How The Booking Factory Has Helped The Rosscourt Bed & Breakfast
We’re chatting to one of our long-time customers, Debbie Payne, who owns The Rosscourt bed and breakfast in Bournemouth, Dorset. We’re going to take a look at how Debbie is using our system and how Booking Factory has helped her streamline the management of The Rosscourt, gain more direct bookings and owe less in Online Travel Agency (OTA) commissions.
Key Takeaways:
- Debbie wanted a tailor-made system for her small B&B, preferably run by someone who knew the industry.
- The B&B needed something simple, affordable and that would make managing hotel easier.
- The Booking Factory met these needs while also adapting and adding new features to solve The Rosscourt’s problems.
About Debbie & The Rosscourt Bed and Breakfast
Debbie: My business is in an 8 bedroom bed and breakfast. Just my husband Peter and I run it. We are adults only and appeal to the 45 plus age group, and though we do have younger guests stay, we don’t encourage late night revellers. All of our rooms are set as twins, doubles or super kings. We cater in the week for professionals on one night stays and work guys and girls, sometimes on weekly deployments to sites in Bournemouth. We have been here for 18 years.
I own and run the bed and breakfast, so I do everything from the cooking, serving breakfast to the cleaning, accounting, marketing and reservations.
We have a turnover in the range of around £65K to £70K as our business is really on 8 months of the year if we are lucky. Our winter business is non existent.
Working with The Booking Factory for over a year and went live on the PMS in March 2016.
Problems and Solutions
Let’s take a look at some of the problems Debbie faced — and that many other hotels and B&B’s currently face — and how Booking Factory has helped her overcome them.
What challenges in the hotel industry influenced you to look for a solution?
Debbie: I wanted a good solution that I had control over and an easier property management system plus, most importantly, someone on hand to help if anything went wrong.
A tailored system for small hoteliers, and a person who understood that was necessary as I had tried a few systems before plus just dealing with OTAs and managing a manual diary, which was becoming a nightmare, with potential overbookings in a small B&B in the height of the season.
Did you have a previous solution that could no longer meet your company’s needs? If so, how did your needs change?
Debbie: I had a reasonable system that served its purpose but was very expensive to operate and as it was only bringing in OTA bookings, so I had that commission on top as well.
What criteria did you have in mind for a solution?
Debbie: It had to be easy to use, affordable, linked to booking websites like Booking.com, and made for small hotel owners. The people running it had to not be just tech savvy but be understanding of how a small business works and the need for flexibility.
How did you search for a solution to your problem?
Debbie: Actually Evan called me out of the blue and we clicked. I liked what he had to say and that he was still developing and took on board the ideas I had. I feel I’ve been part of the process and enjoyed helping iron out any issues. Evan and the team have been reactive and proactive so the system has come along nicely and they are always looking to improve if users have ideas or needs that the system doesn’t currently have. His call came at the right time.
Tell me about some solutions you considered but rejected.
Debbie: I had been with so many companies and not been satisfied that I was actually losing the will to look for more.
How many different people at The Rosscourt use Booking Factory?
Debbie: It is primarily me, however my husband Peter has dabbled when needed.
What advantages does Booking Factory have?
At The Booking Factory we pride ourselves on providing a unique solution which outperforms our competitors while costing less and saving small hotels and B&Bs from hefty OTA fees. We asked Debbie how using the Booking Factory’s hotel management system has benefitted The Rosscourt Bed and Breakfast.
How are you currently using Booking Factory? What types of goals or tasks does it help you accomplish?
Debbie: We are using the system and have been since March 2016. I like the idea of having access to the website as well, I can see how the B&B is being promoted. I also like the ease of booking directly from the site and the membership offers to encourage repeat direct sales.
My goal is to get 15% more bookings directly through the website and not through the OTA for 2017. The PMS has great reporting so I can see how much money is being taken in the business via online, direct and manually added bookings.
What was the most obvious advantage you felt The Booking Factory offered during the sales process?
Debbie: Ease of use, and access to someone who knows how to run a small B&B and understood the needs in regards to flexibility and time constraints.
Were there any other advantages you discovered after using the product more regularly?
Debbie: My time has been better spent as the bookings are easily managed. Emails are sent to guests directly so no thoughts or worries about contacting guests before and after their stay.
“My time has been better spent as the bookings are easily managed.”
Monitoring Success
Do you track any metrics or KPIs you track with The Booking Factory? What are they?
Debbie: We monitor how the bookings come in, however, with only 8 rooms I am aware of the bookings come through. It is good to actually see values of bookings and also to have the ability to set targets for more bookings via the website. We can also see what we have had to discount to encourage bookings, helpful with yield and profits.
Were you tracking any metrics prior to using our product? What were they?
Debbie: I track Google Analytics and used the OTA booking system to see what booking values I had but had to collate them all separately.
How has our product impacted your core metrics?
Debbie: I have everything at my fingertips at a press of a button.
By using our product can you measure any reduced costs?
Debbie: My outgoings on running this system are far lower than the other product I was using. I also had to pay for the other product even if there were no bookings coming in.
“My outgoings on running this system are far lower than the other product I was using.”
By using our product can you measure any increases in revenue or growth?
Debbie: This is available at all times on the reporting. I can measure offers that I have set out using Booking Factory.
We’re proud to say that we’ve had a positive impact on Debbie’s life as a hotelier, making her life easier and saving her money on expensive OTA commissions. We’re a bespoke service, so we can change and adapt to meet each client’s needs — get in touch to see how we can help you get increase direct bookings and decrease stress when managing your property.
