DOH B2B Online Booking System

INTRODUCTION

The Internet is here to stay, and many businesses have made their first leap to the Internet with a web site, and many are now moving forwards using the Internet, not only as an advertising and promotion platform, but as an active business platform.

The great thing about the Internet is that it can be used as the great equalizer for small and mid-sized businesses. The smallest Bed and Breakfast can today have as great a web presence as the largest 5 star hotels through their web site.

Whether your site is for yacht charters, horse riding classes, or anything else, if your products and services can be booked, reserved or rented, you may want to try to make the web site work for your business all year round.

You may have asked yourself why so many small businesses are so interested in getting an online reservation system on their web site.

ADVANTAGES TO HAVE ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM

Let we review on the some of the advantages to have online booking system

1) Open 24/7 to receive reservations

Many customers surf the Internet outside of business hours and they are more likely to make reservations on the spot that trying to remember to call back the next day. Statistics show that more and more bookings today are made during the evening at home online. The reasons for this are two fold. Firstly, many companies now monitor and control Internet access in the workplace, and secondly, nearly every home today has an Internet connection and a PC or laptop. If your normal business hours are 9 to 5, then you have no one to take bookings after 17:00, and this is when we now know most online bookings occur. An Online booking system allows you to receive booking 24 hours a day; therefore, your “booking service” is always open.

2) Minimize your workload

If you are not using an online booking system today, then you may still be processing all your bookings manually. A good online booking system will handle all the aspects of the booking. It must at a minimum, do the following :

• Automatically ensure that bookings can only be received when you have availability
• Get ALL the information required during the booking process so you don’t have to waste time   asking for more information
• Send out an automated email to the booking party as a confirmation of the booking
• Automatically update your availability when the booking has been processed

A good booking system will do all this.Also make sure your booking system does not just handle the online bookings, but handles email, phone and walk-in bookings as well.

3) Commission Free

Whether you are paying for direct advertising, or paying a commission for bookings through booking portals, in either case, you are paying a portion of your income to these sources. If you have an online booking system on your own website, you have then cut out the middleman. Another important point when using commissioned portals is that your business is promoting them as much as they are promoting you, and with the Internet, you might as well just focus on promoting your own business.

4) Clear and Simple Overview

Your online booking system should have at least one screen where you can see your availability very quickly and clearly. This removes the need for the old paper book, and allows your reception staff to easily see whether you have availability or not.

Align with the development of the technology and internet some of the big travel agent in Kuala Lumpur are now looking forward to have  their own online booking system. All of them are already realized the important for them to have their own B2B Online Booking Platform. Same goes to my company Discovery Overland Holidays Sdn Bhd. 

HISTORY HOW IT WAS STARTED AT DISCOVERY OVERLAND HOLIDAYS

Let me start a bit a about the history of how our B2B Online Booking Engine how and when it was started. The system is called TravFlex. My company bought this system somewhere in 2007 from the supplier in Thailand. Since our majority client from overseas and we are working in different time zone, management feels like it is important to have our own online booking system. At least we can run the business 24/7 and not only during normal office hour.

Previously when my company bought the system they don't have any specific team  to handle this system. All this while the responsible is been handle by another department which called Tourplan department. Beside taking care this online system, Tourplan department their main task is handling our inhouse booking system. Only last 2 years, management decide there should have a team or department to take care this system in term of maintaining the rate in the system, handle all the problem related to the system while for the booking reservation part still will be handle by the reservation department. Now under this department there are 3 person who will be taking care of this system to make sure everything is run smoothly as planned. Now let's move on to the system capabilities. What is actually this system all about and their capabilities.

The system actually consist  a few module that client need to choose. Each module is charge separately. For my company at this moment we only have this XML Buyer & Seller Module & B2B Module plus the Back Office Administrator Management Module. This TravFlex system is the complete Travel Booking Solution with B2B (Business to Business) Concept. TravFlex is sophisticated Internet-based Reservation System for Hotel booking, Transfer, Sightseeing and Tour packages that can serve any size of Tour Operator in single or multiple locations.

TravFlex is ideal alternative for manually tracking the customers and reservations. Tour Operator no longer need to keep stacks of paper or loose customer details. TravFlex is the latest product of our company. With this booking Engine Tour Operator can connect each other from anywhere on the world.

TravFlex is technologically advanced, web based with back office system that is suitable for Travel Industry in any location or multiple locations. Data transfer is made much easier with less time by effective use of XML Technology.

SOFTWARE OVERVIEW

This are some of the software overview :-

• Online Hotel Accommodation, Transfer, Sightseeing & Tour Packages and it's related Management
• Community interface for group and association websites.
• Return availability with instant confirmation that generates with automatic invoices and related vouchers.
• Agent can reserve multiple hotels at one time in same or different destinations.
• Ability for Agent to choose from multiple rates.
• Ability to charge payments for reservations with the payment gateway to bank accounts.
• Customizable hotel booking and hotel vouchers and invoices.
• "Advance Search" for checking the Hotel in any particular city and particular country.
• Highly Configurable and easy to Use
• Inventory multi level with MIS reports
• Analyse Reservation Patterns & automatic Calculations
• Unlimited user
• Ready XML API
• PNR handling
• Rates management
• Reservations management
• External multi rates from different suppliers
• Additional information management (pictures, facilities, description, Pax type etc)
• Multi-Currency Pricing management
• Different selling rates management
• Online payment management Credit Card, Credit Limit and BOPO (Book Online , Pay Offline)
• Operational Accounts receivable management
• Operational Accounts payable management
• Agent & credit control management
• Design and printing and control of operational documents, (vouchers, receipts, invoices, itineraries, requests, lists etc.)
• Tools to analyses Costing and profitability
• Suppliers and other travel services via XML
• Interfacing to Internal and external systems.
• Promotions management - Bonus Night / Last minute booking / Specify & Rolling Early Bird / Minimum Stay / Long Stay pay less
• Full White Label Private Solution management with accounting
• XML [buy IN] Platform – connection to unlimited number of suppliers with rates comparison tools
• XML [sell OUT] Platform for all products and be able to send rates from your own DB or from 3rd party XML suppliers
• CRM system
• Multiple rate plan options
• Multiple room bookings
• Multiple room type bookings
• Real Time Inventory
• Best Child Policy
• Pre-set package Bookings
• Online cancellation / Amendment
• Instant confirmation with automatic email notification
• E-vouchers
• Agency / corporate Credit management
• Reports
• Nationality of Guest report
• Product turnover
• Commission report
• Agent Gross sales
• All Production Statistic reports

Here I would like to tell you more about our DOH B2B Online Booking System. How the system works actually.

Normally agent who are interested to use our system they are required to register online with us. What we need from them is their company details basically.From there our e-commerce team  will create agent ID, username & password and send back to them with the user manual

Now they can start to use the system. Once they log in into the system, system will bring them to the first page. In this section agent just fill up the necessary info such as pax passport (nationality), destination country & destination city check in & check out date and how many rooms paxs required and click search. 

After that system will show all the list of hotels that we have key in the rates in to the system. Basically those hotels we have allotment will show first in the list  and followed by hotel we don't have allotment. Allotment means hotel have agreed to reserved to us rooms on guaranteed basis. Which mean whenever client booked, hotel will confirm straight away the room for us. Whereby if we don't have any allotment than is subject to availability upon receive the booking.

Over here agent can see what is the room price , the cancellation policy, hotel information such as the facitlity, hotel description, hotel picture and the maps also can be found it here.

Next step is agent click the book button and system will bring them to this page. Now  agent fill up the guest particular click next button. 

On the last page agent can view the total amount for the booking. Once everything in order and they have agreed with the price and term and condition they just click confirm button. At the same time system will send us  email to inform there is new booking and system also will send the booking form automatically to hotel. Our team just need to follow up with hotel either they have received the email or not. Currently in this system client can booked packages, transfers & tours using the system. But we more focus to hotel bookings only.

Regards to the invoice and hotel voucher agent can get it from the system.