How South of Africa Hotel Group increased online bookings by 200% in 30 days

South of Africa is a hotel group with more than 15 different properties in the most popular tourist destinations throughout Africa. The group is constantly trying to exceed guest expectations by providing options from budget-friendly rooms to luxurious, first-class accommodations.

And it’s thanks to using hotel management technology, such as SiteMinder’s, that saves the hotel group the time and resources it needs to look after its guests. Here’s how they did it.

Identifying the challenge

With 156 rooms to manage across 15 different properties, the need to streamline and maximise efficiency was obvious.

The current property management system could not keep up with the growth of the hotel group, and the risk of overbooking, losing data and running inaccurate reports was high.

South of Africa property managers and operators knew that a new system was necessary, but they didn’t know where to start. It seemed daunting to upgrade or change the current property management system, but they weren’t sure that they wanted to start over entirely.

Until, of course, they became aware of SiteMinder.

Discovering a solution

South of Africa property managers first learned of SiteMinder after reading a local tourism newsletter that featured another travel business that had switched its operations to SiteMinder.

They decided to look into it further, and were impressed with the additional features and benefits that were offered through SiteMinder.

In October 2014, the team implemented SiteMinder’s TheBookingButton and Channel Manager. They were beyond impressed with the features that were offered in the system, particularly the various connectivity options that allowed them to interact with international travellers in way that they could not before.

For South of Africa managers, the largest benefit was the fact that they could upgrade their rate management system to a per room rate, versus a per person rate. This simplified the process both for their administrative team as well as for their guests.

As a direct result of the upgrade to the rate management system, the hotel group staff members noticed a significant improvement in the revenue management system as well. Whenever they update or change their rates, the entire property management system is updated.

Beyond that, the Channel Manager informs their distribution agents, all of whom receive the most updated information about their rates and availability at any given moment.

The entire system only took a day or two to implement, and from that point forward South of Africa began to notice a significant difference in their overall hotel operations. Suddenly, all systems were working efficiently together, and everyone was able to focus on their most important priorities.

Enjoying the results

It didn’t take long for the South of Africa hotel group to realise just how powerful the SiteMinder suite is for hoteliers across the globe.

Just 30 days after implementing SiteMinder and using its Channel Manager, the hotel group noticed a sales increase of more than 200%.

As the months moved forward, South of Africa noticed that online reservations grew consistently by about 10%. With SiteMinder, South of Africa can personalise their business suite in order to meet the needs of its own unique business. In turn, the hotel can continue to customise the guest experience for every traveller who checks into their properties.

To find out more information about how SiteMinder can improve your hotel operations, see how it works.