Located in Sinaia, Carpathia is a 4-star hotel with 70 rooms, a luxurious SPA center, and a restaurant with a capacity of over 100 seats.
To reduce dependence on booking.com and increase direct sales through its website and social media, the Carpathia Hotel placed its full trust in Pynbooking, the new-generation hotel application.
Results did not delay in appearing, and over time, the hotel increased direct bookings from 20 to 60%, depending on the season, and significantly simplified the interaction with booking platforms and travel agencies.
Business Challenges
Before collaborating with the Pynbooking team, Carpathia primarily took reservations by phone, and online, the offers were only listed on the booking.com platform. This situation limited business development and did not exploit the opportunities brought by the internet and social media.
The Carpathia management, however, aimed to increase sales through the hotel's website and retain as many clients as possible, as well as establish a strong brand in Sinaia's hotel market.
Pursued Objectives:
- Increase sales through the website and reduce commissions paid to intermediaries.
- Easily display and promote offers and promotions through a centralized system.
- Provide the management team with access to activity reports from anywhere and anytime.
Solution
The Carpathia Hotel management quickly became convinced that Pynbooking was the required solution due to its ease of use and the lack of initial investments in equipment. The collaboration involved:
- Implementation of the PMS Cloud Hotel.
- Use of the Channel Manager for connecting to multiple online booking platforms.
- Creation of a premium website with an integrated Booking Engine and online payment options.
- Integration of the POS Restaurant.
Pynbooking applications were configured for 12 users from various departments, both operational and managerial. The Carpathia team didn't need dedicated training, with users quickly familiarizing themselves with the new mode of operation.
Currently, through the Channel Manager, Hotel Carpathia is connected to multiple booking platforms (such as Booking, Expedia, Google, Directbooking, Hotelbeds, Agoda, Hotelcon, Travelminit, Bookingexpert, etc.) as well as with portals and travel agencies (like H2B.ro, HappyTour, EximTour, Vacanţe de vis, etc.).
The website was integrated with payment processors and accepts payments with bank cards and holiday vouchers.
Results
By integrating the PMS-website-booking platforms, Carpathia has significantly simplified its online exposure. Prices and availabilities are automatically updated on all channels, and the Carpathia marketing team has more freedom and flexibility in creating offers and promotions for the website and social media.
As a result of these actions, direct reservations increased from 20% to 60%, depending on the season, which meant a reduction in commissions paid to intermediaries and, consequently, an increase in profitability. A significant effect of directing direct bookings from phone to website was the elimination of penalty-free cancellations since bookings made on the site are paid in advance or guaranteed with a bank card.
Accommodation forms are automatically filled out from Pynbooking and printed at the Reception; for customers using GuestApp, they are digitally signed. Invoices are no longer manually filled out but are automatically generated in the application and sent by email or printed.
Thus, employees manually process fewer records, and waiting time is reduced. The system retains guest data, and when they return, the forms are automatically filled out without effort.
"For Carpathia, the main benefit of using Pynbooking is correlating bookings and availabilities in real-time across multiple platforms. In addition, we eliminate manual work when updating and transmitting offers or changing rates, which saves a significant amount of time and allows us to focus on the quality of relations with customers." - Hotel Carpathia Manager
The hotel management has access to detailed reports on the activity: occupancy rates over certain periods, reservations, collections, etc. Access to these reports is possible from any device (PC, tablet, or mobile phone) and does not require physical presence in the hotel. Other benefits include:
- Increasing direct bookings through the website and social media.
- Reducing commissions to intermediaries.
- Flexibility in creating offers and promotions.
- Reducing waiting time at the Reception.
- Simplifying relationships with agencies.
"Pynbooking ensures integration with the most relevant booking platforms and travel agencies, as well as with our website. We adjust the prices in the system, and changes and availabilities are automatically taken over on all channels. This increases our online exposure, and we can easily create various offers and promotions to enhance the attractiveness of Carpathia Hotel." - Hotel Carpathia Manager
Alongside the quality of relationships with customers, Carpathia Hotel placed Pynbooking and technology as essential elements in business development and positioning as a leader among the hotels in the Prahova Valley.