The Ultimate Guide to Using the Booking.com Extranet
Booking.com is one of the most popular online travel agencies (OTAs) that connects travelers with accommodations worldwide. For property owners, having a strong presence on Booking.com can significantly boost bookings and revenue. To effectively manage your property and make the most out of your listing, it’s essential to understand and utilize the Booking.com Extranet.
In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about the Booking.com Extranet, from accessing the login portal to navigating its features, changing rates, responding to guest reviews, and more. Whether you’re a new user or looking to optimize your property’s performance, this guide will provide you with valuable insights and tips.
What is the Booking.com Extranet?
The Booking.com Extranet is a powerful administrative dashboard that allows property owners to manage their listings on Booking.com. It provides access to a range of essential tools and features, including updating property information, managing reservations, adjusting rates, and communicating with guests. The Extranet serves as a central hub for property owners to control and optimize their presence on the platform.
Why is the Booking.com Extranet Valuable for Hoteliers?
The Booking.com Extranet offers several key advantages for hoteliers and property owners:
- Listing Management: With the Extranet, you have complete control over your property’s information displayed on Booking.com. You can update details such as payment options, policies, room descriptions, rates, photos, and reviews. This ensures that potential guests receive accurate and up-to-date information about your property.
- Reservation Management: The Extranet provides a centralized system to view, manage, and track reservations. You can access information about past and upcoming bookings, make changes to reservations if needed, and communicate with guests directly through the platform.
- Rate Management: One of the critical factors for success on Booking.com is setting competitive rates. The Extranet allows you to adjust your rates based on factors such as availability, seasonality, and market demand. By regularly reviewing and optimizing your rates, you can attract more bookings and maximize your revenue.
- Performance Insights: The Extranet provides valuable data and analytics to help you understand your property’s performance on Booking.com. You can access reports and metrics that reveal important insights about your occupancy, revenue, guest reviews, and more. This data can guide your decision-making and help you identify areas for improvement.
While the Booking.com Extranet offers powerful tools for property management, it can be challenging to navigate, especially for new users or those managing multiple OTAs. To streamline the process and ensure efficient management across all your channels, consider using a channel manager like Little Hotelier. A channel manager allows you to manage rates and availability on multiple platforms simultaneously, including Booking.com.
How to Access the Booking.com Extranet Login
To access the Booking.com Extranet, follow these simple steps:
- Go to the Booking.com extranet login.
- Enter your login credentials, including your login name and password.
- Select your preferred language.
- Click on the “Log in” button to access the Extranet.
On your first visit to the Extranet, you may be required to verify your identity by entering a six-digit number received through a text message, phone call, or the Booking.com Pulse app.
In case you forget your password, you can easily retrieve or reset it by selecting the “Having trouble signing in?” option on the login screen.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Use the Booking.com Extranet
The Booking.com Extranet can be overwhelming, especially for new users. To help you navigate and utilize its features effectively, here is a step-by-step guide:
1) Navigating the Extranet
When you log into the Extranet, you will see a dashboard with various options and sections. To access and update your property information, click on the relevant tabs or links. For example, to edit payment options and policies, navigate to the “Property” or “Property Settings” section. To make changes to rooms and rates, go to the “Rooms & Availability” or “Rates & Availability” tab.
To quickly find essential information, you can click on the property symbol at the top of the page to view your property ID and other relevant details. If you find the Extranet interface challenging to navigate, consider using a channel manager software like Little Hotelier, which offers a user-friendly interface for managing multiple OTAs.
2) Improving Listing Visibility
To increase the visibility of your Booking.com listing, Booking.com provides various insights and options. One way to improve performance is by setting up specials and offering discounts to attract more bookers. Additionally, Booking.com offers tips and recommendations on the “Opportunities” page to help you optimize your property’s performance.
While these general tips can be helpful, it’s crucial to remember that each property is unique, and not all recommendations may be suitable for your business. For more personalized guidance and strategies tailored to small hoteliers, consider exploring resources specifically designed for your needs.
3) Removing a Listing
If you need to make your listing temporarily unavailable, you can close it on the Extranet’s availability calendar. However, keep in mind that you can only close the room for a date range after the prior reservation. If there are upcoming bookings on the listing, you won’t be able to deactivate it.
To completely remove a listing from Booking.com, you’ll need to send a message to Booking.com through the Extranet and request its deactivation. Keep in mind that this process may take some time, so it’s not a quick solution for emergencies.
It’s important to note that deleting units from the “Room Details/Property Layout” tab only removes room types, not the entire listing, which will continue to appear on Booking.com.
4) Responding to Guest Reviews
Engaging with guest reviews is essential for managing your property’s reputation on Booking.com. You can respond to guest reviews directly through the Extranet or the Booking.com Pulse app. However, it’s important to note that any modifications or deletions of existing responses can only be done through the Extranet.
To respond to a guest review via the Extranet, follow these steps:
- Log into the Extranet.
- Click on ‘Guest Reviews’ under the ‘Guest Reviews’ section.
- Find the review you want to respond to and click on ‘Reply’.
- Draft your response and click ‘Send’ once finished.
When responding to guest reviews, aim to personalize your response, maintain a polite and courteous tone, and keep your responses concise and accurate. Craft original responses for each review to add authenticity and specificity. A sincere response, coupled with a positive attitude, can help mitigate the impact of a negative review and influence potential guests who read the reviews.
For more tips on how to respond to hotel reviews effectively, you can refer to resources specifically designed for small hoteliers.
How to Change Rates in the Booking.com Extranet Portal
Managing your rates on Booking.com is crucial to stay competitive and attract bookings. The Extranet provides you with the tools to adjust your rates based on factors such as availability, seasonality, and market demand. Here’s how you can change rates in the Booking.com Extranet:
- From your Extranet homepage, navigate to the ‘Rates & Availability’ tab.
- Select the room and dates for which you want to change the rates.
- Enter the new rates in the provided fields.
- Save your changes.
Regularly reviewing and adjusting your rates can significantly impact your property’s visibility and bookings on Booking.com. To further streamline rate management and gain insights into competitors’ rates, consider using a comprehensive property management and channel management system like Little Hotelier.
Simplify Your Property Management with Little Hotelier
While the Booking.com Extranet offers valuable features, managing multiple logins and interfaces across different OTAs can be time-consuming and challenging. To simplify your property management and optimize your presence on Booking.com and other OTAs, consider using Little Hotelier.
Little Hotelier is an all-in-one property management and customer relationship management system designed specifically for small hotels. Here’s why Little Hotelier is the perfect solution for small hoteliers:
- Designed for Small Hotels: Little Hotelier caters specifically to the unique needs and challenges of small hoteliers. Its comprehensive features cover front desk operations, listing management, guest communications, and more, all on a single platform.
- User-Friendly Interface: Little Hotelier offers a user-friendly interface that simplifies the property management process. With intuitive navigation, you can easily access the features you need without a steep learning curve.
- Comprehensive Solution: With Little Hotelier, you get a complete property management and customer relationship management system in one place. You can efficiently manage your listings, track bookings, handle guest communications, and analyze your performance without the hassle of juggling multiple platforms.
By using Little Hotelier, small hotel businesses can enhance their guest experience, increase bookings, and achieve a significant return on investment. In fact, businesses using Little Hotelier have seen potential increases of up to 46% in bookings and an impressive ROI of 63x.