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In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, tour businesses must take two steps to stay competitive. First, to streamline operations, and second, to boost customer satisfaction.
Adopting an online booking and reservation system is the best first step you can take. This digital tool not only saves you time and money but also elevates the overall customer experience.
If you're wondering how to create a booking website that stands out, you've come to the right place!
In this comprehensive step-by-step guide, we'll walk you through setting up a top-notch booking website using TicketingHub, the industry-leading cloud-based booking software provider.
But first, we will refresh you with a few key points about booking systems - why it helps and how to choose one that best fits your tour type.
What you will learn:
- Why Use an Online Booking System?
- How to Pick the Right Booking System?
- TicketingHub: A Quick Overview
- Starting with TicketingHub: Step-by-step Guide
- Advanced TicketingHub Options
- TicketingHub: Success Stories
- TicketingHub: Final Thoughts
Why Use an Online Booking System?
"83% of US adults want to book their trips online"- StratosJets, 2022 Statistics
Implementing an online booking platform is a smart move for businesses looking to streamline operations, save time and money, and improve customer service.
Here are some reasons booking systems work:
- Time and cost efficiency: Accept bookings online with a booking widget, automate and centralize reservation processes, manage staff members, and process payments - thus reducing manual tracking and data entry work.
- Reduced risk of booking errors: Minimizes overbooking or double-booking by streamlining reservations.
- Enhanced customer experience: Offers real-time availability and instant booking confirmation sent to guests for a seamless booking journey.
- Valuable insights and analytics: Provides businesses with actionable data on customer behavior, so they can tailor their offerings and catch guests' interests.
Summary: The right online booking software can help you automate reservations, reduce booking errors, and give your business valuable insights to stay competitive while saving time.
How to Pick the Right Booking System?
"74% of travel agents surveyed believe buying and selling travel plans can be simplified. 86% of agents are in favor of modernizing the user experience to boost online travel sales"- Travelport
This is why, when choosing your online booking software, consider the key factors that your business and your customers need:
- Pricing: Ensure the system's cost aligns with your budget and offers value for money.
- Ease of use: Look for a user-friendly platform that simplifies the booking process.
- Customer support: Choose a provider with responsive and helpful customer service.
- Features and capabilities: Evaluate the range of functionalities offered to meet your business requirements.
Summary: To pick the right booking software, assess your business needs and compare providers based on pricing, ease of use, customer support, and offered features.
TIP: Don't forget to read customer reviews from software review sites like Capterra and G2 to make an informed decision.
TicketingHub: A Quick Overview
TicketingHub is an efficient and easy-to-use booking software built and designed for tour and activity businesses seeking to manage bookings and reservations, payments, and inventory effectively.
Key features of TicketingHub are:
- Real-time availability: Ensures up-to-date booking information for customers.
- Secure online payments: Provides a safe and reliable payment processing system with SSL certification.
- Customizable booking page and booking widget: Allows businesses to personalize the widget according to their branding and business goals.
- Integration with popular third-party tools: Easy integration with OTAs, payment gateways, digital waivers, turnstiles, and analytics tools.
- Affordable: Only charges 3% per booking and offers discount pricing for businesses earning over £2M in annual revenue
With TicketingHub, activity businesses can enable guests to book tickets online in real-time. They can also receive secure payments, customize features, and integrate third-party solutions seamlessly.
See TicketingHub on software review websites and compare alternatives:
Starting with TicketingHub: Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Sign up for an Account
- Schedule a free demo with TicketingHub to see how the software can be customized to fit your business needs. From setting up a booking flow for your tour type to achieving your goals, our team is here to help. You can also try the software for free with our trial option.
- Once you've signed up, the TicketingHub team will be helping you to start adding tours to your products page, customize the booking page or booking widget, and enable online payments.
How much does TicketingHub cost?
TicketingHub charges only 3% per booking. In special cases, if your business earns over £2M in annual revenue, contact us to discuss enterprise discount pricing options.
Step 2: Connect to payment gateways
- Go to your Account Settings Page
- Then navigate to Integrations> Payment Gateways
- Click the blue “Activate” button next to the Payment Gateway of your choice
- Please follow the on-screen instructions
Step 3: Add/Create a product
- Select "Create Product" from the dark menu bar (left side of the screen).
- Fill out all the required fields (you can change these later)
- Please Note: The contact details you enter here will be visible on the tickets issued to your customers.
Step 4: Manage Availabilities
Choose Between a Season or an Exception when setting up a product. What is the difference between season and exception?
- Select Season if you run the same tour/event/activity at least once a week
- Select Exception if you do one-off events or infrequent events (every two weeks, once a month, or once a year)
Season Events
- Log into your TH account
- Click on your product
- Click on "availability"
- Click "Create New Season"
- Choose a name that means something to you (e.g.: Summer, all year, etc)
- Choose a start and finish date (or leave the second box blank for ongoing)
- Click Create Season
- Click the plus symbol (green) to add a day, times, and capacity.
If you're using seasons, but you need to block out a specific date that you normally operate (eg: you're on vacation, there's Christmas, family day, etc), then you should use variations. Please refer to the "Change/Blocking out dates/availability or changing capacities" section for further information.
Exception Events
You set up a variation by selecting a single date or limited date range and setting the capacity.
- Log into your TH account
- Click on your product
- Click on "availability"
- Click "Create New Variation"
- Choose a name that means something to you (e.g.: Christmas Closure)
- For a single date, you only need to enter one date (left box)
- Click update season
- Click the green button (plus symbol) to add a new time and capacity.
Step 5: Create Tickets
TicketingHub has tiers and variants.
What's the difference?
- Tier- ticket type (Adult or a Child, etc.)
- Variants- category of tickets (24-hour & 48 Hour Tickets, Standard Tickets & Group Tickets)
First, create Tiers:
- Open your product
- Go to Tickets
- Create a new tier
- Fill in details and follow the on-screen prompts (as the picture shows below)
For more information about creating Tickets, go to [Product> Tickets> Edit Tiers> Advanced Settings of Tier]
NOTE: Upselling products is possible too. Feel free to contact us if you need assistance adding products for upselling.
Step 6: Create a booking widget
At TicketingHub, we strive to keep things simple and mobile-friendly - including in how we design our bookings widgets.
Statistics explain why and how it helps in boosting conversions:
"The usage of a mobile device to make travel bookings was at 31% in 2019 and rose to 37% in 2020. The mobile travel booking rate jumped to 41% in 2021."- SaleCycle
See how easy it is to install our booking widget in your backend.
- Go to Dashboard (top-left)
- Click on Widgets
- Then click on Create New Widget (top-right)
- Select your Products- add one or more products
- Select your Booking flow (Tickets, Calendar, or list view)
- Choose your brand colors- select your preferred colors according to your branding. To customize the widget and make it like yours, copy + paste the code on your servers and then go to edit the widget and add the CSS URL in the box.
- Select your currencies & languages- What currencies & languages do you want to support
- Copy the widget code (top right)
- Paste widget code into your site as HTML
Note: You can also add a countdown timer, custom question boxes, and products or merchandise for upselling. Please feel free to contact us for assistance. We can also give you suggestions on how to boost your booking widgets and pages for better conversions.
What integrations are available with TicketingHub?
TicketingHub integrates with various payment gateways, OTAs, analytics, and marketing tools to help you sell your services online, and in person.
Payment Gateways:
Click here to see our full list of supported payment types.
Online Travel Agencies:
See the full list: Visit our integrations page here.
Content Management Systems (CMS):
Explore our third-party tools (Hardware, Digital Waiver, and Analytics tools) to enhance your tour and activity business by visiting ticketinghub.com/integrations.
Don't worry if you're not tech-savvy - our team is here to support you every step of the way. And if you need help, our 24/7 chat support is available. We also have ready self-help articles on help.ticketinghub.com.
Here are some sample resources that our happy customers find helpful:
Advanced TicketingHub Options
#1 Automation and Notifications
TicketingHub's automation features simplify booking management by automating various tasks and keeping both your team and customers informed about booking status updates.
These key features include:
- Magic Link: Enables customers to modify their bookings without contacting customer service or waiting at the front desk. By clicking the link in their confirmation email, they can change or manage their bookings online.
- Waiting List: Helps you gauge interest in booking dates that aren't currently available and identify suitable alternatives for potential customers. This feature allows you to prioritize filling up popular tours while skipping those with less demand.
- Email Validator: Ensures the validity of customers' email addresses, reducing customer service calls and guaranteeing guests receive their tickets.
Do you know that?
These features are unique to TicketingHub. The magic link, waiting list, and email validator are custom-made features for our customers until they become regular features for everyone.
If your business type needs a specific feature, our technical team is open to hear from you. We are customer-driven since day one, and we love helping our clients grow.
#2 Custom Forms
Tailor your booking experience with TicketingHub's custom forms. These forms allow you to collect specific and relevant information from your customers during the booking process. This feature helps you gather valuable data and better understand your customers' preferences.
Who needs this feature?
The custom forms feature is ideally suited for private group tours, multi-day tours, food tours, or any type of tour/activity that needs the customer's preferences (food allergy, specific interests, special requests). This way, you can meet your customers' expectations and ensure they are satisfied.
#3 Reporting and Analytics
Unlock valuable insights into your booking data with TicketingHub's robust reporting and analytics features. By partnering with Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Facebook Pixel, TicketingHub empowers you to make informed business decisions through the analysis of trends, customer behavior, and overall performance.
#4 Guest's data privacy
TicketingHub's booking widget is SSL certified, ensuring a safe and secure online experience for guests. SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, is a robust encryption technology that creates a secure connection between a user's browser and the server, protecting sensitive data as it is transmitted.
For tour operators using TicketingHub, this means that any personal and financial information their guests provide during the booking process is safeguarded against unauthorized access or interception.
By choosing to book with TicketingHub, your guests can confidently complete their transactions, knowing that their data privacy and security is our top priority.
Summary: TicketingHub's advanced options, including automation, notifications, custom forms, reporting and analytics, and security, are designed to empower businesses to streamline their booking process and make data-driven decisions. So you can do more, grow, and save time.
TicketingHub: Success Stories
TicketingHub has been successfully implemented by many businesses to manage bookings and grow their operations.
Many of these success stories show how TicketingHub has enhanced customer experiences, streamlined operations, and led to increased revenue streams.
See how activity operators love growing with us.
Special Events
"TicketingHub has been a game-changer for Sound and Light Show since day one of onboarding their software. Their team is always looking for solutions and are eager to adapt to our ever-changing needs.” - Sameh Saad, Director of the Sound and Light Show
As a result, Egypt’s Sound And Light Shows ticket sales grew by over 500% with the help of TicketingHub.
City Tours
“We have grown massively this year, aggressive SEO combined with a top booking system has all come together to push to growth … We have never exceeded X /month with Checkfront! We are now in new waters. We currently over have 70% inbound visitors in comparison to pre-COVID.” - Chris, CEO of City Belfast Tours
Food Tours
The famous Secret Food Tours all began in one city with a passion for highlighting tantalizing and delectable foods that tourists overlook but locals revere.
Since the company was founded, they have amassed upwards of 5,000 5-star reviews and expanded to more than 60 cities worldwide.
Water Parks
The Lions Water Adventure Park grew ticket sales up to 400% in a year with TicketingHub.
[Read more happy customer testimonials here]
Key Takeaways: Creating a booking website with TicketingHub
Why use online booking software?
Online booking systems are essential for businesses to streamline operations and improve customer satisfaction.
How to choose the right online booking software?
To choose the right booking software, assess your business needs and compare providers based on pricing, ease of use, customer support, and features.
What is TicketingHub?
TicketingHub is an efficient and user-friendly online booking software designed for tour and activity businesses. We offer flexible pricing plans, easy customization options, integration with third-party tools, and expert support every step of the way.
With TicketingHub, you can revamp your business with our advanced features, including automation and notifications, custom forms, reporting and analytics, and APIs.
TicketingHub has helped many businesses, including The Lions Water Adventure Park, City Belfast Tours, Secret Food Tours, and Sound And Light Shows, grow their operations and enhance the customer experience.
Take the next step to improve your booking process and grow your business. Schedule a free demo with TicketingHub today!
FAQs:
Here is a step-by-step guide to creating an online booking website, along with some relevant information about online bookings:
1. How do I create an online booking website for my business?
Small business owners looking to create an online booking website can use a website builder like Wix or WordPress. These website builders offer pre-built templates and are user-friendly for those who don't have a lot of experience with HTML code.
Once you have chosen your website builder, you can integrate a booking software or system into your website. This will allow you to create an online booking page that customers can use to book appointments or services online.
Setting up your booking page involves customizing the design, selecting booking rules, integrating payment options, and launching your site.
2. What are the essential features of online booking software?
Online booking software comes with essential features such as real-time availability, secure online payments, calendar sync, analytics, and customizable booking forms.
In addition, mobile-friendly design, automated email confirmations, and easy cancellations are also important features to look for when choosing booking software.
3. How much does it cost to set up a booking website?
Costs for setting up a booking website can vary depending on the type of service you choose. DIY solutions like website builders and plugins can range from $50-$200 per year, while custom development can cost $2,000-$10,000+. Ongoing expenses like maintenance, updates, and security should also be factored in.
4. How can I integrate a booking system into my existing website?
Integrating a booking system into your existing website or booking page can be done by adding a plugin or embedding third-party software code. Follow the provider's setup instructions and customize the booking interface to match your existing site.
5. What is the best online booking software for small businesses?
The best online booking and scheduling software for small businesses are Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, and Amelia. These booking systems offer user-friendly interfaces, affordable pricing, and customizable features tailored for small businesses.
6. How do I customize my booking page to match my brand's look and feel?
Customizing your booking page to match your brand's look and feel is important for branding purposes. You can use built-in design tools, CSS, or pre-built templates provided by your booking software to modify colors, fonts, and layouts.
7. How can I accept online payments through my booking website?
You can accept online payments through your booking website by integrating a payment gateway like PayPal, Stripe, or Square. Set up an account, configure payment settings, and connect to your online reservation system for seamless transactions.
8. What are the benefits of using an online reservation system for my business?
The benefits of using an online reservation system for your business are increased bookings, 24/7 availability, reduced administrative work, improved customer experience, streamlined scheduling, and enhanced analytics and reporting.
9. How secure are online reservation systems, and what measures are taken to protect customer data?
Online reservation systems are secure with encryption, SSL certificates, and GDPR compliance. Providers use firewalls, intrusion detection, and regular security audits to protect customer data.
10. Can I use a reservation system to manage bookings for multiple locations or different types of services?
Yes, a booking reservation system can manage bookings for multiple locations or different types of services by allowing you to create separate calendars, set appointments for specific availability, and customize pricing and booking rules for each.
11. Are there any limitations or challenges when using an online booking software?
Limitations of online booking systems include potential technical issues, limited customization, and potential integration challenges. Ensure your chosen system meets your business needs, offers support, and regularly updates its features.
Using an online booking system can save time and allow you to self-book appointments, freeing up time spent on the phone with clients. Additionally, offering online bookings can attract new customers and offer discounts to loyal ones.
In a nutshell, online booking systems are important for businesses like beauty salons, personal trainers, and small businesses. By following this step-by-step guide, small business owners can create a booking website that will allow them to manage their appointments online.
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