Kia Ora there,

It's been a busy and exciting month for the Tomahawk & ResBook team, including Renee & Georgia attending the Tourism Export Council (TECNZ) conference & returning with an award! More on the award, and a newsletter packed full of strategies and information to keep you up to date heading into spring 🌻, including:

• 5 Social Media Marketing Strategies from our webinar
• August FREE webinar: Google Strategies for Tourism 🎓 
• An introduction to HyperGuest available via ResChannel
• July booking intelligence review – latest insights & trends 🔍
• ResBook Knowledge Base Tips – View the top 5 articles in July
• Customer Spotlight 🔦  – Elements of Castor Bay

Georgia Wins YoungTEC Rising Star Award! 🏆 💫

We are over the moon and extremely proud to share that Georgia MacMillan, is joint winner of the YoungTEC Rising Star Award for 2023! Along with Morgan Potter from Tourism Central Otago, Georgia has been recognised as a young professional who is contributing towards tourism development. As a Tomahawk Account Manager, Georgia is helping our tourism clients on a daily basis to achieve success with their digital marketing.

(Pictured above: Scott Mehrtens, Morgan Potter, Georgia MacMillan, Charlotte Brady & Rene de Monchy)

 5 Social Media Strategies To Boost Your Business

In our July Tourism Tech Talk on social media marketing, our subject expert Jaimee Beck discussed 5 Strategies she recommends to build brand awareness and engagement on your social media platforms.  

Explore these 5 strategies in our article and watch the webinar recording:

1.  The AI Revolution
2. Community Management
3. Closed Captions on Video
4. User Generated Content
5. Brand Authenticity

Tourism Tech Talks - Free Monthly Webinars!

August Webinar: Google Strategies

Hosted by Gina Paladini and our subject expert Tip Varnakomala, learn the latest tips and strategies using Google tools to drive website traffic and bookings.

WHEN: 22nd August 11am-12pm

HyperGuest: Connect via ResChannel

You can now connect to the HyperGuest platform through ResBook's channel manager ResChannel.

HyperGuest is a new way to connect directly & dynamically with a network of travel providers such as Online Travel Agents (OTAs), retail travel agents, and wholesalers who are all eager to book properties in our region.

Another winter month is behind us to look at booking intelligence. We are continuing to see a trend of strong booking volumes but travellers are tending to spend less. Our latest Booking Intelligence data reflects the following for July:

• Booking volumes in July increased by 13% compared to June, also beating both April and May. However the average booking value was down 4% compared to June. This could indicate that accommodation providers are discounting rates to get occupancy rates up. If you are discounting room rates, also consider offering add-ons at the time of booking to boost additional revenue opportunities.
• Direct website bookings continue to be strong as they accounted for 28% of all July Bookings.
• Overall, the average booking value YTD for 2023 is down 28% compared to 2022 showing that travellers are spending less on their accommodation.
• Booking volumes YTD are up slightly, having increased 2.5% against the same period for 2022, and are at 74% of the same period for 2019. 
• We are still seeing globally a trend of travellers looking for more flexibility and certainty with their bookings. However, less than 10% of New Zealand operators are choosing to offer refund protected bookings, which is considerably less compared to other countries. 

Most Viewed Knowledge Base Articles in July 👀

Here are the July Top 5 most viewed help articles in our Knowledge Base:

1. How to use the ResBook Mobile App 
2. How to add Staff Contacts to ResBook
3. Setting up Services in ResBook - services could be things like late check out, airport transfers and other optional extras
4. GA4 Ecommerce Tracking in ResBook - setting up ecommerce tracking provides invaluable data on how visitors to your website interact with ResBook
5. How to connect ResBook to Cronofy - this is a calendar integration app that lets you connect ResBook to a personal calendar like Google & Outlook. 

Can't find something in the Knowledge Base? Get in touch with Client Services, we'd be happy to help 👍🏼

Customer Spotlight: Elements of Castor Bay

Rochelle & Stuart have created a true sanctuary on Auckland's North Shore to escape and "exhale" from the hustle and bustle of the city. Elements of Castor Bay is a luxurious retreat overlooking the bay catering to discerning travellers.

We highly value our partnership with Rochelle & Stuart, which includes ResBook and the Booking Engine, plus creation of their branding and website.

What do you see as the biggest challenge for this season?

Rochelle: Airline capacity has been improving which has helped bring more tourists to NZ, but the world is entering quite a synchronised downturn/recession, which means people from many areas of the world will potentially reduce expenditure on overseas travel, reducing the number of tourist that we see in NZ.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who is looking to start an accommodation business?

Rochelle: As is true in all career paths, you will be most successful if you love what you do, so make sure it is something you are passionate about. There is a big step in going from the wonderful places you have stayed, to creating your own project with a goal to providing a seamless experience from the dream to the reality. It can be hugely fulfilling, however you do need to value service to others, as each person you invite into your accommodation has their own set of unique expectations so you constantly need to adapt, and you really need to get pleasure out of going above and beyond to make other people happy.

ResBook: How has ResBook helped your business?

Rochelle: ResBook has provided a seamless platform to hold our booking data, which can be leveraged to other third party sites, allowing us to keep real time booking updates on just one site. It has also provided a good platform for communication with guests. ResBook keeps everything super simple and on one integrated platform, with excellent tutorials, self help articles and support.

ResBook: What is one of your favourite guest stories?

Rochelle: It's hard to narrow them down as meeting new and interesting people is always a highlight. One of our favourites was a gentleman who needed accommodation for himself for one night, then booked a second night so his wife could join him, after which they ended up staying on for a number of weeks becoming part of the Elements family and routine. The best part is they have booked to return again. Return bookings are our very favourite part of the experience, there is no better feedback!

Get Your Business in the Spotlight! 🔦

Any ResBook customer is invited to participate in our spotlight series!  Your spotlight will be featured in our newsletter, published in the spotlight & blog sections of our website, and shared on our LinkedIn & Facebook pages! 

Contacting ResBook for Urgent Issues

In the unlikely event of a critical issue occurring, such payments are down, or you are unable to generate revenue, the best way to get help is:

• Email Client Services with URGENT in the subject line
• This email inbox is monitored 7 days a week so rest assured urgent emails will be identified quickly.

PLEASE NOTE:  It is important to reserve the use of URGENT only for critical issues that immediately impact on your business taking revenue, so that our support team can react to priority issues promptly 😊

Ngā mihi

The ResBook team

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