5 Reasons You Should Automate Room Inventory Management

When it comes to optimizing a travel related business, the number one task that consumes most trip planner’s time and energy is:

How to get to SOLD OUT, but never OVERBOOKED?

This is where smart technology can save you time, money, and reputation. The truth is, if you don’t set up an automation, you are limited to:

• Only taking bookings in person or over the phone
• Paying a booking manager to ensure proper distribution of rooms
• Handling complicated spreadsheets
• Manually updating availability

But the good news are, automating inventory management on your group trips is not expensive and does not require development skills. Here is WHY and HOW you can do this:

1. Take bookings while you sleep (with a variety of pricing options)

To make sure you can advertise your trips widely without worrying about overbooking, you need to set a number of MAX bookings per trip. YouLi platform gives you 3 easy options to manage your inventory:

• No limit – perfect for trips or virtual events with unlimited capacity
• Limit based on number of people – valuable for excursions and field trips.
• Limit based on number of rooms – perfect for retreats and small group trips. To do this, be sure to allow people to register as invitation groups and set Max Number of Bookings.

2. Save time of your bookings manager and your sanity

What if the trip price depends on the room booked? Great question! That’s where Pricing Packages come handy. Here you can designate a different price based on the room type, group size, single supplement and more.

A few scenarios when you will benefit from adding multiple packages to your group trip or retreat:

• You offer Single Supplement, Twin Share, or a Private Room Upgrade
• Your booking price depends on the room view
• You need to manage room inventory
• You want to set MAX group size
• You require MIN group size for a booking
• You offer early-bird discounts
• You offer private packages or member’s discounts

Once set up, you will even be able to let travelers know the spots are running out and encourage bookings (see below).

3. Build impeccable reputation

Reliable inventory management allows you the freedom promote your trips without worrying about being over booked, and that means you can allow other travel retailers, agents and affiliates sell spots on your trips – a critical feature when it comes to filling up a few spots left on your group retreat or adventure.  

4. Provide luxury customer experience

No more waiting for a return call, no more guessing, no more manual work, and no more insecure credit card processing over the phone. It’s all in one place, accessible by your traveling customer via a simple Booking Page, also available on a YouLi mobile app for travelers.  

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5. Set up an affiliate program (and relax)

If you are that lucky tour operator who manages to always fill up trip spots on your own, wohoo! We are applauding to your efficiency. For the rest of us, referrals from past clients, partners, local boards, and advisors are essential for the business growth. And you just cannot allow other agents sell spots on your trips without taking control of your inventory. Once your inventory automation is set up, the world of affiliates with unlimited possibilities is at your feet. Learn more.

Get support from the community of travel professionals

To help you answer important questions related to managing and optimizing operations for your group travel business, our team hosts monthly Masterclasses. Join our community to get notified of the upcoming events and watch the replays.

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