Report

Backpack Online and the Dregs

Front Desk Operations

stozza started this discussion 15 years 4 months ago

For anyone using Backpack Online I have a question.
When we are full, there are going to be lots of single beds in various dorms. Hostelworld don't really make a great effort to bring this to the attention of the people booking. Therefore we just, for example, ended up with 5 girls booked into 5 different rooms. In this case, it was definitely the girls who should have noticed, as they were 5 different room types. But it could very easily be 5 single beds in 5 separate 6 bed dorms.
Naturally, the customers don't understand why this should be the case.

My question is...does anyone have a way they manage this?

I obviously want to sell all my beds, yet I want my customers to be happy.

Comments

Report

stozza

15 years

Surely Hostelworld isn't accepting the booking for the middle nights as such, but is only booking the 1st and last nights. The customer thinks they have booked them all. That is an ugly situation. The problem is Hostelworld needs to make it clearer to the guest that the middle nights are not there, indeed they should not continue the booking at all if any of their nights are not available, and the guest must start the booking process again.

People are making their bookings fast and not reading things. Also, they don't seem to be willing to take the blame for their own screw-ups, and they always blame the hostel. They don't even realise they have used a third party booking site. We need to work with Hostelworld to try to ensure these things don't happen. It creates a lot of stress and sometimes it leaves guests on the streets, and that is something we can't allow to happen, if we can stop it through a better interface.

Report

santa klaus

15 years

You have a good point there. I have had customers who didn´t realize that a night is missing. Or they just acted stupid. You are right, it shouldn´t be possible at all to proceed with a booking if not all requested nights are available.

Report

crhostel

15 years

We don't use BPO because it doesn't give us enough freedom to move people into similar or better rooms easily when needed.

Bottom line is, hostelworld is a horrible service, for backpackers and for hostels alike. We are stuck with it because they have the market share, until we come up with something better. Unfortunately the people that have tried (HB, Gomio, etc.) haven't really improved on HW's service/product.

Report

stozza

15 years

I can't say I fully agree with you there. It is very easy to move people around in Backpack Online. I have tried quite a few different packages, and BPO is the simplest we have used. It definately works well for us (280 beds). And I say that after spending a lot of money on one package and then abandoning it.
There are always going to be a few bugs with any package you use. Nothing is yet 100%. It does look like there are a few new entrants to the market, and it will be nice to see how they work...anyone using hosteloffice yet?

Hostelworld is a very nice service in many ways. They have been greedy pricks at various times it is true, but at the end of the day they have done it well, and have earned their market share. No-one gave it to them. I still find them easier to use than any of their competitors, both as a traveller and as a hostel owner.

I think the problems I have talked about in this thread are going to possibly happen with any software/booking engine. We have come up with one tweak that it would be nice if hostelworld did, that is stop the booking if any of the nights are unavailable.

If I used the software the way the creators intended, ie not allocating the beds, then I may not have the problem I spoke of, its just that I can't use that system. Same reason I couldn't use Charts. I need a visual representation of the beds. I need to see names. Maybe thats my problem.

Report

santa klaus

15 years

If I used the software the way the creators intended, ie not allocating the beds, then I may not have the problem I spoke of, its just that I can't use that system. Same reason I couldn't use Charts. I need a visual representation of the beds. I need to see names. Maybe thats my problem.

Not allocating the beds only works in theory.

You will always have to allocate the beds for groups, because they need entire rooms (and preferably rooms next to each other). If you don´t allocate the beds of group bookings, you might end up with the right number of available beds when they arrive, but with the beds spread over the entire hostel. So, you have to allocate group bookings, as well as bookings of small groups of people (3-6 persons) you want to make sure they´ll end up in the same room. As soon as you allocate some bookings, you´ll always end up with some rooms only available a few nights (e.g. it´s Monday and a big group arrives on Wednesday). You start allocating beds as people check in on Monday and in the evening you might end up with a few bookings for 3 nights, but only have beds left available for 2 nights. Result: mess.

Report

Nickognito

15 years

I'm moving in few days in another with another software, but i uses Bpo for 15 months. You may, almost always, even if you're fully booked, allocate all the people in the same room for all the nights they have booked.

But in my opinion you need to explain to your guest (on the website, before they book) that they're booking beds, not rooms, and it's possible that they have to stay in different rooms.

'almost' always: if you can't, when your guests are checking you can offer them some options (after your excuses: but people usually blame hostelworld for that, not you) i.e. offer to chose to stay splitted for a night and stay together the day after , and so on.

But here are some tips to avoid this embarassing moment:

- allocate some days before arrival all the reservation with more than 2-3 person or 2-3 nights. You cannot move a persone while he's stayng , but you can easily do it before his arrival.
- change the room type if it's necessary.
- do not sell all the beds, and keep empty rooms for emergencies.
- upgrade the type of room booked by guests: if they're 4 booking an 8-bed dorm, they can also stay in a 6-bed and they wouldn't mind (and possibly give to receptionists the 'power' to do it, if they need to ;-))
- most of all: be patient and use your imagination :) Bpo is terribly slow: but a lot of things are possible. Sometimes you need to reallocate 5-6 reservation in order to fix one of them.

Report

santa klaus

15 years

You may, almost always, even if you're fully booked, allocate all the people in the same room for all the nights they have booked.

Yes, if your hostel is very large and if you don´t have lots of big groups. It looks totally different when you "only" have 200 beds and half of them are booked by tour groups sometimes.

You are right that allocating beds to the bookings a few days or a week in advance is the best solution. That way, your reservations don´t look like swiss cheese and you avoid to have to play tetris with them when you need a bed for a longer period than two or three nights.

Report

Nickognito

15 years

you're right but:

- i like 'normal' backpackers more than groups: if you're not a big hostel, why to have lots of groups? :)

- i sometimes like to play tetris :D

Report

Nickognito

15 years

problems occur when 6 people book a 6 bed dorm the day before arrival at 10 p.m :)

(and the often book a 5 bed dorm for 6 persons :D)

Report

santa klaus

15 years

- i like 'normal' backpackers more than groups: if you're not a big hostel, why to have lots of groups? :)

Because this is not Firenze where you are trampled town by hordes of tourists on the sidewalks any time of the year! It´s only Vienna and if it wouldn´t be halfway between Prague and Venice no backpacker would show up here at all! We have no choice.

- i sometimes like to play tetris :D

So do I, but it always took me so long to decide at which one of the four hostels I should play it, so I stopped altogether.

It´s like when I was in Firenze, I just couldn´t decide at which museum entrance I line up for two hours before I´m allowed to buy an overpriced ticket! :D

Search form

Report 'Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Report 'Re: Backpack Online and the Dregs'?

Pages

Join the world's largest community of hostel professionals.

Check Your Email