More than transient reservations
Our new Booking Request feature enables your customers to, well, request bookings. But we’ve designed it to be more than simply a tool for transient slip reservations.
Like other Marina Assist features, marina users have total control over Booking Request. You can configure it to help your business in the way that works best. For example, you could give your customers the power to:
- Book a dry stack launch
- Request haul out and winter storage
- Report an issue or problem
- Register for next season
- Apply for club membership
- Sign-up for an event or activity
- Ask for a transient berth
Example: Using Booking Request for registrations
A UK harbor uses Booking Request to help improve on-water safety for paddleboard and kayak enthusiasts.
Using a QR code linked to Booking Request, the harbor authority has made it easy for paddlers to register online even as they’re preparing to get afloat. Capturing registrations means the harbor can provide safety advice updates, more easily identify owners of abandoned equipment, and increase payment of harbor fees.
Read more about how and why Fowey is using Booking Request. (This links to our sister website, Harbour Assist.)
What is Booking Request?
Booking Request is effectively a boater information-gathering tool that integrates seamlessly with your management system, calendar, and operational processes.
It enables boaters to take action when it suits them by completing a simple form on your website or customer portal. You can nudge customers into action using a QR code on signs (like the example above), links in your email newsletter and on social media, or by a button on your website header.
Submissions are delivered directly to the right person in your team, with everything automatically recorded in the database. There’s less chance of customer requests getting lost or forgotten, and automated responses free-up team members to concentrate on delivery rather than the process.
Take a look at this video to see how it works.
You have control
Marina Assist users don’t need to come to us to publish a new offer – control over all elements of Booking Request is in the Administration settings. And if you’re worried about team members making random changes, all users have roles that define access rights.
Dates and scheduling
You can offer date-specific services, such as dockage and launch requests, or activities with a close date, like event sign-up. Or your offer may be unrelated to date, for example, membership inquiry.
If required, activities with a start and end date can have a maximum duration. For example, transients could only book stays for up to five consecutive days. This allows your dockmasters to talk through options with long-stay guests.
You can also define how far in advance dates are available for booking. If you don’t want customers booking too far ahead while you’re still finalizing schedules and staffing, you might set a 90-day limit. So, in January, boaters could book into March, but not July. The choice is yours.
Deliverability
One fear with online requests is overbooking, and we’ve solved this with ‘slots. You can allocate a specific number of slots where capacity is limited, such as spaces at an event, transient slips, or crane movements.
Slots are the maximum number of deliverables you’re making available online. You could set the number of slots below actual capacity, so you can continue to take bookings by phone or be available for emergencies.
You can also vary the slots by day. If you don’t operate the crane on the weekend, you will set Saturday and Sunday to zero.
And, because we know that marine businesses work around seasonality, tides, regattas, scheduled maintenance, and team holidays, we’ve built in a simple calendar override.
As they make their request, boaters use an intuitive date-picker calendar to select preferred start and end dates, with available dates only offered for selection.
Automated notifications
Communication is the backbone of every successful operation, whether between the company and customer or internal teams.
Every submission made through Booking Request is visible to all Marina Assist users on a dashboard with drill-down detail. From here, users can accept, decline, or otherwise process.
To save time and help with prioritization, you can set automatic emails to alert team members to certain types of requests. That way, your sales team is made aware of new inquiries, or the dockmaster knows who wants to visit. And by linking to a Task, the request automatically drops into the activity calendar, ready for scheduling.
Customers need confidence that you’ve received and are actioning their request, so again, you can set automated email or SMS text notifications.
Wouldn’t it be great for a boater to receive an email telling them that their boat is launched and wishing them a fun weekend? With a full HTML editor, your emails can be personalized and beautiful as well as informative! Use the feature to take your customer service to the next level.
Booking Request delivers
We know that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for marine businesses. Each marina has a unique mix of operational opportunities and challenges – a distinct range of products and services and a different blend of customers.
Booking Request is flexible. You can use it to sell to, recruit or engage with customers. To be more responsive to boaters’ needs and streamline your processes.
Like every element of Marina Assist, we help you work more efficiently and effectively.
If you’re looking to offer your customers more choices, enhance customer experience, and smooth teamwork, Marina Assist can help.
Interested? Call us on (410) 834-0559 or email [email protected] and let’s talk about how we can help your marina team to work smarter and connect with customers.
