3 Common Problems Solved by Hotel Sales Software

Find out how hotel sales software can overcome three major problems experienced in the hospitality industry.

As digital solutions shape our day to day, we're witnessing a growing prioritisation of digital experiences and a widespread appreciation for the ability to stay connected 24/7. This shift has created an urgent demand for streamlined, efficient hotel sales software and venue management software that can cater to these evolving needs. 

It’s no secret that the sales and catering segment represents a lucrative revenue opportunity for hotels of all sizes. However, despite the growing demand for function spaces within hotels, the process of vetting, enquiring, and booking event spaces is often fraught with timely setbacks, unqualified leads, and missed opportunities.

As our industry adapts to the digital age, we’re witnessing significant enhancements in operational technology and mobile functionality. With intuitive property management systems (PMS), customer management systems (CMS), artificial intelligence, and enhanced mobile tools, it’s long overdue for the event booking process to undergo a technological makeover. The right sales and catering technology can finally remedy the primary problems encountered within the group booking process and maximise revenue streams.

1. Booking Automation

The best way to expedite a process in dire need of a digital update is to automate it. Previously, booking meeting spaces required a convoluted paper trail of emails, delayed follow-ups, and phone calls—all before a physical site visit could even be considered.

Venue sales and catering software enables event planners to easily book meeting spaces online. With relevant, updated booking details available live on site, planners can effectively vet potential leads and only submit RFPs, questions, or booking requests to properties that can handle their requests. This streamlines processes and enhances sales productivity by ensuring time isn’t wasted on unqualified leads. Hotels can finally provide planners the instant gratification they crave within the booking process and automate a system that has remained manual for far too long.

2. Maximise Sales

For years, the event booking process has been primarily reactive rather than proactive. Sales managers were inundated with emails, questions, and requests, and their time was often consumed by the response process alone. This meant potential leads were frequently neglected until it was too late. With such a flawed system in place, hotel sales managers were unable to keep pace with the demands of interested parties, and their selling process relied primarily on their ability to simply respond to enquiries. Essentially, hoteliers were dealing with a perpetual game of catch-up rather than proactively selling space to qualified parties.

By utilising hotel sales software and catering technology to open up your inventory to all interested parties online, Managers can finally promote their event inventory effectively to maximise group sales. By adding the online purchase of F&B, AV requirements, and room configuration, hotels can continuously expand revenue streams, market to new segments, and enhance group offerings.

3. Take it to the Cloud

Out with the old and in with the new. While the hospitality industry is notorious for holding onto traditional methods and platforms for far too long, the rise of mobile technology welcomes the rise of the cloud. Legacy systems are simply too limited to support modern operational demands within hotels and restrict the interaction between the hotel and the person or group managing the event.

The technology you have in place needs to work for you, not against you—which means it’s time to take it to the cloud. With a cloud-based sales and catering platform, your data is always available at your fingertips. The event booking process then becomes flexible and efficient, allowing for the fast turnaround that the group booking segment demands.

Over the past few years, the hospitality industry has seen an influx of innovation as it relates to the technology available to hoteliers to enhance their offerings. It’s more important than ever to capitalise on that momentum to finally bring the event booking process up to speed and maximise that revenue stream to its full potential. The latest hotel sales software and venue management solutions have been created specifically to address this need for an online, seamless, and fast-tracked experience and truly transform the group booking segment.

What Are You Waiting For?

For more information about iVvy's sales and catering software, get in touch with us today at sales@ivvy.com.