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Hi everyone!
We hope you all enjoyed the 'tournament of the year' - we certainly saw increased tourist activity both through BookIt and around BookIt HQ on Wellington waterfront at the Fanzone. Most importantly though, our boys in black have managed to pull out another history-making performance and bring the Webb Ellis Cup home!
Things are settling down a bit now, so it might be a good time to take a load off and relax. This month we've got some interesting facts and figures, insight into what we're working on here and more. Enjoy!
Interesting stats throughout the 'Tournament of the Year'
You won't be surpirsed to learn that we've seen an increase in booking activity over the past few months. Tourists have flocked from around the world to support their respective motherlands and New Zealanders have played host in a fantastic way.
We noticed large increases in bookings and arrivals over 2010 as per the charts below. We've also seen big lifts in international travellers with a suspicious rugby bias:
Christmas and New Year - Updating your inventory
With the festive season fast approaching, it's worth making sure that your BookIt inventory manager is up to date to avoid double-bookings.
If you're using a channel manager to facilitate your BookIt inventory, that's great. If you update it manually but need a refresher course, here's how to do it:
- Login to your BookIt account and click on 'Inventory Manager' at the top
- Scroll down to see a list of your products along with its allocation on each date
- Find the dates using the calendar on the top-left or the '1 Week/2 Weeks' buttons at the bottom
- Inside the corresponding box for the product and date, put the number 0 to show no availability
- Click 'Save' underneath the calendar to lock in the changes
This should ensure that travellers aren't able to book for dates you're unavailable. Have questions about this process? You'll find our customer support contact details at the bottom of this newsletter.
Well, that’s it for another month. Before we go, we wanted to share this brilliant news from Tourism Dunedin's annual report: "...we integrated the country's best online booking service (BookIt)... within the first 6 months of 2011 Tourism Dunedin had already surpassed end of year online targets."
Awesome!
Thanks for reading, and remember - if you have any questions about your BookIt account, please feel free to contact our support stars on support@bookit.co.nz or 0508 BOOKIT.
Kind Regards,
The BookIt team
We’ve just completed a major revamp of the Bookit booking process. The new process is cleaner, feature-rich and requires only 1 or 2 steps to complete bookings. Early indicators are that the new booking process has directly increased conversions by up to 30%.
If you use BookIt on your own website you’re already running on the new version. We’ll be sending a detailed feature summary so look out for this in your inbox soon.
BookIt Newsletter April 2011
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BookIt Newsletter
April 2011
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Wellington is feeling the early grip of winter, but things are heating up around
the Travel office at Trade Me with plenty of exciting new features and changes on
the go. There's something for everyone here so grab a cuppa, a hot cross bun and
take a look.
Cheers - Daniel
In this issue:
- New BookIt features
- New Travelbug features
- New resellers in the network
- Cancellation fee increase to $20
- Secret Sale - Travelbug's new opaque channel
- BookIt Easter Support hours
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New BookIt features
- Cancellation policy seasons - you can now set a specific cancellation
policy against a specific date range. So a normally fully-refundable product could,
for example, be made fully non-refundable for September and October bookings. Simply
select "this policy only applies between specific dates" when setting up a new policy
- Inclusions - hooray! Inclusions now show on Travelbug and on operator
and traveller confirmation emails. Make sure your inclusions are showing by visiting
Inventory manager > Manage inclusions. You can set default inclusions that apply
to all dates, and override inclusions that only apply to specific dates.
- Coming soon - we're doing the biggest overhaul of the standard
BookIt booking process ever, to give it a fresh look and make it flow better. We'll
tell you more soon but at this stage we're looking to release it in early June
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New Travelbug features
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- Affiliate programme - we've got a flash new affiliate programme
for Travelbug. If you have a website, you can add links or widgets to offer your
users NZ accommodation, and you'll earn a share of the commission on confirmed bookings.
Email Chris Larcombe for more information.
- Inclusions - we've updated the grids to show inclusions information
to Travelbug users.
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New resellers in the network
We've got more new resellers selling product around the world every month, here
are the latest additions:
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Cancellation fee increase to $20
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Back in 2004, Andrew and Ryan set the traveller fee for cancellations in BookIt
at $10, based on the average booking value and their booking mix at the time. Things
have changed a lot since then and we're looking at lifting the fee to $20 to better
reflect the booking values in 2011. You'll still have the flexibility to ask us
to waive the fee for extraordinary circumstances. If you have any concerns, please
let us know, otherwise we'll be making these changes for all bookings made on the
BookIt system from 9 May 2011.
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Coming soon - Travelbug Secret Sale
We've got a cool new opaque channel launching on Travelbug in a couple of weeks
that we're calling "Secret Sale". It will work much like other opaque channels,
whereby Travelbug users will be able to book great deals if they're willing to take
a risk and book before they know exactly where they'll be staying. We’re launching
in Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown and Rotorua to start with, and will roll out
further from there. Take a look on Travelbug from 2 May 2011.
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Easter Support hours
Crystal will be on deck this Saturday and Sunday, but on Friday and Monday we won't
have full time cover. Instead, the marvellous Jeff Hunkin will be checking the inbox
for super-urgent issues, so if you need help that can't wait until the next day,
email us with "URGENT" in the subject line.
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Thanks for reading, and happy Easter. If you need any help, please contact us on
0508 BOOKIT or email support@bookit.co.nz.
Kind Regards,
The BookIt team
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It has been a busy start to the year for the BookIt development team and we've just released our new 'daily inclusions' feature.
What is daily inclusion data you may ask?
It is a short summary of what your guests will enjoy with the room/product they book. Inclusion data should describe what the customer is paying for, eg "includes buffet breakfast for two and free wi-fi internet", rather than a full room description. This information will also appear on the Travelbug confirmation page and the traveller and operator confirmation emails.
Here's how it looks on Travelbug:
 How to load inclusions data
If you are a customer of Siteminder, Seekom or STAAH you just need to ensure you have loaded inclusion data at that end and BookIt will do the rest. Take a look at your listing on Travelbug to see how it looks.
If you are not using one of the channel managers above you will need to load and manage the inclusions directly in your BookIt account.
- Login to BookIt
- Click on the 'Inventory Manager' tab
- Click on the 'Manage inclusions' link
- Enter your default inclusions for each product. Where a rate includes just the room, enter "Room only"
- Click 'Save' when you are finished
If you need to enter separate inclusions for individual dates, click on 'Override inclusions' - again don't forget to click 'Save' when you are finished.
Both the BookIt booking confirmation email and booking details pages will include the relevant inclusions data for the booking, so you and your team know what the guest has paid for and is expecting. Login to BookIt now
If you have any questions at all, please contact us any day of the week between 9am and 5pm on 0508 BOOKIT or support@bookit.co.nz
Happy inclusion-ing!
I'm pleased to say that the reseller API now allows multiple accommodation categories to be queried. Instead of passing a single PIMCode parameter you can now pass a comma separated list of PIMCode parameters.
E.g. "HOT,MOT,BAB" - this would return all hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts.
If you pass nothing to the API it will return all types. The full list of PIMCodes are as follows:
| Hotels |
HOT |
| Motels |
MOT |
| Bed and Breakfasts |
BAB |
| Backpackers |
BAK |
| Apartments |
APT |
| Lodges |
LOD |
| Holiday Parks |
PRK |
| Holiday Houses |
HSD |
It's now February and 2011 is in full swing. We've been busy and have a number
of exciting new features to tell you about and a cool new activities reseller on the network. Check them out and
as always, let us know if you need anything!
Cheers - Daniel
In this issue:
- Using BookIt in your own website or for the new-look newzealand.com
- New BookIt features
- New Travelbug features
- Trade Me auctions reminder
- New resellers in the network
- Reseller feature - activate-me.co.nz
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BookIt, low cost self-retail and the new newzealand.com
You may know that you can use BookIt to sell your own product on your own website, but you may not know that it only
costs 4.5% commission for accommodation bookings and 6% for non-accommodation - including credit card fees and commission.
With the new newzealand.com providing you
the opportunity to link to your own website, make sure you are maximising all your traffic by offering quick and easy
bookings for all visitors to your site. Adding BookIt to your site is quick and easy and is available for no upfront cost.
You can add BookIt to your website for no upfront cost or you can choose to
add your own website's look and feel for a small additional cost.
Contact us for more information.
You may know that you can use BookIt to sell your own product on your own website, but you may not know that it only
costs 4.5% commission for accommodation bookings and 6% for non-accommodation - including credit card processing fees.
With the new newzealand.com providing you the
opportunity to have a 'Book Now' link to your own website, make sure you are
maximising all your traffic by offering realtime (and secure) booking services to visitors to your site. Adding
BookIt to your site is quick and easy and is available for no upfront cost. You can choose to add your own website's
look and feel for a small additional cost.
Another reason for adding BookIt services to your own website is to be able to measure the effectiveness of your
website, and cut down on the steps potential guests/visitors need to make to confirm a booking. Recent
feedback from Flying Kiwi Parasail in the Bay of Islands was very positive, they have had over $5000 in
direct bookings since adding the BookIt calendar to their website in December - prior to that it was difficult to differentiate where the booking closed i.e. web, email, phone or walk up.
Contact us for more information, and for assistance in adding BookIt services and tools to your own website.
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New BookIt features
The dev team have recently released a few cool new features on BookIt
including:
- Manage products outside your channel manager - if you've ever wanted to
run a short-term promotion on Travelbug but have been unable to because it takes
too long linking it with your channel manager, good news! You can now choose to
load a product and manage it manually by entering rates and inventory directly
in your Inventory Manager.
- Product descriptions on accommodation bookings - travellers and operators
now get the full product description on confirmation emails. This makes it
easier for both parties to see what has been booked. Please make sure you are
happy with your product descriptions today.
Login to BookIt and check out these new features.
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New Travelbug features
Trevor the Travelbug continues to sharpen up his act. There will be more cool
new features coming out soon (so watch this space) but for now here are the
recent improvements:
- Travelbug enquiry feature - we now allow back-and-forth enquiry threads
between travellers and Travelbug properties to enable easier enquiry and reply.
These enquiries are free for operators and so we'd ask that wherever possible
you direct travellers back to your Travelbug listing to make their booking.
- Travelbug deals of the week email makeover - one property per week will be featured at
the top of the email and in the subject
line. If you have a deal that you would like featured, email
deals@travelbug.co.nz and send us the
details.
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| Trade Me auctions reminder |
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Have you tried auctions on Trade Me yet? You can load accommodation
auctions in BookIt for no upfront cost (just a 10% commission on confirmed
bookings) and there is no post-auction hassle.
Auctions are great for selling distressed inventory but even more useful
for getting free exposure for your business. To maximise the opportunity you
should make your auction name interesting, make your description stand out and
try $1 reserve auctions - they attract more bids, more pageviews and therefore
more buzz.
Login to BookIt and
load some auctions today!
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New resellers
in the network
We've got more new resellers selling product around the world every month, here are the latest additions:
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Reseller feature - Activate Me
Activate-Me.co.nz is a website devoted to promoting activities throughout New Zealand. Like Accommodate-Me, every listing can
display pictures, video, description text and BookIt calendars and secure booking service.
All Activate Me listings will display on Accommodate-Me accommodation listings enabling you to be viewed by over 50,000 visitors every
year. We invite all BookIt customers to list on Activate-Me for a yearly fee of $59.95 + GST.
To view the site go to Activate-Me.co.nz or for more
information, contact steve@accommodateme.co.nz
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BookIt billing address change
Please make sure you have the correct billing address for BookIt - it is:
BookIt
C/- Trade Me Limited
PO Box 11042
Wellington
New Zealand
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Thanks for reading. If you need any help, please contact us on 0508 BOOKIT or email support@bookit.co.nz.
Kind Regards,
The BookIt team
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We are only closed for a couple of days over the Christmas and New Year period to provide you the best service possible. Opening hours:
| Now until 24th December |
9am-5pm every day |
| 25th and 26th December |
CLOSED |
| 27th December - 31st December |
9am -5pm every day |
| 1st and 2nd January |
CLOSED |
| 3rd January onwards |
9am-5pm every day |
On the days we are closed we will be checking the inbox for urgent matters. If you have something that cannot wait until the next business day, send us an email with "URGENT" in the subject line and it will be picked up when we periodically check the inbox. We wish you a safe, prosperous and enjoyable festive season. Happy holidays! 
Trevor, our trusty Travelbug, turned three this year and we thought he deserved an upgrade. Everyday kiwis will now find it even easier to find and book great accommodation deals at over 2500 properties throughout New Zealand. The list of changes Trev' has seen to his home is a bit long for this blog post, but the results speak for themselves. Shoot over to Travelbug now and check it out for yourself. Trev says it's looking fantastic and we're sure travellers using the site will think so too.
When you're visiting the new site, keep an eye out for Trevor in the photos of one of the hotels featured on the homepage and you can go in the draw to win some U2 tickets.
Visit www.travelbug.co.nz now!
 Unless you have been living under a rock you will know that as of midnight tonight the New Zealand GST rate is changing to 15%. We've been working hard to make sure the new rate is calculated correctly on bookings, amendments, cancellations and all GST invoices that we issue.
Below is the effect this change will have on your bookings:
Operators
- If you are GST registered, travellers will be invoiced at the new rate of 15% from midnight on 1 October (invoices are sent to customers with your name and GST number)
- Trade Me's booking fee/commission will be invoiced to you at the new rate of 15% from midnight on 1 October
- However the rate of 12.5% will apply for credit notes issued for cancellations of bookings confirmed prior to 1 October
Retailers
- Trade Me generates a buyer created tax invoice for the commission you have earned when we pay you each Thursday
- From 1 October the GST rate of this invoice will change from 12.5% to 15% - even if the booking was confirmed prior to 1 October
If you have any questions about the GST change please let us know.
As of 1pm today Vianet is no longer available to operators or retailers to take new bookings. However, forward Vianet bookings and funds are safe and you will still be able to log into your Vianet account to review existing bookings and draw down funds. If you are still using Vianet in your website to process bookings, you need to remove these links ASAP. Simply visit the Product setup > edit business > link manager page in BookIt and you'll find the tools you need. 
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