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0049 30 726225 0 Best Hotel Booking Engines: Top 15 list of 2023
Updated 20 Mar 2023
Do you already have a really nicely designed website that is modern and responsive? Or you are planning to build a new website with WordPress, Wix or other suite builders? These are great goals and objectives and the first step into welcoming guests to your hotel property.
What else shall you make sure your website has? Or better said, which next step you need to do to make sure that guests book directly on your website in a fast and reliable way? A professional booking engine has to be on top of the list along with website creation. Having just a working booking engine is not enough, you need the best booking engine so that you do not lose even a single booking. Every time a guest goes away from your website, he will be booking on a different platform. So more likely, your potential guest will be booking on OTA and you will need to pay high commissions.
Moreover, hotels and properties want more than just a simple and plain booking engine. They want the reservations software to be connected with a channel manager and a hotel software (PMS) so that they automatically synchronize the best performing OTA’s with their websites. For example, when somebody will be doing a booking via Booking.com or Expedia, the availability on their website automatically decreases and vice versa.
The above points are just some of the many reasons why a Booking Engine is essential for any serious property hotel in 2021 or in the future.
Table of contents for this article:
- What is a Hotel Website Booking Engine?
- How does a Website Reservation System Work?
- Why do you need a Booking Button?
- The best Booking Engine for your Hotel Business
What is a Hotel Website Booking Engine?
A hotel booking engine is a software and reservation application put in or integrated on websites, for on-line direct bookings via a hotel’s web site on behalf of guests. A short definition of the booking engine, additionally referred to as booking button: ‘A booking engine is basically the go-cart equivalent for a hotel website’.
‘A booking engine could be a package as a service (SaaS) application utilized by reception to provides guests with the chance to book a room on-line. ‘
Booking engines have 2 aspects: the back-end and also the customer-facing side additionally referred to as front-end. The backend admin dashboard is employed by hotel owners and their staff to manage and review reservations and also the customer-facing aspect permits guests to self-book rooms.
This direct booking technology is appropriate for all property sizes and accommodation types. Doesn’t matter if you have got only 1 space or 5, 10, twenty or more rooms. Each hospitality business shall empower guests to book rooms on their own websites to eliminate high commissions and confirm they’re totally accessible and open for business 24/7.
How does a Website Reservation System Work?
A hotel reservation system empowers the guest to securely make direct online reservations via the website of the hotelier. The processed reservation is transmitted and stored into an extranet back-end, also called the Admin dashboard. The hotel owner and his staff will easily log in and access the bookings, having a full overview and all needed information into one main platform.
Here is an example of such an extranet:
Why do you need a Booking Button?
Nowadays in 2020 and in the future, travellers are so used to make all transactions online and receive a confirmation straight away, that they will not spend a moment to make a phone call or even write an email, is too complicated and time-consuming. Tourists are looking for technological solutions to empower them to book a room on the spot.
At the same time, you may have a small apartment, a guest house, boutique hotel or middle size property hotel and you want to increase your revenue by receiving as many as possible direct bookings.
List of advantages and reasons if why you really need a booking button:
- Reduce OTA dependency.
- Using a booking engine, also called a booking button, your hotel website will become an OTA channel and e-commerce itself. Guests will be able to book rooms, in the same way as they would do on a popular OTA and they are already familiar with the reservation process from the online travel agents. What is the advantage of having more direct bookings via your website? Quite easy: less commission you need to pay, that translates in higher revenue benefits for you. Also, you will be able to make a promotional price for your guests or add extra services at the same price to fidelize your clients.
- Competitive advantage over neighbouring properties
- Many of your neighbouring hotels and properties do not even have a website. Maybe, they only have a Facebook page, this means they have barely an online presence, that is very reduced and bad. With a modern website and online reservations system, booking button, you already have a competitive advantage over your nearby competitors. Owning your own website is not expensive: CultBooking has an exclusive and affordable package for you.
- Improved business efficiency
- Having a website booking engine, you will be able to directly communicate with your guests via integrated chat tool or even via the contact details inserted on the specially branded landing page of the booking button.
- Build and market various promotional offers for your guests, packages or arrangements for the weekend, summer or winter. Sell vouchers and extra products and services, as a package with a room or standalone, without a room.
- Your inventory for the number of available rooms and your pricing will be updated automatically from one main extranet calendar with just one click. This will save you time and make work more enjoyable. At the same time, you eliminate overbookings and can rest assured the system is working 24/7 on your behalf, it’s like having additional insurance for free. Already included when using one of the best booking engines in the market.
The Best Booking Engine for your hotel website
While booking a room from a hotel website has become easy, choosing the right hotel booking engine hasn’t. Whether your priority is high conversion rates, latest technology, education and user guidelines, or advanced tools, we’ve got you covered.
CultBooking – Conversions devoted Booking Engine :
200% MORE DIRECT BOOKINGS FROM YOUR WEBSITE
- Pricing: € 29 / month (0% Commission) OR € 0.00 / month (5% Commission)
- Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.schloss-prielau.at
Bookassist – The heart of your hotel’s direct booking success
- Pricing: Around 150 € / month? (to be confirmed, as there are no official prices on the internet and official website)
- Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
- Referrals:
- Pricing: From € 57 / month? (there is no official price on the Dirs21 website. Each hotel needs to get individual pricing offer)
- Headquarters: Wernau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.hotel-hoexberg.com
https://www.kaiser-landhaus.de
https://www.das-goldene-lamm.de
Read our hands-on review of Dirs21
- Pricing: From € 79 / month
- Headquarters: Sandyford, Co. Dublin, Ireland
- Referrals:
https://www.irelands-blue-book.ie/
https://www.druidsglenresort.com
Siteminder – Drive more direct bookings to accelerate your recovery
Get more commission-free reservations through your hotel website and take charge of the guest experience
- Pricing: From € 29 / month (depending on the number of rooms. For example 10 rooms hotels will pay € 37 / month)
- Headquarters: Millers Point, NSW, Australia
- Referrals:
https://www.hotelaliados.com/en
HotelNetSolutions – Mehr Direktbuchungen. Mehr Umsatz pro Buchung.
- Pricing: Around € 200 / month? (there is no official price on the HotelNetSolutions website. To be confirmed directly with the provider)
- Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.druidsglenresort.com
https://www.kaisergarten-deidesheim.com/en/
CloudBeds – Get More Direct Bookings – Commission Free.
Turn your website into your top-performing booking channel, with no added commissions. Plus, share less revenue with OTAs and third parties.
- Pricing: From € 100 / month for a 10 rooms property. This includes PMS, channel manager, and booking engine
- Headquarters: San Diego, CALIFORNIA, USA
- Referrals:
https://www.themadhouseprague.com
Profitroom – Your website is your
direct booking channel
Give your guests online booking interface and pay lower booking commissions.
- Pricing: No official prices on the website. Mainly commission based
- Headquarters: Poznan, Greater Poland District, Poland
- Referrals:
https://www.copernicustorunhotel.com
https://www.montana-hotels.de/
Read our hands-on review of Dirs21
Caesar data – Internet Booking Engine
Let your guests book directly on your website and save yourself the high commissions of the booking portals. With our online booking system this is no problem at all – quick set-up, inexpensive and above all commission-free!
- Pricing: From € 29 / month
- Headquarters: Sonthofen, Germany
- Referrals:
https://demohotel5.webdesign-caesar-data.de
https://www.hotel-rosenhof.de/
- Pricing: No official price shown
- Headquarters: Freiburg, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.schlosshotel-klink.de
https://hotel-blauer-karpfen.de
Vioma – EINFACH, SCHNELL UND RESPONSIVE.
VIOMA BOOKING
Erleichtern Sie sich die Arbeit mit unserem Buchungssystem.
Generieren Sie mehr Direktbuchungen und steigern Sie Ihren Umsatz.
- Pricing: Starting at € 49 / month
- Headquarters: Offenburg, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.ebners-waldhof.at/de
https://www.alpenfeuer-montafon.at
https://www.amiamo.at/kinderhotel-salzburg
Eviivo – A mobile-friendly hotel website to showcase your property, or a cool
booking button to secure instant bookings
- Pricing: For 10 rooms, starts with € 63 / month, channel manager is also included in the price.
- Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
- Referrals:
Easybooking – Direct online booking through your own website
JULIA’s booking process scores with user-friendliness and simplicity. Direct bookings via your website are guaranteed thanks to the integrated booking engine – completely free of commission!
- Pricing: No pricing provided. You will need to fill a form and somebody will contact you with your pricing offer.
- Headquarters: Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria
- Referrals:
Hotel Spider – Booking Engine
Our mobile first approach to a conversion obsessed booking engine .
- Pricing: No pricing provided. You will need to fill a form and somebody will contact you with your pricing offer.
- Headquarters: Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland
- Referrals:
https://www.karntnerhof.com/en/
Mews – Drive bookings safely and quickly
Use our booking engine to make your property instantly bookable via your website.
- Pricing: € 121,4 / month (this price is for 10 rooms property and also includes PMS. Price is € 12,14 / room/month)
- Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
- Referrals:
https://www.princessbergfrieden.com/
| PROVIDER | PRICING |
|---|---|
| CultBooking | € 29 / month (0% Commission) OR € 0.00 / month (5% Commission) |
| Bookassist | ??? |
| Dirs21 | ??? |
| Net Affinity | From 79€ / month |
| Siteminder | From € 29 / month |
| HotelNetSolutions | ??? |
| CloudBeds | From € 100 / month |
| Profitroom | ??? |
| Caesar data | From € 29 / month |
| Viato | ??? |
| Vioma | Starting at € 49 / month |
| Eviivo | Starts with € 63 / month |
| Easybooking | ??? |
| Hotel Spider | ??? |
| Mews | € 121,4 / month |
CultBooking along with Caesar Data are the most affordable providers of online hotel booking engine technology. Is nice to have flexibility to book only booking engine or a package with channel manager and pms. Other providers just give option to book as a pack, as for example, MEWS (pms+booking engine) or Eviivo (pms+channel manager+booking engine).