hen today’s guests are looking for lodging, they want an instant and complete picture of their stay from the
travel experience to price and availability, all at a glance. They also want to book on their device of choice, whether it’s a mobile phone, PC, Mac, or tablet. They expect the booking process to be quick and painless and to communicate via their preferred method: phone call, email, text messaging. What guests want and expect is technology worthy of the world’s most sophisticated websites.
It’s a tall order for independent B&B owners. Especially when you consider that, in many travel destinations, inns need marketing beyond their website and social media. Now, B&Bs also need to be found on multiple OTA channels with competitive rates that can be adjusted daily.
Innkeeper’s Advantage Solves the Problem
“My husband Felix and I have always stayed at B&Bs for both business and leisure travel,” says Cindy Bachmann, a founding member of AIHP and President of Innkeeper’s Advantage. “Before starting my company, I was a Business and Technology Consultant. Felix, the company’s Chief Technical Officer, was a Senior Software Architect for CMU. In 2006, we stayed at a B&B and the innkeeper told us how frustrating it was to find an easy-to-use booking engine that didn’t confuse the guests. We got interested in the problems she described and went to work on a better solution. That was the inspiration behind Innkeeper’s Advantage,” Cindy explained.
A year later, Innkeeper’s Advantage (IA) offered the first 100% internet-based, SSL-secured B&B website with an integrated booking engine. That was 2007, well before cloud solutions were available. Now, ten years later, Innkeeper’s Advantage is still unique among B&B software, combining premium web design with Internet booking technology on a single domain. The company also offers the same software in a stand-alone booking engine for inns that have already invested in a website.
Innkeeper’s Advantage frees customers from the limits of template websites. Creative Director Matt Smerbeck works with innkeepers to customize their uniquely branded online presence. The customer service team configures the booking system to meet each B&Bs business needs for a branded and customized solution.
What Is the Advantage for Innkeepers?
The “Advantage” is that everything works together on one domain, giving guests a branded and smooth online booking experience. It displays the right information at the right time for each guest’s device, which makes booking smoother and faster. When B&B owners switch from other systems to Innkeeper’s Advantage, online bookings typically increase up to 30%.
Innkeeper’s Advantage integrated text messaging lets innkeepers create unique text or email messages and use touch-point timing for better hospitality service. As a result, they communicate before, during and after the stay, based on the guest’s phone, email and texting preferences.
Rate management and availability changes are reflected instantly on both the website and on OTAs like Expedia, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor. When the innkeeper changes text and image content, packages or specials, the responsive website is automatically changed on all devices – desktop, tablet, and smartphone. Innkeeper’s Advantage also integrates with various payment processing options.
How Does Innkeeper’s Advantage Compare?
Like most quality B&B property management systems, Innkeeper’s Advantage “checks the box” on essential functions such as online booking, packages, add-ons, discounts, rate and yield management, automated email, and reporting. The Innkeeper’s Advantage system enables guests to choose the exact room they want, rather than a room type: King, Queen, Full, etc.
“We also focus on less obvious yet important user features,” says Cindy, “such as convenient editing, calendar usability, flexible options, speed, security and customer support.”
Innkeeper’s Advantage is a PCI-compliant system, and it is designed to work across all Internet browsers, devices and operating systems (Mac or PC).
The team routinely adds functionality based on customer requests. “We structured the software so we can easily and continuously help innkeepers adapt to changing market conditions,” says Felix. For example, Innkeeper’s Advantage was the first to deploy a mobile booking engine in 2012. It was the first website or booking engine provider to release Google-specified Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in 2016, the fastest and most usable responsive mobile technology available.
“Right now, no other B&B Web design or booking engine firms offer AMP, giving our customers a competitive edge in mobile booking,” concludes Felix.
It All Works Together • Responsive Custom Web Design • Premium Booking Engine
• AMP Mobile • Drag & Drop Calendar • Sophisticated Rate Management
• Channel Management • Payment Processing • Affordable
Innkeeper’s Advantage
Wexford, PA
Phone: 724-933-3330
Email: [email protected]
www.innkeepersadvantage.com
Innkeeper’s Advantage Chief Technical Officer, Felix Bachmann and President, Cindy Bachmann
Creative Director, Matt Smerbeck
Meeting Guests’ Increasing Appetite
for Technology
“We structured the software so we can easily and continuously help innkeepers adapt to changing market conditions.”
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