can film a video that showcases a day in the life of a guest glamping at your site. Make sure you’re showing both the comfortability of the accommodation and the beauty of nature that surrounds it.
  3. Rainy day? Don’t put that camera down just yet! Showing someone being cozy in your glamping site while the elements rage around them can emphasize what you offer.

2. Adventure Glamping

What are thrill seekers and nature enthusiasts supported to do when they don’t want to compromise on comfort? They should go adventure glamping, of course!

Branding yourself as an adventure glamping site means offering exciting nature-related activities. Being close to hiking trails or bungee jumping sites can also be an added benefit for this sort of glamping business plan.

Collaborating with a local nature guide or a local business that offers quad rental can be an added benefit to your business.

💡Marketing Pro Tips

  1. When trying to appeal to these adventure seekers, don’t forget to list all of your amenities as well. It’s a given you will show beautiful hiking trails and thrilling activities. Don’t forget glamping is all about not compromising comfort.
  2. Do you offer massages after a long and tiring adventure? Or a comfortable chair or a hammock people can relax in? Don’t forget to show it!
  3. These adventurers tend to be rather social as well. Making a campfire in the evening can be very appealing for them. If you don’t mind the noise, you can get them an acoustic guitar and watch them come back to your campsite year after year.

3. Eco-friendly Glamping

Fostering a connection between humans and nature, this accommodation style is all about the green agenda. Tourists seeking sustainability are the target audience here. 

💡Marketing Pro Tips

  1. Showcase sustainable practices. Highlight your environmental commitment by showcasing your eco-friendly practices on social media and your website. Share behind-the-scenes content of your sustainable building materials, energy-efficient systems, and waste reduction efforts. 
  2. Partner with Eco Influencers. Invite them to stay at your glamping site and share their experiences with their followers. Their authentic reviews and captivating content can amplify your message and attract eco-minded travelers eager to support green businesses.
  3. Create special promotions for guests who prioritize sustainability. Offer discounts or perks for those who bring reusable items, participate in on-site conservation activities, or travel using eco-friendly transportation. Highlight these incentives in your marketing materials to attract environmentally aware travelers and build a community of like-minded guests who value and support your green initiatives.
Glamping amenities. List of things to do to upgrade your glamping business and make bigger glamping profits.

5 Make Or Break Factors That Will Determine Your Income On The Glamping Market

1. Tent Type

Running a successful glamping business depends greatly on the tent type you have to offer. This is also a big factor in determining what kind of business model you should choose.

Tent type doesn’t necessarily determine the type of glamping you offer. A lavishly furnished treehouse can be considered luxury glamping. 

Your main focus should be researching the renting cost of the type of tent you offer. It’s important not to overcharge or undercharge your customer. 

2. Location

Location is extremely important in determining your earnings in the glamping industry.

Being located near a national park, ski resorts or hiking trails is what could be drawing the crowds in all year round.

On the other hand, tourists look for easily accessible accommodation. Good roads and parking spots are usually a concern for travelers when choosing their glamping stay.

How To Increase Your Revenue?

Does your location draw tourists in only seasonally? Here’s a fresh idea for you! You could offer event venue services. Register and market your accommodation as available to rent for events. Perties, weddings or teambuildings. This could draw potential guests in during the low-season months!

3. Number Of Bookings You Get Per Month

Your revenue is sure to fluctuate from month to month. This is related to the number of bookings you get. It is completely normal. 

The number of units you offer is also a factor in this equation. 

How To Increase Your Revenue?

Are you trying to get your bookings up? Partner with a company that offers various activities like hiking tours or car rentals in the area. You can link to each other’s websites. An accommodation that offers activities besides just a place to stay will be more interesting to potential customers. 

Besides this, using a tool like a channel manager can help you manage your platform presence. Watch closely which platform brings you the most customers monthly. After that, it’s only a matter of research on how to increase your traffic on each platform.

We have a blog on this subject.

4. Operating Costs

Operating costs will affect your prices and earnings. Watch out for these key expenses: 

  1. Cleaning: Regular cleaning is essential but can be expensive.
  2. Laundry: Costs for washing linens and towels can add up.
  3. Marketing: Spending on ads and promotions helps attract guests, but keep track of these costs.
  4. Maintenance and Repairs: Regular upkeep and fixing issues can be costly. Plan for these expenses to avoid surprises.
  5. Insurance: Protecting your business with insurance is important but can be a significant cost.
  6. Taxes: Be aware of your tax obligations to avoid penalties.
  7. Utilities: Water and electricity bills can vary. Monitor and manage usage to keep costs down.

By keeping an eye on these expenses, you can better control your costs and improve your profitability.

Operating costs of a glaming business. Ways to increase glamping revenue

5. Ameneties You Offer

When you start a glamping business, you know it’s not just about creating a place for someone to spend the night at. It’s making sure guests want to spend time at your accommodation.

The more amenities you offer, the bigger your revenue is going to get.

How To Increase Your Revenue?

Upgrade your amenities and facilities. Some of the amenities glampers love are:

✅ Kitchenettes

✅ Internet Access

✅ Bathtubs

✅ Bars

✅ Televisions

✅ Swimming Pools

Try offering anything that could create an unforgettable experience for them.

Luxury glamping bell tent and yurts. Advice on how to upscale your glamping business.

Top 9 Tips On How To Increase Your Revenue Potential

1. Explore Dynamic Pricing Options

The ever-changing hospitality business calls for a flexible pricing approach. Adjusting rates seasonally allows you to capitalize on high demand during peak times while maintaining steady profits in slower periods.

This requires a careful review of your pricing model to align with regional peak travel times, ensuring you maximize revenue without deterring guests during the off-season.

2. Reduce Costs Without Sacrificing Quality

Every cost-reducing strategy first needs to be weighed with how it affects the guest experience. As a glamping business owner, you should always prioritize the quality of guest experience. This drives your pricing power, after all. 

Analyze your utility costs, as they offer a great opportunity for savings. Consider switching to solar panels or energy-efficient appliances, reducing long-term expenses without compromising guest comfort or your site’s eco-appeal.

Next, review your supply chain. Are you getting the best deals without sacrificing quality? Negotiating bulk discounts or exploring cost-effective alternatives can save money while supporting sustainable practices.

Finally, regular maintenance prevents costly repairs, preserving your site’s high standards and prolonging the lifespan of amenities.

3. Upsell And Cross-sell

Upselling isn’t only about increasing your revenue stream, but also about creating personalized experiences for your guests.  Getting to know your guests and giving them options is what will make them feel valued.

Comparing upselling and cross-selling in glamping. Tips on how to increase your glamping site profits.

Successful upselling relies on time and relevance. Make sure your employees are offering upgrades upon booking or arrival. At this moment guests are the most interested in enhancing their stay. 

Cross-selling is about offering other complementary products. Making dining experience bundle deals or luxury spa offers can be a good idea to boost your business. 

A great tool that can help you with this is a Guest App.

We’re shining the spotlight on OTA Sync’s Guest App.

Ensuring guest satisfaction and more opportunities to upsell, a Guest App is a technological step in the right direction.

4. Streamline Operations For Efficiency

Achieving operational excellence often starts with simplifying and standardizing processes. By eliminating unnecessary steps and reducing complexity, you can ensure that each part of your business operates at peak efficiency.

This emphasis on streamlining helps lower costs and boost productivity, and ultimately enhances profitability by getting more done with fewer resources.

5. Include Add-on Services

To boost your glamping business profits and stay competitive, you need to find new ways to make more money. Adding extra services can create new revenue opportunities and fit well with your overall business plan. Some strategies are particularly effective at increasing profits and improving your services.

To boost profits, carefully plan how you add new services. Make sure each new service fits well with what you already offer. Understand your customers and what they want. Look at trends and preferences to find services that will attract them and increase revenue.

Examples include exclusive workshops, extended warranties, or personalized consultations. Focus on making these services high-quality and relevant for success.

6. Profit Margin Management

Managing profit margins is vital for running a glamping business successfully. It’s not something you do once, but a process that requires constant review and adjustment. By staying on top of this, your business can not only survive but thrive, even with seasonal changes and shifting customer preferences.

To keep a clear picture of your finances, it’s important to have a strong system for regular reviews. These reviews help you make smart changes to your business when needed. Whether you do them monthly or quarterly, check your income, balance sheet, and cash flow to stay aware of your financial situation.

The old saying goes: “If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.”

7. Adopt Technology Solutions

Using advanced technology can automate routine tasks, provide key data insights, and connect different parts of your business. Tools like property management software and AI can simplify complex tasks and support better decision-making, which helps you stay competitive and boost profits.

In short, combining streamlined processes with smart technology helps you achieve and maintain operational excellence, fostering continuous improvement and long-term profitability.

We’re shining the spotlight on OTA Sync’s all-in-one solution.

OTA Sync can greatly improve your operations by linking your Property Management System (PMS), booking engine, and channel manager. By automating data updates across these systems, OTA Sync streamlines bookings minimizes errors, and ensures real-time availability across all platforms. This seamless synchronization simplifies management tasks, improves accuracy, and boosts efficiency, ultimately leading to better decision-making and increased profitability.

8. Scale Your Glamping Business

Before expanding your glamping business, it’s important to create a clear business plan. Research the market, understand your target customers, and find what makes your site special. A solid plan helps make sure your business meets both market needs and your financial goals.

To attract more guests and grow your customer base, try offering different types of accommodations. You could add options like treehouses, yurts, or luxury tents. Having a variety of choices can bring in more visitors and boost your income.

9. Monitor Guest Feedback

As a glamping site owner, adapting to market changes is essential. Markets shift, new competitors appear, and guest expectations change—your success depends on your ability to keep up. Use customer feedback to improve your services and stay ahead of trends.

✅ Watch social media and review sites to see what guests are saying.
✅ Look at booking patterns to predict changes in demand.
✅ Stay updated on industry trends and innovations.

Managing profit margins and regularly reviewing your finances will help keep your business sustainable and profitable. Listening to market changes and customer feedback is key to running a successful site.

We have a blog on enhancing guest experience in your vacation rental.

Glamping tent with a view. How to increase your revenue as a glamping business.

Conclusion

In conclusion, boosting your glamping business revenue means using smart strategies and good marketing. Expand your offerings, streamline operations, and use the right marketing channels to attract more guests and increase profits.

Adjust your pricing, add unique experiences, and improve your online presence. Small changes can lead to big results, so review and refine your strategies regularly for long-term success.

How OTA Sync Can Help

OTA Sync is a cloud software solution for all hotelier needs.
Automating most of the tasks needed for running hotels, private rooms, or campsites, OTA Sync offers a unique opportunity for hoteliers with their all-in-one solution. Our clients report seeing an increase in revenue and fewer hours spent on doing manual tasks. Their employees were able to focus on creating the best experience for their guests, which tourists greatly appreciated.

✅ The Property Management System offers a top-of-the-line, quick and easy solution, with a soothing layout and intuitive features.

✅ Through a modern-designed Booking Engine allows the guest to make a reservation through the facility’s website, in real-time.
✅ Channel Manager connects all OTA’s channels via a single control panel which prevents overbooking and booking errors.
✅ The Guest App offers quick check-ins, tailored recommendations, and instant notifications, ensuring a unique and seamless experience for every guest.


OTA Sync software is suitable for medium and small hotels, boutique hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and apartments. The company has more than 2.000 satisfied users in 17 countries worldwide.

The software contributes to saving time and costs, increasing the number of reservations, and facilitating communication between the sales and reception departments.
A mobile app is also available for iOS and Android users, for even faster and easier management, from anywhere.

6 Essential Mobile Apps To Help You Grow Your Hotel Rental Business

Posted on by Marija Glavonjić

Nowadays, you can hardly find any aspect of the hospitality industry that mobiles haven’t brushed upon. 

Mobile devices accounted for two-thirds of global travel and hospitality websites’ traffic in 2023. 

Thus, not using mobile apps to improve your hotel business would be a missed opportunity.

Mobile hotel rental apps vary in functionalities and purposes, but we’ve compiled a list covering every major aspect.

Let’s dive in!

6 Mobile Hotel Rental Apps To Boost Your Growth

Let’s highlight our top picks before we dig deeper.

mobile-hotel-rental-apps-overview

1. OTA SYNC — The Best Solution for Full Hotel Management

ota-sync-homepage

OTA SYNC is an all-encompassing hotel management solution that offers a full suite of features to help you streamline everyday hotel operations from a single dashboard.

In addition, OTA SYNC addresses not only efficient hotel management but also enhanced guest satisfaction.

Our software is cloud-based, but a mobile app is also available for Android and iOS systems.

It has the full functionality of its web counterpart and offers many add-ons, such as a Guest App, Housekeeping App, Automation, and Reports functions.

ota-sync-mobile-app

Thus, you can edit reservations in one click, monitor bookings, and change and adjust pricing plans on the go.

Regarding integrations, OTA SYNC has a 2-way XML connection, with iCal and API possibilities.

This way, you can seamlessly sync your availability calendar across different platforms, including:

ota-sync-calendar

Key Features

1. Property Management Solution (PMS)

? The stellar feature within the PMS module is the centralized dashboard, which provides a central view of all properties, channels, and functions without switching tabs.

? Within this module, you’ll also find in-depth statistics that provide insights into categories, such as revenue, average revenue, occupancy by months, etc.

As a result, you can identify areas for improvement but also see top-performing channels, etc.

ota-sync-statistics

? A vast collection of reports ranging from Maintenance and Housecleaning over Employee Stats to Manager reports to provide a clear overview of your property’s overall performance and maintenance.

You can even get your reports by email as often as you wish without logging in to the system first.

2. Channel Manager

? Channel Manager’s core function is to connect your property to a wide range of booking platforms, OTAs, GDS, etc.

? Therefore, a Channel manager is irreplaceable when it comes to increasing your online visibility and reach and tapping into new markets and guest types.

? Additionally, due to its great functionality, it helps you minimize double booking—it simultaneously syncs all the changes and updates in your bookings across all the channels.

? This allows you to manage and update room availability, rates, and bookings in real time.

3. Booking Engine

OTA SYNC’s customizable Booking Engine counterbalances the Channel manager and focuses on your internal channels, like your website.

Thus, you can still reap benefits from OTAs while generating more commission-free direct bookings.

Our widget allows you to fully customize the look of your Engine and apply logos, brand colors, etc.

You can even customize emails with custom headers and footers, customize invoices, etc.

4. Payments

OTA Payments is a fully integrated payment gateway that automatically processes transactions in multiple currencies while safeguarding your data.

It also allows you to charge all virtual cards automatically instead of doing it one by one daily.

OTA SYNC is a robust HMS solution that facilitates and automates hotel management tasks and operations.

2. Hootsuite — The Best Solution for Social Network Marketing

hotsuite-mobile-app-preview

Hootsuite is a popular social media management platform that enables you to:

  • Manage multiple social media accounts, 
  • Schedule posts, 
  • Track social media engagement and 
  • Analyze social media performance from a single dashboard. 

It provides various tools that not only elevate your social media presence but also catch your audience’s sentiments.

In addition to this, Hootsuite also has analytics tools to track your performance.

Key Features

✨ Social Media Management

  • Manage and monitor multiple social media accounts, such as Facebook, Instagram, etc., from a centralized dashboard.
  • Schedule posts in advance, plan content calendars and publish posts across various social media channels simultaneously.

✨ Engagement and Communication

  • Monitor social media conversations, engage with guests, and respond to comments, messages, and mentions in real time.
  • Collaborate with staff members, assign tasks, and streamline social media communication and engagement efforts.

✨ Analytics and Reporting

  • Track social media performance, measure key metrics, such as likes, shares, comments, and reach, and generate customized reports for data-driven insights.
  • Analyze social media data, identify trends, and optimize social media strategies based on analytics and reporting features.

✨ Social Listening and Monitoring

  • Monitor your hotel’s mentions, hashtags, keywords, and social media trends to stay informed about conversations related to your brand or hospitality industry.
  • Engage with guest feedback, track sentiment, and identify opportunities for community engagement and reputation management.

✨ Social Ad Management

  • Create and manage social media ads, boost posts, and analyze ad performance within the Hootsuite platform.
  • Track ad campaigns, monitor ad spend, and optimize ad targeting for increasing social media advertising ROI.

Hootsuite is a versatile tool for streamlining social media management, enhancing audience engagement, and optimizing social media marketing efforts. 

3. Dropbox — Best for Cloud Storage

dropbox-homepage

Dropbox is a cloud-based file storage and collaboration platform that enables you to store, share, and synchronize files and folders across devices.

It also offers file hosting services, file synchronization, cloud storage, and file sharing capabilities for storing and collaborating on documents, photos, videos, and other types of files. 

Its mobile app lets you view, edit, upload, and share files.

Furthermore, you can sync files across desktop and mobile devices, ensuring access to documents and media from anywhere.

Key Features

✨ File Storage and Syncing

  • Store files and folders in the cloud, synchronize content across devices, and access them online or offline.
  • Automatically sync changes to files, documents, and photos across linked devices, ensuring real-time access to the latest versions.

✨ File Sharing and Collaboration

  • Share files and folders with your staff, control access permissions (view-only, edit, comment), and collaborate in real time on shared documents.
  • Collaborate on projects, work on shared files simultaneously, leave comments, and track file version history to streamline teamwork and enhance productivity.

✨ Data Backup and Recovery

  • Back up important files and data to the cloud to protect against data loss and recover files in case of accidental deletion or device failure.
  • To prevent data loss and ensure data security, maintain file versions, recover deleted files, and restore previous file states.

✨ Security and Privacy

  • Ensure data security with encryption, secure file transfers, password protection, and two-factor authentication to protect sensitive information.
  • Maintain privacy controls, manage user permissions, and monitor file access to secure confidential data and maintain compliance with data protection regulations.

✨ File Sharing Links and Folders

  • Generate shareable links or folders to easily share files with others with or without a Dropbox account.
  • Customize sharing settings, set expiration dates for shared links, and track link activity to control file access and distribution.

4. Booking.com — Best for Online Visibility and Reach

booking.com-appstore-page

Booking.com is one of the most popular OTAs, and with 556 million visits in 2023, it is a great candidate for listing your hotel or rental there.

It connects travelers with a wide range of accommodation options, including hotels, apartments, villas, hostels, and resorts.

In addition to accommodations, Booking.com provides options for booking flights and rental cars to facilitate all aspects of travel planning.

But what are its key features that cater to hotels and rentals?

Key Features

When we speak about Booking.com’s features, we actually speak about the benefits it can bring to your property.

✨ Property Listings

  • Create detailed property listings, showcasing rooms, amenities, high-quality photos, and property descriptions to attract potential guests.

✨ Rate Management

  • Set room rates, special offers, discounts, and promotional deals to attract more guests and optimize revenue.
  • Adjust pricing based on demand, seasonality, market conditions, and booking trends to maximize occupancy and revenue.

✨ Availability Management

  • Manage availability, block off rooms, update inventory, and synchronize booking calendars in real time.
  • Control room availability, prevent overbookings, and maintain an accurate availability calendar to optimize occupancy.

✨ Guest Reviews and Ratings

Guest reviews and ratings provide valuable feedback and insights into guest experiences.

  • Respond to those, address feedback, and enhance your reputation and service quality based on guest comments.

✨ Analytics and Reporting

  • Access performance analytics, booking statistics, revenue reports, and financial data to analyze property performance on the platform.
  • Track key performance indicators, monitor booking trends, evaluate revenue sources, and make data-driven decisions to optimize operations.

✨ Promotions and Visibility

Booking.com offers various campaigns, featured listings, and programs to increase your property visibility and attract more guests.

  • Showcase special offers, last-minute deals, and seasonal promotions to reach a larger audience and drive bookings.

?If you want to explore how Booking.com can boost your online presence, then you don’t want to miss our blog, How To Start Advertising On Booking.com [Step-by-step Guide].

5. Trello —Best For Team and Staff Collaboration

trello-mobile-app-preview

Trello is a project management tool that uses boards, lists, and cards to help you and your staff organize and collaborate on tasks and streamline workflows. 

Its visual interface allows you to drag and drop cards across lists, rearrange tasks, add details to cards, and customize boards to suit your workflow.

Trello offers connections with other productivity, communication, and project management tools, such as Slack, Asana, Jira, etc.,

Key Features

✨ Visual Task Management

  • Easily see task statuses, progress, deadlines, and priorities at a glance.
  • Create multiple boards for different projects, lists to categorize tasks, and cards to represent individual to-dos, ideas, or action items.

✨ Collaboration and Teamwork

  • Facilitate collaboration among team members by enabling them to share boards, assign tasks, add comments, mention team members, and attach files to cards.
  • Provide real-time collaboration and feedback among your staff and foster effective communication. 

✨ Checklists and Due Dates

  • Create checklists within cards to break down tasks into smaller sub-tasks, mark off completed items, and track progress toward task completion.
  • Get a clear overview of task deadlines, prioritize work, and manage timelines effectively.

✨  Labels and Tags

  • Add labels or tags to cards to categorize tasks, differentiate priorities, assign labels to specific projects, or denote task types.
  • Visually organize and filter cards based on different criteria, making it easier to locate specific tasks.

✨ Notifications and Activity Tracking

  • Get notifications for mentions, status updates, due date reminders, and card actions to stay informed about task changes and upcoming deadlines.
  • Track activity history, view updates, and monitor changes and task or project progress.

6. FreshBooks Invoicing App — Best for Invoicing and Accounting

freshbooks-mobile-app-preview

FreshBooks is cloud-based accounting software to help you manage invoicing, expenses, time tracking, and financial tasks. 

Moreover, it provides solutions that simplify accounting processes, automate invoicing, and help you stay organized financially. 

Among its features, FreshBooks offers the FreshBooks Invoicing App that helps you create, send, and manage professional invoices on the go.

Key Features

✨ Customizable Invoices

  • Create professional-looking invoices with customizable templates, branding options, and personalized messaging that reflect your business style.
  • Add company logo, colors, and personalized details to invoices for a professional and consistent brand image.

✨ Automated Invoicing

  • Set up recurring invoices for subscription-based services, retainers, memberships, or regular clients to automate billing cycles and save time.
  • To streamline invoicing processes, schedule invoice delivery at specific intervals, such as weekly, monthly, or annually.

✨ Online Payment Options

  • Offer flexible payment methods such as credit card payments, online payments, ACH transfers, and PayPal integration to simplify the payment process for guests.
  • Allow clients to pay invoices online directly through the invoice portal, improving payment speed and efficiency.

✨ Expense Tracking

  • Track expenses, upload receipts, categorize expenses, and attach billable expenses to guest invoices for accurate billing and reimbursement.
  • Capture expense details, monitor spending, and manage costs more effectively to maintain financial transparency.

✨ Guest Management

  • Manage guest information, track contact details, view guest histories, and access their data to maintain guest relationships and streamline communication.
  • Store guest preferences, manage communications, and track each guest’s invoices, estimates, and payments.

✨ Reporting and Insights

  • Generate financial reports, track invoice status, view payment histories, and access guest payment details to gain insights into business finances.
  • Analyze business performance, monitor cash flow, track revenue streams, and assess financial health through data visualization and reporting tools.

Wrapping It Up

The above hotel rental apps are all great for tackling and solving typical hotel and rental business management issues.

However, all of them, except OTA SYNC, focus on a single functionality. 

Although focusing on only one major functionality usually means a tool has mastered it, effectively running and growing your hotel and rental business requires addressing more than one feature. 

This is what sets OTA SYNC apart.

It hosts comprehensive features for efficient hotel management under one roof, saving you the hassle and money of using individual solutions and switching between multiple tabs.

With our solution, you can:

✅ Centralize all bookings and even multiple properties in a single view.

✅ Improve guest experience through our multi-faceted Guest App, which serves as concierge, chatbot, tips and recommendations giver, etc.

✅ Automate invoice creations and apply advanced invoice operations, such as splitting or merging by Item, Room, Guest, or Amount.

✅ Make informed decisions based on the advanced finance, revenue, and in-house reporting tools to track your performance.

✅ Expand reach while driving direct booking simultaneously.

Enticed to see what else OTA SYNC “hides”?

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and equip yourself with tools to grow your business.

Keep Learning:

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10 Best Hotel Guest Apps for Your Business

10 Ways To Improve Your Hotel Business In These Challenging Times

Posted on by Marija Glavonjić

If we’ve learned anything from the past few years, it is that change is the only constant. From the crippling pandemic to inflations and labor shortages, the hospitality industry has definitely taken the brunt.

Furthermore, stiff competition and the opening of new hotels have provided additional impediments.

Wondering how to deal with all the above challenges and boost your hotel’s revenue?

Read on to find out more about how to improve hotel business and turn pain into gain.

Let’s dive in!

How to Improve Hotel Business in 10 Strategic Ways?

With the right approach and strategies, you can tackle the biggest challenges and turn them into competitive advantage.

Not only can they help you improve your business and revenue, but also help you create the ultimate guest experience and build a loyal customer base.

1. Automate Hotel Operations

Automating hotel operations implies using technology to streamline and optimize various aspects of running a hotel, such as:

  • Reservations, 
  • Check-ins and-outs, 
  • Housekeeping, 
  • Guest services, 
  • Inventory management, 
  • Accounting, etc.
trend-indicator

Implementing the property management system (PMS) reduces manual tasks, leading to faster service delivery and better resource use.

benefits-of-property-management-system

Moreover, if you use the PMS, you can reduce human errors and improve accuracy in tasks revolving around inventory management, billing, and guest bookings.

? ProTip:

OTA SYNC, an online PMS, provides features that address the full hotel management and centralize hotel operations, allowing your staff to efficiently:

? Handle bookings, 

? Monitor room occupancy and 

? Manage guest services.

On top of that, the PMS integrates with point-of-sale systems, ERP solutions, and reporting tools to provide a comprehensive overview of your hotel’s performance.

2. Enhance Online Reach Via Channel Manager

It is super important to promote your hotel online and improve its visibility to increase bookings.

One of the most effective ways is to list your hotel on one of the popular OTA channels, such as Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, etc.

These platforms have a large user base and can help you widen your reach. 

A good way to distribute your hotel across multiple channels and platforms is to opt for a Channel Manager.

Besides multiple-channel distribution, it also syncs all the booking info in real time and minimizes double bookings.

hotel-channel-manager-features-and-benefits

? ProTip:

OTA SYNC’s Channel Manager has a 2-way connection that lets you seamlessly sync across all channels simultaneously to prevent overbooking, all from a single dashboard.

ota-sync-channel-manager

It has native integration with our PMS, meaning you can see the occupancy and room status in real time, as well as any changes or updates.

3. Increase Direct Bookings

Listing your hotel on OTAs is a great way to boost its online presence, but they charge a commission fee.

Thus, being active on more than one can quickly become quite hefty. 

An effective counterbalance is to use the Booking Engine to combine indirect channels, such as OTAs, with direct channels like your website.

This way, you can maximize your overall reach and enhance commission-free direct bookings.

The Booking Engine gives your guests more power since they can make bookings directly and choose desired add-ons, such as breakfast, parking spots, etc.

? ProTip:

If you opt for OTA SYNC’s Booking Engine, you get a mobile-friendly solution that provides your guests with live availability and rates, upsell and cross-sell possibilities, etc.

This way, you can maximize your website’s potential while decreasing dependence on OTAs.

4. Adapt to Market Conditions

Nothing ever stands still in the hospitality industry, and one of the biggest mistakes you can make is not adapting.

Keep your eyes open to changing trends, conditions and demands so that you can act promptly.

Dynamic pricing can be a great assistant regarding adjusting room rates in real time based on various factors such as:

✨ Demand, 

✨ Seasonality, 

✨ Market trends, 

✨ Competitor pricing and 

✨ Booking patterns.

Depending on the above factors and your hotel’s historical data, you can predict when demand will be high or low and set the optimal price.

common-types-of-dynamic-pricing

The principle behind it is quite straightforward: 

You increase prices during periods of high demand, such as weekends, holidays, and peak seasons, and decrease them during low-demand periods to attract more bookings.

? ProTip:

With OTA SYNC, you can apply special rules for certain periods and seasons and dynamically adjust room rates to reflect changing demand levels.

ota-sync-special-rules

5. Diversify Revenue Streams

Your revenue doesn’t have to come only from bookings but also from various upselling options, promotions, special offers, and discounts.

These little treats won’t burn your budget, but they will help attract more guests and keep the previous ones returning.

For example, you can offer upgraded room options, premium services, or add-ons, spa services, dining packages, or special amenities.

Besides generating more revenue, personalized promotions and discounts can build strong customer relationships and loyalty.

? ProTip:

Did you know that with OTA SYNC, you can use promotional and discount codes to say “thank you” or attract new guests with promotional offers?

These codes are fully customizable, thus, you can set different parameters, such as early booking or last-minute deals, etc.

Moreover, you can choose which room type and pricing plan the promotion will apply to, its duration, and so on.

ota-sync-promotional-and-discount-codes

6. Boost Your Hotel Brand

OTAs and your hotel’s website are great sources to make your hotel brand more visible, but they shouldn’t be the only ones.

It would be a pity not to leverage the power of social media and influencer marketing. You don’t have to be active on all social media platforms, but rather focus on those where your target audience ‘lives.’

Try to be authentic and produce high-quality content such as blog posts, videos, virtual tours, and guest testimonials.

Your main goal should be to showcase your hotel’s unique features, amenities, and offerings.

In addition, you can use social media to introduce special time-limited offers and promotions.

? ProTip:

Want to benefit from influencer marketing? 

OTA SYNC enables you to easily share your booking engine link with any influencer and let them earn a preselected commission each time a guest makes a reservation through them.

7. Go Mobile

Considering that almost 50% of guests book accommodation over their mobile phones, having a mobile-friendly website is paramount.

In addition, potential and future guests expect the mobile version to have the same functionalities and be as appealing as the website.

Making your website mobile-friendly will add to a seamless booking experience. 

? ProTip:

OTA SYNC has a free supreme mobile app for Android and iOS. 

This app matches all the functionalities of the web PMS version to manage all the operations on the go.

ota-sync-mobile-app

8. Boost Guest Experience

Most of the steps we’ve covered so far have a common denominator – improving guest experience. 

Catering to your guests and providing them with the ultimate guest experience can vary from upselling options over room amenities to welcome cocktails and fruit baskets.

However, creating a positive guest experience isn’t only about promotions and gifts. 

It is, first and foremost, about providing a personalized and customized booking experience.

Besides a well-trained and helpful staff, technology can greatly improve guest satisfaction from pre- to post-stay.

Think about contactless services, digital messaging, self-service apps, etc., as a great means to enhance the overall guest experience.

? ProTip:

We’ve created a Guest App that adapts to your guests’ needs and gives them the freedom to design their own stay through add-ons and extras.

Furthermore, the automated messaging feature enables you to send a range of personalized messages at different stages of the guest journey. 

From a practical point of view, this means you don’t have to manually send emails to each guest—the system will automatically send them at the desired time.

ota-sync-automated-message-feature

9. Secure Guests’ Data

Ironically, technological advances have increased data security methods, but at the same time, they’ve provided a fertile ground for identity theft, tampering with sensitive information, and fraud.

Thus, choosing a reliable and secure system is a must when processing online booking payments and storing guests’ info.

There are 3 key parameters a trustworthy system should have:

  • PCI DSS compliance.
  • End-to-end encryption.
  • 3D secure authentication.

This way, you will maintain guest trust, comply with regulations, and safeguard sensitive information.

? ProTip:

OTA Payments meets the industry’s highest security standards and offers multiple layers of security, so you can rest assured that we process and store your guest data safely.  

ota-sync-security-standards

The 256-bit SSL encryption transmits all data safely while automated processes reduce the risk of fraud, theft, or manual errors.

10. Make Informed Decisions

Whatever decision you want to make regarding your hotel operations and future actions, always, and we really mean always, back up that decision with valid data.

One of the worst things you can do is make business decisions based on your gut feeling or, even worse, stay inflexible and ignore changes.

Again, thanks to technology, you can gain insights into every little detail of your hotel performance, revenue, occupancy rate, and all other relevant metrics.

It is only with these analytics that you should plan your next move.

? ProTip:

Once you sign up for OTA SYNC, you’ll benefit from robust analytics and advanced revenue, finance, and in-hotel operations reporting.

Therefore, you can get detailed analytics on:

  • Occupancy rate
  • Length of stay
  • Number of reservations
  • Arrivals by channels and countries, 
  • Pace reports, etc.
ota-sync-analytics

Furthermore, you can receive any specific report via email at a desired frequency without manually adjusting parameters.

How To Improve  Hotel Business With OTA SYNC?

Choosing the right PMS can streamline and facilitate hotel operations in ways you probably can’t imagine.

Besides providing robust hotel managing solutions, the PMS helps you build better rapport with your guests.

With OTA SYNC, you’ll get an all-encompassing PMS solution focusing on hotel management and guest experience.

What makes our solution so special?

✨ Do onboarding in a day without needing external assistance, making it a great solution for newbies.

✨ Create unlimited invoices where our tool pulls all info automatically, so you should just choose the status and insert additional services.

✨ Manage hotel chains from a centralized hub and have a clear overview of the occupancy, payments, etc., in our drag-and-drop color-coded calendar.

ota-sync-centralized-hub

✨ Explore premium features such as the SPA & Wellness management solution to automate appointment scheduling, client management, and resource allocation.

✨ Connect to all major payment gateways to accept guests’ online payments in multiple currencies and through various online, in-store, or mobile channels.

And the list goes on.

Ready to take our tool for a spin?

Start your 14-day Free Trial and improve how you run your hotel with minimal effort.

Keep Learning:

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9 Functions of Property Management System To Choose the Right One

Posted on by Marija Glavonjić

Several things should be considered when discussing the functions of a property management system (PMS). 

A good PMS is just as important as having a great staff to manage your operations. 

It is crucial for managing reservations, check-ins, housekeeping tasks, and optimizing activities that generate revenue and room rates. 

Every hotelier’s dream is to streamline every part of their workflow, making your team more efficient and increasing revenue. 

By knowing what functions are needed, you can use technology to your advantage.

In this article, we’ll list some key functions to help you understand what your software should include to choose the right PMS for your business.

Let’s begin!

How Can a PMS System Help Your Business?

A property management system (PMS) is software that helps you organize, schedule, and manage your accommodation business’s daily tasks. 

Depending on the software, it can handle reservations, front and back office tasks, channel and revenue management, guest communication, maintenance, housekeeping, and so on.

While PMS software has traditionally been used by hotels, it is now used by various types of properties, including:

Your software needs will differ depending on the type of property you manage. 

Many PMS systems allow you to choose the modules and functions that best suit your property’s size and type.

The question is: Which modules and functions are best for you?

Let’s take a closer look at the key features and functions of a property management system.

9 Functions Of Good Property Management System

1. Reservation Management

Managing reservations is a key part of a property management system (PMS) because avoiding overbooking is crucial for keeping your business running smoothly. 

A good property management system (PMS) lets you handle guest bookings online. 

You should be able to easily handle online bookings, keep track of reservation details and special requests, and check room availability.

When picking a PMS, choose one that: 

  • Lets you automate tasks and manage reservations from any device, as modern hotel managers are often on the move. 
  • It provides you with a great design, so it’s easy to see and search for reservations based on different criteria to avoid missing details. 
  • For group bookings, ensure the system can handle large groups, including room blocks, sending booking links, and managing billing information effectively.

Pro tip:

With OTA Sync’s property management, you can easily manage your daily operations from one place.

Our multi-property dashboard allows you to easily manage multiple properties from a centralized dashboard.

Whether you run hotels, hostels, villas, rentals, or other properties, the dashboard shows all your properties and additional booking information.

2. Online Booking Engine

Selecting a PMS software with a booking engine that doesn’t charge commissions can be crucial for your hotel’s growth. 

It simplifies the booking process, helping you attract more direct bookings and lessen dependence on OTAs. 

This gives hotels more control over their inventory and pricing.

Besides that, it makes booking easier, reduces reliance on online travel agencies (OTAs), and increases revenue by avoiding intermediary fees.

With a PMS including a booking engine, integration concerns are minimized. 

Ensure the booking engine integrates smoothly with your website and social media, prioritizing fast loading and user-friendliness, particularly on mobile devices.

Pro tip:

With OTA Sync’s booking engine, you can allow your guests to see live availability and rates, along with special offers, to boost direct bookings on your website.

Just connect it with your website, set your offer and the information you want to show, and you’re ready to go.

3. Channel Management

A great PMS function that can help you improve your business allows you to share your inventory across online distribution channels and sync information with your PMS in real-time. 

A channel manager helps you increase your online visibility and bring more bookings and profit. 

Whether you need to update availability or change rates, you can do everything in your PMS and have it automatically updated across booking channels. 

What’s great is that new online bookings go directly to your PMS, so you’re always in control of your occupancy and can act quickly if needed. 

You should look for a channel manager with strong two-way connections to major online travel agents (OTAs) such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia, GDS providers, and more.

Pro tip:

With OTA Sync channel manager you can easily manage all your listings from one place.

Just connect and synchronize your OTA channels, and you’re ready to go.

4. Payment Processing

If a PMS you’re considering lacks a payment processor or payment gateway that accepts various credit cards or integrates with a point of sale system (POS), you’ll need to handle payments manually. 

This involves tasks like reporting, reconciliations, and managing chargebacks, all of which increase the risk of errors when done manually and the amount of tasks you have to deal with.

Having an integrated payment processor with your PMS can help you simplify guest payments and accounting while also ensuring more accurate reports. 

It will help you remove the unnecessary tasks so you can focus on what you do best – running your business and improving your guest service.

Pro tip:

With OTA Payments, a fully integrated payment gateway, you can instantly process payments on automation with just a single click.

When your future guests make a reservation, they can easily and reliably pay the accommodation charges and other fees, such as taxes and extra services.

5. Housekeeping & Maintenance Management

When a property management system includes a housekeeping function, tasks like assigning room cleaning to the right staff and updating room status become easier. 

A housekeeping report is part of this functionality. 

It ensures that hotel rooms have an adequate supply of toiletries, soap, shampoo, and clean towels. 

This feature enables housekeeping staff to manage room status efficiently and ensure guests have the necessary bathroom supplies.

With the OTA Sync PMS, you can assign employees to clean specific rooms. 

Just create a maintenance report of what needs to be changed or cleaned, and you can easily print this report and provide it to your housekeepers. 

Once they’ve completed their tasks, you can update room statuses, simplifying guest check-ins.

6. Guest Management

Customized service plays a vital role in building customer loyalty within the hospitality industry. 

Guest profiles and engagement tools can help you customize your services to meet each guest’s preferences and requirements, ensuring that every guest feels valued and respected. This personalized approach enhances the overall guest experience, boosting the likelihood of repeat bookings and positive feedback.

Opt for a solution offering messaging functionality and upsell capabilities to streamline this process, deliver exceptional customer service, and increase revenue through upgrades and additional services.

By delivering personalized service, you can cultivate a sense of loyalty and belonging among guests, leading to increased customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

Pro tip: With OTA Sync, you can provide personalized services to your guests, optimize menu pricing, and attract them with upsells while driving more revenue to your hotel.

To make everything easier, you can also send them a confirmation email or an invoice directly from the app.

7. Revenue Management

Managing revenue is one of the most critical features because a hotel or any business can’t thrive without making money. 

A good PMS should simplify revenue management by helping you get direct bookings and increase profits by reducing costs. 

Look for reporting features that let you see and analyze if your strategy is effective.

With the ability to see and analyze results, you can easily tweak your revenue strategy as needed. 

This includes managing group rates, package deals, and customized rates.

8. Reporting and Analytics

Reports are fundamental elements of a property management system. 

They provide valuable data to enhance your property’s performance and help you make smart decisions.

Your PMS stores reservation details, rates, and occupancy data, making it easy to generate reports.

These reports cover various aspects of hotel operations, from revenue and occupancy rates to guest satisfaction and operational efficiency, providing a complete view of your performance.

Pick a tool that makes data management and reporting easy and lets you customize reports and access real-time data. 

With a cloud-based PMS, you can easily access this data, respond to demand shifts, adjust strategies, and optimize operations to boost revenue and efficiency.

Make sure the system lets you set target metrics so you can track progress toward your business goals.

Pro tip:

Imagine you’re advertising your properties using OTA channels such as Airbnb, Booking and others.

With OTA Sync Statistics, you can easily track your performance in real-time, create reports, and understand what channel brings you the most of bookings and revenue.

You can also analyze the performance Month over month and discover from which countries you have the most arrivals.

Based on this acknowledgment you can adapt your strategies, run Ads within those countries to maximize your bookings.

9. Integration Capabilities

Efficient communication with other hotel systems and third-party apps is essential for improving workflow efficiency. 

Modern PMS allows you to connect with various systems, such as POS (Point of Sale), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and channel management platforms.

Ensure your PMS is equipped with numerous features and a user-friendly interface, which can significantly enhance operational efficiency and enhance guest satisfaction for modern hotels.

Pro tip:

You can integrate OTA Sync with various platforms easily and manage data or functions your customers have straight from the app.

Just choose to customize the native widgets we provide or use our API to develop your own solution.

Choose the Best Property Management System

Choosing the best property management system for your needs can be a crucial move in running your hotel business.

Not all property management software are the same. 

If you’re still unsure which PMS to choose, check out this article on the 7 Best Hotel POS Systems to help you choose the perfect solution for your business. 

Modern systems combine many functions into one piece of software to make managing guests and the hotel easier and smoother.

That’s how OTA Sync was founded – to help hoteliers and rental managers get everything their need for their rental property in one place.

Besides providing you with each of these functions, OTA Sync helps you:

  • Do Advanced Invoice Operations and split or merge them by item, room, guest, amount, etc.
  • Easily set up different taxes, adjusting to different markets to avoid legal disputes.
  • Do Fiscalization and automate communication with digital fiscal machines and Government tax.
  • Check the Cash Register at the start and end of each day to see revenue, deposits, withdrawals, and so on.

Ready to explore our free trial account before making a decision?

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and discover how OTA Sync can help you automate your hotel and vacation rental business today!

How to use Airbnb: Beginners quick guide

Posted on by Marija Glavonjić

Airbnb is one of the fastest-growing booking platforms in the world. This American company was founded in 2008, and before it experienced its commercial success, it faced numerous ups and downs, since there were at least three separate launch attempts.

Today, with its unique approach, it provides support, guarantees, tools and inevitably records successes, which are believed to be in the long run.

The concept of Airbnb is quite simple, and provides much more than can be seen. Therefore, in the continuation of the blog, we discover what Airbnb is, we bring you useful tips for its efficient use, as well as its advantages.

What is Airbnb?

Airbnb is an online platform that connects people who want to rent out their accommodation with people looking for accommodation in that place.

It covers over 100,000 cities and 220 countries worldwide. Airbnb comes from the abbreviation “air mattress bed and breakfast”.

It features a variety of filters, which helps guests find the right accommodation, a chat that connects accommodation publishers and guests directly, as well as handling secure payments through the site.

Airbnb takes a 3% commission on bookings, as well as a 6% -20% fee for guest services. Another option is a fixed commission of 15% paid by the accommodation publishers, and guests do not pay an additional fee for using the platform.

In addition to accommodation, Airbnb also offers the possibility of booking certain tourist events, tours, excursions or experiences.

Advices on how to optimise your Airbnb

Using Airbnb is easy. It is important to attract and keep the attention of guests right at the beginning, so below we show you a few simple and useful tips for using Airbnb, which can potentially bring you more reservations:

Respect for local laws

Before creating an account and publishing accommodation, it is important to check local laws, as well as the insurance of the homeowner or accommodation publisher.

This is very important because it allows all owners and publishers to check whether they can report as hosts on Airbnb, as well as to inform them of any potential limitations that may arise in that case.

Failure to comply with local laws can attract fewer guests, and ultimately affect profits, and can also potentially mean that insurance will leave you out in the event of serious damage to your property.

Creating an account

The second step involves creating an Airbnb account. So, if you are renting a room, apartment or house, you need to click on “Sign up” and create your account, which is completely free, and then on the “Switch to hosting” option located in the upper right corner.

After creating the account, you need to verify it, by submitting several documents that confirm your identity.

In the host mode, on the icon “Create a listing”, which is also located in the upper right corner, you can create accommodation, which offers different options depending on what you rent (room, apartment, house ..), what is the accommodation capacity, number of rooms , bathrooms, amenities offered by the accommodation, availability, as well as a specific location.

In the “Listings” section, located in the upper corner, you can find the published accommodation and access any modifications to the accommodation information.

Focus on a good title, photos and unique descriptions

The title of your entry is what guests read first, so you need to make it as interesting and curious as possible. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the unique aspects and benefits that your accommodation offers.

Photos are unavoidable and very important, they should be of high quality, good resolution, taken from wide angles. Potential guests will first notice the cover photo, so it would be desirable to post one that shows the best angle of your accommodation, so that guests are delighted from the very beginning. Photos are advised to be horizontal to show as much detail as possible.

The space for describing your accommodation gives you the opportunity to impress guests with words. Highlight what makes your holiday accommodation special and convenient. This is also an opportunity to present all the wonderful facilities that you offer, in order to make your stay more pleasant, but also additional notes that you want to emphasize.

Showing positive reviews

Showing positive reviews creates a good perception of your advertised accommodation, and instills more trust in potential guests.

You can collect good reviews by meeting or exceeding their expectations.

Advertise on multiple OTA channels

In addition to the many benefits offered by Airbnb, it is advisable to be connected to several different OTA channels, in order to increase your exposure.

Each channel brings with it a diverse audience, so by using multiple channels you can attract a larger number of different guests.

A serious drawback that occurs is the occurrence of double reservations, which can be eliminated by using the Channel Manager system.

With the help of the Channel Manager system, you can automatically synchronize all calendars, reservations and prices from different sites, to one control panel. Establishing control through the central board eliminates the possibility of duplicating reservations.

Communicating with guests

The options offered by Airbnb are numerous, so when you receive a reservation request, you can negotiate directly with your guests.

In order to make the job as easy as possible, it is desirable to state expectations or some specifics about your accommodation, which will be useful to guests.

Also, you are able to communicate with guests via chat, as well as write comments of up to 500 words (applies to both hosts and guests).

Advantages of using Airbnb

Free advertising – setting up your accommodation via Airbnb is free. The hosts can post photos, descriptions, location and all other relevant information that is important for booking guests.

Setting your price – Another benefit is that the hosts can set the price they want for the night, week or month.

Protection – For eligible countries, there is a high level of protection in case of damage caused by guests.

Why do you need hotel management software?

Posted on by Marija Glavonjić

Even if you run a smaller hotel or apartments, with a few units, you can get great benefits from hotel management software. A variety of software is at your fingertips, and each carries special benefits.

WHICH SOFTWARE ARE THERE?

From small Bed’n’Breakfast facilities to large hotel chains, there are dozens of different software on the market, all with the same goal, to make it easier for you to run the hotel and use time more efficiently with an improved user experience for both you and your guests.

There is a special power when you have greater and clearer control over your object when you can easily control all functions in the overview system and use your time more efficiently. Numerous software can help you with this, and we offer several of the most important ones:

Channel manager system – this powerful tool may be one of the most important systems an object can have. The possibilities of this system are wide, but the most important thing is that you can be advertised on over 50 online sales channels at any time and that you have all the calendars of these channels connected. When calendars are connected, you minimize the possibility of inconveniences, such as overbooking (double booking), inconvenience due to poorly set prices on a particular site, etc.

Property management system – If you want to clearly monitor the condition of your facility at any time, reservations for rooms/apartments, analytics, and many other options, this system is ideal for you. In case it can connect to your channel manager system, then you have a winning combination with which you greatly improve your business.

Booking engine – Also called online reception. It is an improvement that can be implemented on your website and some social networks (eg Facebook). As such, it represents another type of reservation channel, for which you do not pay large commissions according to other sites. This add-on gives your guests the opportunity to book some of the facilities you offer directly through the site, without the need for inquiries. This feature enhances the experience of your guests and provides them with security as they do not have to spend their time waiting for a response, whether the unit is available for selected dates. They receive this information directly through this system, fill in the necessary reservation data, and book their stay in your facility.

APPRECIATE YOUR TIME

Every professional in their business has reinforcements, these are often partners, hotel employees, or people who help you balance your obligations from time to time. New technologies are your perfect business partner! Automation and optimization of business activities lead to more efficient use of time.

In case you advertise your apartments/villa/hostel or hotel on a number of sites (Booking, Airbnb, Expedia, HostelWorld, HotelBeds…) then you know how much time is spent on synchronizing the calendar (changes in prices and availability). Add to that a larger number of accommodation units, an increased number of reservations and you get the ideal combination that you need an additional person (minimum one) who will monitor reservations in real-time from all sites, synchronize information and potentially enter data into the program you use, for example, Excel.

Human error, the inability to observe all channels for 24 hours, a slow computer, and many other factors can be a source of damage in business. Therefore, the above systems appear as a solution. When all functions in the systems are properly adjusted, harmonized with the facility policy, then all risks are minimized, and the person or persons who were forced to closely monitor all sources of reservation and adjust them, are now relieved of this burden and can take their time to dedicate to guests.

You are already busy enough. Sales planning, problem-solving in apartments or rooms, communication with guests, communication with competent authorities, with agencies, etc. they require you to have top concentration and enough time. When you automate booking activities, then you can further dedicate your time to improving the experience of your guests, organizing additional activities in the facility, negotiating with suppliers, and leaving you free time for yourself.

A well-organized and customized hotel system is your partner and friend that will pay off through time savings and increased bookings.

YOUR GUESTS HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Little things such as decorations, organizing activities, extra attention, perfectly clean apartments / rooms, as well as excellent service are what will cheer up your guests, complete their stay and convince them to stay with you again. This process starts from the moment when the guest wants to book a vacation:

  • Booking engine on your site will make it easier for potential guests to access all the necessary information and speed up the booking.
  • Your channel manager will coordinate availability on all other sites when the guest makes a reservation.
  • The property management system will show you or your employees the current condition of the facility.

Your guest has now arrived, you have used the extra time to organize a special kind of attention for the guest or to train the staff on how to have a more pleasant approach in communication with the guests, and the arrived guest is satisfied with how everything has gone so far. The rest of the guest experience is now in your hands and it’s time to show what sets you apart from the competition.

Don’t forget to look for a system that is in line with your needs, that has functions in line with the modern market offer and that will be a minimal financial burden for your business.