Why not enjoy summer this year!

why you need a 247Booking engine

  • increase your bookings
  • take online payments
  • track your availability
  • lighten your workload
  • client account area

Find the Answer

  • How configurable is 247Booking to meet my requirements?
    247Booking is designed on the premise you want to run everything from your own web site. Hence we provide a style interface to enable you to theme your account to match your web site. (Higher end users can have their own bespoke booking process designed to match their requirements.) In principle we try to make every feature editable by you. This is an on-going process and all updates are free.
  • How much commission do you charge on a booking?
    We charge no commissions on bookings. You can choose the most cost effective payment gateway provider to process credit and debit cards. PayPal is currently the easiest to setup. Google Checkout is the cheapest payment gateway at 1.5% with no setup or monthly fee. Unfortunately they are currently not prepared to offer this service for holiday accommodation payments.
  • What are the basic costs of a 247Booking account?
    The subscription fee is based upon the number of units purchased. £6 per month for the first unit, £2 per month for the second and further units are charged at £1 per month.
  • How do I renew my subscription?
    The billing / subscription options are available from within your 247booking back office area. Here you can renew your subscription, increase your billing frequency and change the number of units you have purchased.
  • What forms of payment do you accept for 247Booking?
    247Booking is fully automated. As a result we link directly into the Google Checkout payment gateway. This enables you to use any valid Credit or Debit Card to signup online and make your payment.
  • How long does it take to setup my account?
    The time this takes is dependent upon having all the required information to hand and under normal circumstances should take a hour or two to complete.
  • What do I need to provide if the setup is done by 247Booking?
    1. The names and details of your properties including their maximum occupancy.
    2. Terms & Conditions. If you have them or a simple short series of statements e.g. Arrival Times, Departure Times, Leaving the property in a tidy condition etc...
    3. Your dates and rates for your season including the changeover day (if applicable).
    4. Deposit amounts (Fixed amount or Percentage of total cost).
    5. When balances are payable e.g. 6 weeks before arrival.
    6. Payment methods e.g. Cheques - Who should the cheque be made payable to and to which address should they be sent.
    7. Credit Card Payments. You'll need to open an account with a payment gateway of your choice. PayPal is the simplest.
    8. If you wish your customers to pay using Internet Banking/BACS, then supply a bank sort code and account number.
    9. How long provisional bookings are held pending receipt of payment e.g. 5 working days.
  • Can I handle telephone/email bookings?
    A telephone booking facility allows you to handle bookings you have taken over the phone or via email. You can perform a price check and enter all details into the system to create a confirmed booking.
  • What availability display interfaces are available?
    A standard calendar interface, a planner interface for showing daily and weekly pricing on a single screen and a table interface for weekly only pricing. Therei is also a search interface and a clickable interactive map if you are a holiday/touring/camping park.
  • Can I view all of my availability in a planner type format?
    An availability planner is available which once opened can be left open on your screen and will automatically refresh to show new bookings. You can move, change or create bookings from this screen.
  • Do you provide a search facility for availability?
    We provide a search interface which you can switch on in the category picklist. You can embed a javascript based search box into your web site which you can tailor to your own design. We provide all the necessary HTML/Javascript code.
  • How are prices handled?
    Prices can be set up in either daily or weekly mode or a combination of the two depending upon how your season is structured.
  • Can I take deposits?
    Deposits can be a percentage or a fixed rate per day. Deposits can be rounded up using a range of options.
  • Can I take a returnable deposit?
    Returnable Deposit amount can be set. There is an email reminder option for the returnable deposit. Further options to manage returnable deposits are provided.
  • Can I set up cancellation insurance?
    Cancellation Insurance or Cancellation Cover as we call it can be entered as a rate (daily or weekly). Further information about the cover can be written and shown to the customer during the checkout process.
  • How does the system handle additional charges or extras?
    Additional charges or fees are called 'Extras' on the system. You can add one off charges e.g. booking fees, additional items such as 'Cots', 'High Chairs' etc... which are priced individually or you can ask a question for which your customers will proide a text based response e.g. 'How long is your caravan in feet?' or 'What time do you expect to arrive?'
  • Can customers be reminded about balances?
    Customers are automatically reminded about balances a number of days before arrival. This is set to 6 weeks by default.
  • Can I process part / interim payments?
    Part payments can be made against a booking. Customers can also make their own part payments. A Minimum payment amount can be set.
  • Can I handle damage deposits?
    These can be entered in and email reminders are then sent to remind customers that a damage deposit is payable. Numerous options are available in terms of timing settings.
  • Can I set up Short Breaks?
    When using weekly prices you can enter part week rates i.e. a, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 day rate.
  • Can I set up Special Offers?
    A number of Special Offer types are available. e.g. percentage or fixed price discounts or a discount on the cheapest consecutive week.
  • Can I enter prices that are charged based upon the number of days booked?
    Yes. We provide a facility called "cascading pricing" where you can set the number of days and the rate per day.
  • Which payment methods can I use to take payments for bookings?
    Offline methods such as Cheques or Postal Orders and direct payments such as BACS Transfers or Internet Banking payments. Payment gateways are also available. See related FAQ item.
  • Can I take card payments?
    To take card payments, you must first register for a merchant account with your bank and then sign up with a Payment Gateway such as PROTX or EPDQ. See related FAQ item below for a complete list of Payment Gateways. For a single property Paypal is probably the simplest.
  • Which payment gateways are available?
    We currently support Paypal, EPDQ (Barclaycard Business), PROTX and Realex Payments. Additional gateways can be added by request.
  • What options are available to describe our accommodation?
    You can add descriptions to categories, units and plots along with a thumbnail photograph. Further web pages can be added to provide further detailed information about your accommodation.
  • Can I handle brochure requests?
    We provide a brochure section where you can enter customer details.s You can add a "brochure request" form to your own web site which will then populate the brochure customer list.
  • What reports are available?
    Common everyday reports include Arrivals, Departures, Occupancy, Housekeeping and a Cash List.
  • What if a report I require is not available?
    A custom report builder allows you to create your own reports. More advanced requirements can be catered for by contacting us.
  • How do I link the booking system into our site?
    A number of options are available. e.g. A standard text or image link through to the booking front-end or an embedded calendar/planner which sits in a page on your own web site. 247Booking automatically builds the code you require, ready to be pasted into any page on your web site.
  • Can I adapt the emails that are sent to customers?
    All of the emails have standard default wordage which can be changed to your own requirements. We recommend that you change these to ensure you convey all the information you wish to pass on to your customers.
  • Can I change the invoices that are produced?
    A standard invoice template is provided. You can create your own invoices using a HTML editor and assign these invoices to different categories of accommodation or booking statuses.
  • Can I customise the look and feel of the booking system?
    99% of the system is customisable by modifying the stylesheets and graphics to match your web site.
  • Can I have a custom built booking process on our web site?
    Yes. Please contact us for further information about this service.
  • Can I send a bulk email to all of my customers?
    This is an option only available on the PRO system as all emails will be sent from your local booking machine.
  • Do you provide a free trial?
    We do offer a 7 day free trial. The trial is for a single plot. You can subscribe and add extra units as required. Many standard and advanced features are not demonstrated until multiple units are purchased. The trial assumes you are familiar with booking systems, have average IT skills and a good understanding of the Internet. Paying a setup fee will make your life easier. Click here to sign up.
  • I am the organiser of a show/event and I wish to take online bookings. Can I use your system to sell tickets?
    Yes. Please click here for further details about this product.
  • Do you offer a system for activities or event based bookings?
    Yes. Please click here for further details about this product.
  • Do you offer a "pay as you go" type service?
    This is available on our activities / events system. Please click here for further details about this product.
  • Who do I contact if I have a problem?
    Firstly consult the FAQ as this is always being updated to reflect the most common issues affecting our clients and should always be your first point of call. Additionally each page on the system has its own help page which describes how to use that section in more detail. If you are still unsure, please contact us by email at support@247booking.co.uk