15 years
I think Hostelworld should tell us if there are some good reasons (apart from pushing BPO) for this move.
Here. Now.
Hostel Booking Engine APIs (Hostelworld, Hostelbookers, Hostelsclub, etc.)
Hostel Trends and News
Online hostel bookings have been around for about 10 years already, but it's still difficult to get hostel bookings from the Internet into the front desk software. Most hostels still have to login to multiple booking engines, print out the latest bookings and then manually enter them into the computer. There have been some exceptions to this manual data entry method like HostelOffice and Charts.
Despite the advances of software like HostelOffice and Charts, I've heard that at the end of May Hostelworld is going to shut down the ability of some front desk software to automatically allocate beds and download bookings.
If I understand correctly, that means that Backpack Online (Hostelworld's own software) would be the only PMS to automatically sychronize hostel availability and bookings with Hostelworld. Everyone else would need to go back to manually downloading all their reservations and manually changing allocations daily.
There is some talk of Hostelworld making an API (Application Programming Interface) that would allow other software to synchronize with Hostelworld, but they have not confirmed that an API is being developed or will be released before the end of May. Even if Hostelworld does make an API, between the time that Hostelworld shuts down the ability of front desk software to synchronize and the time they make an official API, the hostels that depend on this feature will have a difficult time.
Even if you aren't directly affected by this issue, it seems like this move will negatively affect many hostels. It essentially makes it so Hostelworld's own Backpack Online software is the only front desk software that will be able to synchronize with Hostelworld.com.
What do you think about this? And, do you think that all the booking engines should have a standard API (Application Programming Interface) that all front desk software could synchronize with?
- Comments
15 years
As a Charts user, our business is going to be very affected by this move. Currently all 600 beds at our four hostels have automatic allocations updating every 3 minutes, auto download of bookings and same day until 4 pm booking.
As a result of this our bookings and revenue increased dramatically.
We were thrilled when the 'portal' as it was called, was made active as it cut hours and hours of manual input and overbookings became a distant memory.
Now we'll have to go back to the 'old' way and even more concerning than the extra workload is the concern that we'll be overbooking over the summer months.
API systems are being used by Expedia, Orbitz and Kayak among other third party booking sites. It's just the way business is done.
An API can benefit any provider of front desk systems that have the technological know how. So potentially hundreds of hostels can benefit.
We are really hoping that Hostelworld will finally commit to developing a similar delivery system but hostels need to make their desire for such a system known. I hope people will post on here and voice their opinion.
15 years
I would have thought they're doing it to preserve market share. They are clearly the biggest BE - I would imagine that most hostels that don't pay for expensive systems like charts etc allocate most of their beds that they have online th HW, and then smaller amounts to HB, gomio and any others. If all beds are allocated fully between different BEs then there is a potential for them to lose market share. I don't know what the system is in the hotel sector, but there seems a lot more booking sites, none of whom are as dominant as HW is.
If a programming interface was developed that allowed us a free front desk and reservation system like BPO and had access to other booking engines and paid us back our commission on our website bookings that'd be great. If HW left the market to charts etc and I had to pay €1000s a year for software and lost more deposits than it wouldn't be so good.
15 years
I understand the point you are trying to make, but Backpak Online is certainly not free as every guest who books a hostel who uses Backpak has to pay $2 to Hostelworld just the same as if they were on the Hostelworld site. While the hostel gets to keep $1 of that, it seems unfair that if you have a website of your own, that hostelworld or anyone else for that matter should make money off bookings that come in from your website. After all it was the hostel's own website that attracted them.
As for market share, it's been documented, from the hostels that are using Charts that Hostelworld's market share would go up...that is because none of the other third party providers have an API either. They were the only one we worked with that we could provide full inventory access and same day booking to. This means they had many many more beds available to them than their competition did. And i'm not talking a small percentage here.. I'm talking thousands of dollars per hostel.
And finally, some hostels just can't rely on an online system. If the internet goes down so does all reservation capability...
15 years
Oh and let me add, no one is suggesting Hostelworld give up Backpak Online and let only outside vendors like Charts have this capability.
The point, I think being made is that it behooves Hostelworld to allow other, non Backpak Online, hostels the opportunity to operate in the here and now and not in an antiquated manner.
15 years
Oh and let me add, no one is suggesting Hostelworld give up Backpak Online and let only outside vendors like Charts have this capability.
The point, I think being made is that it behooves Hostelworld to allow other, non Backpak Online, hostels the opportunity to operate in the here and now and not in an antiquated manner.
I'm in no way trying to create an argument or anything, just trying to see the other side - in a commercial sense I can't see why it behoves HW to allow access to software it's developed. Perhaps morally, I'm not sure. But in a business sense they'll be acting in a way to protect their business.
15 years
The manual transfer of vacancies by hostels represents a tremendous ongoing expenditure of time by hostel staff. If hostels have their vacancies data on computer, whether in a proprietory software system or a spreadsheet, it seems absurd that they have to print this out and then go and type it all in on a different site.
I don't think the ultimate solution is for each booking engine to develop an API and tell hostels what it is. The solution is to develop a standard transfer system (hopefully with the full cooperation of both booking engines and hostels) which, after some initial programming at both ends, will reduce the daily workload by 90%.
I have written an article which summarises the situation, mentioning 'comma-separated' as an existing standard which has limitations, and proposing a transfer of data using XML files. (The address is in the next post below).
This development can, and should, be done on a non-commercial basis, producing a Standard which software writers can use to improve their systems, and booking engines will want to offer because hostels will greatly prefer to work with booking engines which use it.
15 years
I have written an article which summarises the situation, mentioning 'comma-separated' as an existing standard which has limitations, and proposing a transfer of data using XML files.
The article by uktrail is here:
Exchange of Data Between Hostels and Booking Engines
15 years
I think HW will block charts when they have their own API.:D
Anyway definitely this year!:mad:
There are few companies providing sync between booking agents, but why not HW having this sync, through BPO? This is what they ask themselves...?!
Why doing that? Simple:
You want sync?
- You have to work with HW first !:D
Why doing that?
- I think they will have a minimum of 15% of the beds allocated only for HW at all times. In other terms, if you reach 85% occupancy, the remaining balance of 15% of your beds will be available to book only with them.
Also, in this scenario they will keep the booking fee through their website and the 10% commission. The bed price will be the same for everyone, so they will avoid giving preferential price for a specific agent.
The only problem here is:
The hostels will suffer if this is not done correctly !:(
All other booking providers should agree with HW API as well !(and I think this is their job, not to easy):D
Anyway, personal opinion, better if they are NOT blocking Charts !!!
Once you have BPO, you should own that password and all your data! You should have the right to share this password and data with whoever it suit you, not suit them !:mad:
Here is my problem !!! Other than that, for me BPO as a PMS is a very good solution .:)
15 years
- I think they will have a minimum of 15% of the beds allocated only for HW at all times. In other terms, if you reach 85% occupancy, the remaining balance of 15% of your beds will be available to book only with them.
I haven't put automatic allocations/bookings into practice, but aren't those last few beds the most important to be synced across multiple booking engines?
If you have 100 beds to allocate and you sync to multiple booking engines, it makes much less difference for overbooking than if you have just 10 beds left to allocate.
If you want to get those last beds sold without overbooking you may have to allocate to more than one engine. Otherwise you have the last 15% of your beds allocated to Hostelworld (which may not sell), or you risk allocating some of those to another booking engine(s) the old Stone Age method (by hand) causing a lot of hassle to the front desk.
Essentially, that would mean if you can't sell beds (not running at a minimum of 85% capacity) you are free to allocate to any booking engine -- but if you are running at above 85% capacity you are locked into a single booking engine that may not be able to sell all of those last 15% of the beds..
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