What is a hotel booking plugin?
A hotel booking plugin is an online system that allows the capture and processing of direct reservations. It will further reduce your reliance on OTAs (online travel agencies like Booking.com) by bringing more features and greater functionality to your existing booking engine.
These apps, similar to those offered on SiteMinder’s Hotel App Store, are designed to complement and enhance the way you attract, serve, and gain value from your guests.
There are hotel booking plugins to suit whatever goals you have, including to:
- Aid in the way you meet guest expectations (who are now losing trust in OTAs)
- Increase conversion rates and tracking
- Enable greater efficiency
- Allow additional tech integration easily
- Improve insights with price comparison
- Streamline communications with chatbots
- Create strong loyalty programs
Hotel booking plug-in apps can be visible apps or non-visible apps. Visible apps are those the guest will directly interact with, such as a chatbot or price comparison tool.
On the other hand, non-visible apps won’t be seen by guests and will focus more on your own performance, such as conversion tracking and marketing programs.
Table of contents
Why are hotel booking plugins so powerful?
Hotel booking plugins, or online booking engines, are one of the best tools owners can adopt at their hotels, alongside channel managers.
A hotel booking plugin will allow you to take commission-free bookings from guests via your website and social media accounts such as Facebook. You’ll also be able to increase bookings by connecting your booking engine to Google Hotel Ads and other metasearch channels if you choose to.
Booking plugins serve to increase the effectiveness and power of your booking engine.
Most importantly, you’ll be able to offer travellers exclusive incentives, extras, upsells, and packages to win them over and take charge of their experience. Being able to control how the relationship with your guests progresses is crucial for delivering quality experiences, enjoying long term revenue and achieving business success.
With an online booking plugin, you can stay in touch with your guests from start to finish, using personalised communications enabled via pre-stay emails, as well as post-stay emails and TripAdvisor review auto-triggers for completed stays. Plugin to success with SiteMinder SiteMinder’s powerful direct booking feature, including plugins, will help you win more bookings and revenue than ever before.
Features of hotel booking plugins
There are dozens (if not hundreds) of hotel booking plugins available on the market today.
This means they can serve many different purposes. Here are a few of the ways they can help your hotel.
Streamlined user experience
There’s nothing that can outperform an excellent guest experience during booking. Many hotel booking plugins help with:
- Easy mobile bookings. The travel world is mobile – literally. More people than ever are booking their next stay through their mobile phones or tablets. Some booking plugins can help smooth out the guest experience on mobile.
- Advanced booking calendars. Flexible booking calendars that enable guests to book as many rooms as they need in a single reservation can make all the difference in whether a guest finishes their booking – or drops off in frustration.
- Automated guest notifications and communications. The best booking experiences are those where the guests know what they need to know when they need to know it, and feel catered to at all touch points – whether that’s before, during, or after their stay.
Maximised revenue opportunities
Opportunities for upsells and cross-sells don’t stop at the “book” button – or at least, they shouldn’t. Booking plugins can help ensure that you’re not leaving money on the table:
- Social media integration. Social media is a powerful tool in driving revenue from hotel room bookings. Whether it’s helping with communication or make the booking process simpler, direct bookings can be gained from social media via your booking engine and plugins.
- Optional extras and special offers. Choosing where to stay is a big decision for guests, and entering the booking process doesn’t mean they’re fully sold. The best booking engine plugins enable hotels to sweeten the deal with customised special offers and optional extras, generating more revenue as well as helping to secure that final booking.
- Simple payment processing. Too often, a booking falls at the final hurdle: payment. Without safe, simple and secure payment processing at the end of booking, a guest may change their mind and stay elsewhere.
Actionable market intelligence
Data is gold in the modern digital age, and the best booking plugins ensure that you get it in spades. It’s not just about having a tool that lets guests reserve a room, it’s about knowing how they came to reserve that room and the steps they went through during the booking process.
One of the best insights that a booking plugin can provide is simply where people drop off in the process. If your booking engine doesn’t tell you how long someone takes to book a room, what pages make them click away (or close the process altogether), and split this information per device, then you may be missing out on valuable, actionable insights.
Top hotel booking plugin apps and providers
Not sure where to start your search for the plugin that’s right for you? Here are the 10 best hotel booking plugins available right now.
1. SiteMinder’s hotel booking engine
That’s us. SiteMinder’s booking engine maximises direct bookings with its seamless interface and comprehensive analytics, helping hotel owners enhance operational efficiency and guest satisfaction.
It includes features like multi-currency and multi-language support, alongside extensive customisation options, making it a versatile choice for global hospitality businesses seeking to maintain brand consistency and maximise revenue through direct channels.
On top of that, it can integrate with countless direct booking plugin apps that ensure you are making the most of your features.
2. Little Hotelier booking engine
Specially designed for small accommodation providers, Little Hotelier offers an intuitive and straightforward booking engine that simplifies the reservation process, aiming to boost direct bookings while minimising administrative burdens.
The platform also includes mobile optimisation, ensuring a smooth booking experience across all devices, and integrates with property management systems to streamline operations, although it may lack some of the advanced features found in more comprehensive systems.
3. Triptease booking plugin
Triptease offers a direct booking plugin that integrates with hotels’ websites to enhance direct bookings through transparent price comparisons with OTAs, targeted messaging, and actionable data insights. A significant advantage of Triptease is its ability to improve direct booking rates by offering guests clear price comparisons, thereby instilling confidence in the value they’re receiving.
However, the complexity of setting up and integrating Triptease with a hotel’s existing systems can be a drawback, as it requires significant technical effort and customisation.
4. HiJiffy booking plugin
HiJiffy streamlines the hotel booking process with a focus on speed and simplicity, aiming to minimise the steps and time required for guests to make a reservation. This streamlined process can significantly reduce booking abandonment rates, making it a strong choice for hotels looking to capture more direct bookings efficiently.
On the downside, Jiffy’s simplified approach may lack the depth of features or customisation options that larger hotels or those seeking more sophisticated functionality might require.
5. The Hotels Network booking plugin
The Hotels Network Booking Plugin stands out for its ability to provide personalised experiences and predictive analytics, tailoring offers and content to individual users. This personalisation can lead to higher conversion rates by making potential guests feel understood and valued.
However, the emphasis on personal data analysis and customisation could raise privacy concerns among users wary of how their information is being used.
6. Laasie booking plugin
Laasie focuses on fostering guest loyalty by offering rewards and incentives for direct bookings, thereby encouraging repeat business and building a loyal customer base. This approach is particularly beneficial for hotels looking to increase customer lifetime value.
The main challenge with Laasie is ensuring that the rewards system is managed effectively to maintain profitability while still providing meaningful value to guests.
7. Sojern booking plugin
Sojern specialises in data-driven digital marketing and real-time bidding, helping hotels target potential guests more accurately and increase their online visibility. The advantage of using Sojern is its ability to reach potential guests at the right time with the right message, thereby increasing the chances of conversion.
However, the dependency on digital advertising means that hotels will incur ongoing costs, which can accumulate and impact the overall budget.
8. Flip.to booking plugin
Flip.to is an advocacy platform that converts guests into brand ambassadors, encouraging them to share their positive experiences on social media and with their networks. This organic marketing approach leverages word-of-mouth and social proof, potentially attracting a broader audience.
The effectiveness of Flip.to, however, hinges on guests’ engagement and willingness to share their experiences, which can vary widely.
9. Ada Tray booking plugin
Ada Tray enhances the guest experience by incorporating AI-powered chatbots into hotel websites, providing instant assistance with bookings, customer service, and enquiries. This 24/7 automated support can significantly improve customer satisfaction and engagement.
The limitation of Ada Tray lies in its ability to handle complex customer service queries, which may still require human intervention for resolution.
10. 123Compare.me booking plugin
123Compare.me offers a price comparison and analytics tool that allows hotels to display live price comparisons directly on their websites, fostering transparency and trust. This approach can reassure potential guests that they are getting the best deal, potentially increasing direct bookings.
However, a focus on price comparisons can inadvertently lead hotels into a competitive pricing war, which could erode profit margins over time.
Jan Wichmann,
Owner and Property Manager
Hotel Graf Bentinck
Alternative hotel booking plugins
There are also other popular hotel plugins available on the market, which may be of interest to your hotel.
They include:
WooCommerce hotel booking plugin
WooCommerce is a WordPress booking plugin for small to large operators.
It allows customers to make reservations, book appointments, or hire equipment easily. You can also use it to enable price customisation.
Amelia booking plugin
Amelia is another booking plugin for WordPress that serves more than 60,000 sites.
It’s a versatile service that can be used by many different businesses, including private accommodations.
Gravity Forms booking plugin
While it isn’t noted for serving accommodations, Gravity Forms is another popular WordPress plugin that has the versatility to manage many different bookings and appointments.
MotoPress hotel booking
MotoPress is a hospitality-specific plugin suitable for rental property websites.
It makes it easy to accept direct reservations and also sync reservations to OTAs.
Divi booking plugin
Divi is more of a theme, than an actual plugin. It works on WordPress as a design theme and website builder.
However it integrates seamlessly with many booking plugins to create a full booking experience for website visitors.
