13 minute read
Your Guide to Booking Software
You’ve done the hard work: you bought the land, built the accommodation and hired the staff – now guests just need to find you. Choosing the right booking platform is an integral part of the business, and yet it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of providers out there. International Glamping Business’ Annie Hilton got in touch with a few to find out what makes their system different, and how it can work for your site.
Hipcamp
Hipcamp
What makes your platform unique?
Hipcamp is the world’s largest provider of outdoor stays, covering North America, Australia, the UK, and France, and continuing to expand rapidly. We’re passionate not just about camping and glamping, but about connecting outdoor enthusiasts with farmers, vintners, smallholdings, and country estates. Our mission is to get more people outdoors and we believe that, by doing so, it will better protect outdoor spaces.
Can site owners host the booking software on their own website, or is it accessed exclusively through yours?
It’s not possible to share our calendar interface on your own website just yet but Hipcamp integrates with other leading independent booking systems that can help you do this, including real-time integrations with ResNexus in North America and Bedful in the UK.
Do you offer owners any other services e.g. marketing?
Hipcamp has a ready audience of millions of potential guests and we aim to help hosts showcase their glamping site as best as possible. We have over half a million followers across our Instagram channels alone, as well as an active community on Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Twitter. Listing on Hipcamp provides a lot more than just the ability to take bookings; it’s also a place for your business to be found by good-natured outdoor enthusiasts, a place for you to garner reviews and feedback, a place for guests to share photos of their stays, and a place for you to learn tips from other hosts. Additional benefits include comprehensive liability insurance, property damage protection, and a professional photography program, helping you get professional photography of your space for free.
Is your platform mobile-friendly?
Yes! Hipcamp is widely recognised as one of the most mobile-friendly websites in the industry and many of our hosts manage their glamping sites on their mobile phones more than on their desktop. Along with our website, Hipcamp also has a hugely popular app in North America and Australia, which is set to launch in the UK this spring.
What are the costs involved; is it commission or subscription-based?
There is no subscription, no set-up fee, and no upfront fee. It’s free to list on hipcamp. com and you only pay 12.5% (+VAT) commission on the bookings you receive.
How much pricing customisation is possible?
We try and strike the right balance between providing versatility for our hosts and an easy, user-friendly system for campers to search. There’s loads of flexibility. You can add high and low season pricing, different rates for weekends and weekdays, set fixed arrival and departure days, and add a minimum or maximum length of stay. Adding Extras, like food hampers or bags of logs, is easy and you can make some Extras compulsory, if, for example, you charge club membership fees to stay at your site.
What is your cancellation policy?
Hipcamp has a range of six cancellation policies, from the super flexible, where a camper can cancel at any time, to the super strict, where the camper needs to give more than a month’s notice for any cancellation and only receives a partial refund. You decide which policy best fits your business. Our cancellation policies have been tried and tested. They’re clear, concise, and easy to understand, which is why both hosts and campers have so much confidence in them.
Is there any way to identify troublesome guests, so they cannot make a repeat booking?
Yes, we have several functions to help if you have problem guests – as well as our friendly Support Team, who are always on hand to help you. It’s not just Hipcampers who get to review their stay; hosts can review Hipcampers too. This creates a useful network between hosts. You can also ‘flag’ your review to our team in instances where a camper has caused serious issues such as property damage, allowing us to further investigate the issue.
Campanyon
Campanyon
What inspired the creation of your platform; who’s the face behind the brand?
My co-founder Kristian and I have a love for the outdoors but couldn’t find one solution that covers the whole outdoors. While working at Google, we saw a huge spike and demand for outdoor stays. That’s why we started Campanyon in 2021 with the ambition to become the leading platform in Europe for campsites, RV spots, glamping, treetop houses and other unique nature stays. Within two years, we have more than 3.000 locations across Europe and Australia, with around 1,000 of them being glamping. With our experience of marketing, tech and the RV industry from Google, Indie Campers, and Sixt, we assist our hosts with any and all marketing and technical needs. Our goal is to be a companion for our hosts and campers – hence the name Campanyon.
What makes your platform unique?
We have become the fastest growing platform for nature stays across Europe and offer stays in more than 20 different countries. We support 10 languages to serve users from all over Europe and the world, both on our website and with live support for guests and hosts.
We do more than just connect offer and demand – we’re here to help the industry grow. The partnerships we are building in the glamping industry give our hosts the possibility to buy new glamping accommodation at a discounted price. Our marketing efforts reach new audiences to grow demand for outdoor stays.
Lastly, and as important, we want that growth to be sustainable. That’s why 1% of our revenue goes back to the planet.
Can site owners host the booking software on their own website, or is it accessed exclusively through yours?
The Campanyon booking platform is accessed through Campanyon, but we do offer our hosts the option to add a booking button they can place on their websites. We don’t demand exclusivity and hosts can keep using their own booking software alongside ours.
Is integration possible with other booking platforms?
Campanyon offers iCal synchronisation and direct integration with Ctoutvert/Secure Holiday and Newbook. We also synchronise calendars with Airbnb, Hipcamp, Vrbo, Google Calendar, Avail Calendar, Smoobu, Sirvoy, and are open to integrating other solutions.
We can also synchronise your listing with other platforms for increased exposure. Through Campanyon, you are then present on Google Vacation Rentals and some of the largest free camping apps in Europe, as well as other smaller players.
Do you offer owners any other services?
We offer our hosts help with the following:
- Google Ads
- Facebook & Instagram ads
- SEO optimisation
- Access to a partner network of 2.6m campers
- Presence in advertorials in both local and some of the biggest media outlets
- Network of nature influencers
- Photography
- Local support
What are the costs involved; is it commission or subscription-based?
Campanyon is a commission-based platform, where only 5% commission is charged from the host per booking, and currently no fee for campers.
What happens in the instance of a double booking?
We are always in close dialog with our hosts and campers, ensuring everything goes as it should technically and that calendars are synchronised across platforms. If a double booking does happen, our hosts are usually able to handle it themselves – but in case of unhappy campers, we help them find another location for the date or a discounted night for another date at the host. That discount is covered by Campanyon, of course.
How much pricing customisation is possible?
- Single pitch price
- Price for extra guest
- Price for different age groups (e.g. children)
- Price for weekdays and weekends (choose between Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
- Price for different high-seasons (from and to dates)
- Extras: Custom extras, pets, cleaning fee, etc.
- Discount for early bird, long stay and last minute bookings.
- Discount for 2, 3, 4, 7, 14 nights
- Coupons code upon request
Is there any way to identify troublesome guests, so they cannot make a repeat booking?
Campanyon includes a responsible camper guide for every booking and we incentivise guests and hosts to leave reviews. If any trouble comes up during a stay, that booking is flagged and we make sure to follow up and be a companion for both guests and hosts to understand the full story. When it’s clear that guests showed inappropriate behaviour, we block them for repeat bookings.
How much access does the site owner have to guest information?
The site owner has access to the following guest information, in addition to a chat.
- Full name
- Country
- Phone number
- Vehicle number (optional)
- Country
- Birthdate
Information for other guests is in the development pipeline.
What is your cancellation policy?
We offer the following cancellation policies:
- Super flexible: 24 hours before check-in
- Flexible: Less than 7 days before check-in
- Moderate: 14 days before check-in
- Strict: Less than 30 days before check-in and more than 14 days, 50% refund.
Guesty
Guesty
Who We Are
Guesty is the world’s leading property management software. Hospitality brands, glamping operators, professional hosts, and vacation and property managers all use Guesty’s platform to automate and streamline their operations including reservations, guest communication, operational tasks, cleaning management, and more.
The platform is designed to seamlessly manage and promote modern campsites –from yurts to high-end tents to airstreams –giving operators back their time to focus on providing guests with five-star experiences and growing their business.
How it Works
Guesty integrates with all the major booking OTA channels, including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, misterb&b, Tripadvisor, Expedia, Agoda, Trip.com, Hopper, Google travel products, direct booking websites and more. Guesty’s open API allows operators to manage glamping and RV listings on any channel, with step-by-step guidance from the company’s dedicated onboarding team.
How can you automate your glamping business operations with Guesty?
Guesty can help you automate several of your glamping and/or caravan park management operations, including pricing, payment processing and reviewing and communicating with guests.
Guesty’s Channel Manager simplifies channel onboarding and maintenance, providing a unified overview of distribution performance. Maximize channel capabilities while increasing exposure & bookings – all without ever having to juggle between multiple dashboards.
Revenue Management Tools manage and automate rates and availability from a single dashboard to boost revenues. They integrate dynamic pricing tools to adjust base rates according to real-time market performance and leverage automated pricing rules to fill occupancy gaps and adjust seasonal pricing.
Automate the guest experience with pre-stay, in-stay, and post-stay guest communication using Guesty’s Unified Inbox. Centralize all guest communications from email, OTA inboxes, SMS, WhatsApp, and more in one place.
What is the Guesty Marketplace?
The Guesty Marketplace of third-party partners directly integrates into your business operations, with 120+ partners offering tools to solve every last need of your business, including Operto, PriceLabs, Brivo, Duve, Safely, YourWelcome, Wheelhouse, Aloware, Autohost, EZcare, HKeeper, KeyData, Minut, Ximplifi, Zapier, RemoteLock, Breezeway, Beyond, and more.
What are additional features and services that Guesty offers?
- Guesty’s Direct Reservations Suite allows hospitality operators to create a customized reservations website & engine to accept direct guest bookings, communications, promotions and brand value.
- Roles & permissions allow operators to control access and functionality across their team, granting member access according to position and seniority. Allow teams to manage the business on-the-go via a dedicated Guesty mobile app.
- Damage Protection by Guesty ensures peace of mind for operators, protecting property from damages occurred during stays, without coordinating directly with the guests.
- Multi-Unit Management and MultiProperty Type Management.
- Accounting by Guesty, a trust-based accounting tool designed for hospitality regulations.
- GuestyPay, native payment processing directly in platform and built for the industry.
What makes Guesty stand out?
Guesty is the world’s largest and mostfunded property management platform for the short-term rental, glamping and hospitality industry. The company employs a world-class R&D team with over 200 engineers who are constantly innovating and evolving the product. Its employee base is spread across 14 global offices, with dedicated customer success teams assisting North America, LATAM, the European Union and APAC region.
How much does Guesty cost?
No matter the size and location of your business, Guesty has a solution and offers custom pricing models tailored to individual business needs. Interested businesses can schedule a demo and create a custom pricing plan. Guesty has helped its users increase their listings by 100% annually, boost their revenue by 150% annually and save an average of 100+ hours weekly.
Bedful
Bedful
What makes your platform unique?
If you want to take bookings on your website, as well as by telephone, email, and via other online platforms, Bedful is the easiest booking software to use. Bedful is extremely userfriendly, but also very powerful and flexible. For example, our flexible pricing allows for every kind of rates structure and we also provide handy tools like upselling extras, taking security deposits, and automating messages, such as a friendly ‘welcome’ message to guests. We also get great feedback about our support team!
We have a team of seven amazing Customer Happiness specialists based in Birmingham who are always happy to help with any issues or questions.
Is your system more suited to larger or smaller sites?
We have both large and small sites using Bedful – our largest hosts have over 200 units, but we have plenty of hosts that only have one treehouse or cabin. The system works equally well for both types of hosts.
Is integration possible with other booking platforms?
Yes, Bedful integrates with other booking platforms either by using iCal software or an API. Bedful is the only booking system in the UK to have a real-time integration with Hipcamp (the world’s largest provider of outdoor stays), which is the most frequently used integration we offer. Hundreds of our hosts also choose to integrate with Airbnb, booking.com, Tripadvisor, and others.
Do you offer owners any other services e.g. marketing?
Our aim is to provide owners with the best possible booking software for their business. That means we’re constantly developing our system and providing phenomenal customer support, but we don’t offer additional services like marketing templates or social media management. We believe the best possible way for people to market their business is by working with the best in that field, which is why we provide real-time integration with online travel agents (OTAs), like Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a great way for glamping sites to get seen by the largest possible audience and we receive tons of positive feedback about how important our integration is.
What are the costs involved; is it commission or subscription-based?
There is no commission on bookings and we charge a very competitive annual subscription fee. Packages starting from just £21 per month plus VAT. Pricing is on a sliding scale depending on how many glamping units are on the system, and there is a handy pricing calculator at bedful.com. There is no initial set up fee.
