If you’re having trouble logging into your Vianet account, there may be a number of factors causing this to occur. The first thing to do is to ensure that you’re using the e-mail address that you signed up to Vianet with. If you are not sure which e-mail address you should be using, click on the ‘forgot my password’ link and enter in the most likely e-mail address, Vianet will tell you if it is not recognised. Otherwise, contact us and we’ll let you know which e-mail address to use.

The ‘forgot my password’ link should be your first port of call should you find that you’re unable to log into your Vianet account. You can find this here: http://www.vianet.travel/user/forgotPassword

Simply enter your e-mail address in the box provided and click on ‘Send e-mail’ to have Vianet send you an email enabling you to reset your password, and login to your Vianet account.

If you’re still having trouble, try clearing any saved passwords and cache that you have saved for the Vianet site, as this may be interfering with your ability to log in correctly. This process will vary for different internet browsers, so if you use another that is not listed below, try searching http://www.google.com for specific instructions on how to achieve this for your browser.

• Mozilla Firefox: http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Clear+Recent+History
• Internet Explorer: http://www.microsoft.com/nz/windows/internet-explorer/support/faq.aspx - see the ‘How do I delete browsing history/private data’ question
• Safari (Apple Mac): http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3643 - scroll through this information to find the section on clearing private data

If you continue to experience problems logging in, please contact us for further assistance.

Date: Thursday 17th December

2008 vs. 2009

2009 was the second full year of operation for Vianet. We started the year as a small team and are ending the year as a small team, but part of something much larger following the acquisition by Trade Me in May. Online accommodation bookings continue to grow in comparison to offline bookings and Vianet provides a great way for you to take advantage of this growth. Back in June the Ministry of Tourism reported that online accommodation bookings by RVM respondents have increased 16% since 2007 (up from 42% to 58%), while phone bookings have fallen 14% (down from 44% to 30%).

Confirmed bookings transacted by Vianet in 2009 are up 88% on 2008… and we still have 2 weeks left to go! We see continued strong growth in 2010 and look forward to bringing you new features, enhancements and more exposure through the Trade Me Travel business.

Recent Vianet booking stats

* Bookings transacted by Vianet in the last 2 months grew 55% over the same period last year, with November now being the biggest transaction month to date!

* Bookings generated from realtime inventory continue to outweigh bookings generated by request with 74% of bookings coming from ‘instant confirmation’ inventory!

* The average lead time for bookings generated in October was 41 days, which dropped to 34 days in November - just in time for Christmas! Maximise your online booking potential by ensuring that your availability and pricing is up to date and meeting the market for at least the next 90 days but don’t forget Vianet promotes 365 days of your availability to the retail network!

* Accommodation operators based in the Canterbury region had the highest volume of bookings transacted by Vianet in October and November. Auckland was close behind, followed by Rotorua, Northland, Wellington and Wairarapa!

New retail partners

51 retail partners generated bookings for the Vianet Operator Network in November, the biggest number to date. We welcome the following new partners to the Vianet Retail Network and encourage accommodation operators to search each of the sites for your listing and use the opportunity to check availability, pricing and content accuracy (that is if the retailer is relevant to your market):

• Kidz Go
• Family Accommodation New Zealand
• Auckland Motels
• Wanganui.com
• NZ Campervan

Meet the Retailer - Kiwidragon

Boost your occupancy levels by effectively targeting Chinese visitors. Kiwidragon has built a site with content so rich that it has been selectively used/copied/quoted by many Chinese websites around the world. They even have dedicated a page to ‘Accommodation Etiquette’, encouraging the Chinese to “Do what the Kiwis do when in Aotearoa”

Their goal is to help Chinese holiday makers in and/or visiting NZ easily make accommodation bookings online in their own language. With a few clicks of a mouse, your would-be Chinese customers can make an accommodation booking in real time via the Vianet booking system seamlessly embedded in your professional Chinese web page on kiwidragon.com. Click here for an example

If you want to target the growing Chinese market and avoid time consuming (and frustrating) communications with potential Chinese customers, plus avoid wasted advertising spend on ineffective Chinese media then don’t look past Kiwidragon.

George and the team have put together a fantastic offer for you to reach the Chinese market with your very own professionally translated web page, hosted on Kiwidragon. Visit the Kiwidragon website (this page is in English!) for details of the offer and more background on the Chinese market and Kiwidragon.

Channel Management update 

Realtime connections with three Inventory Management Systems/Channel Managers have gone live this month. If you are currently using (or planning to use) any of the below, you can set them up to process your inventory updates and pricing in Vianet automatically:

• Netroomz/Freeloader
• ChannelDIRECT 
• Strait.PMS

This brings the total number of channel management connections Vianet has to 12. If you are not currently enjoying the benefits of channel management (time saving - double booking risk reduction - increase in online bookings) visit our blog on this topic to learn more and view the entire list of our current connections.

Self retailing

Do you have a website and do not currently allow for secure online bookings? As an accommodation operator listed on the Vianet Operator Network we promote and sell your available dates through our retail network of over 100+ websites. When you confirm a booking you pay a commission of up to 12% (including credit card processing), depending on the website supplying you the booking. If you are not giving potential guests the ability to search your available dates and make a secure booking in your own site then they might end up booking through a different website, costing you money.

Use Vianet retail tools in your own website to enable your potential guest to view availability and rates then make a secure booking at a time that suits them - in realtime! Our dynamic booking calendar is the most popular tool for self retail, and believe it or not, very simple to embed in your own website. Here is a good example of the booking calendar in action.

The best news is you only pay 3% on bookings transacted by Vianet from your own website, which includes credit card processing. No upfront or monthly fees! Contact us for more information or instructions on how to embed Vianet retail tools in your own website.

Housekeeping

* Booking cancellations The topic of booking cancellations continues to rank as the most common question asked of the Customer Support Team. If a traveller contacts you to cancel their booking made through Travelbug (or any of the other 100+ Vianet retailers) you do not need to contact the Vianet Customer Support Team.  A couple of simple easy clicks of the mouse when logged in to Vianet will activate the system to process the cancellation and distribute resulting funds to relevant parties, based on the cancellation policy. Click here for more information and instructions on how to process cancellations.

* Including breakfast in your room rate In the October newsletter we asked that if breakfast is not included in your room rate please do not tick the ‘Breakfast’ or ‘Breakfast (continental)’ options within ‘Product Facilities’. Travelbug has now decided to remove the ‘Breakfast’ and ‘Breakfast (continental)’ facility options based on consumer feedback. We recommend the best way to advertise breakfast is to include it within the ‘Product Name’ i.e. Luxury suite with breakfast… and also include it in the ‘product description.’

* Don’t miss out on revenue We have come across a couple of examples of late where ‘Additional Guest Rates’ have not been entered, resulting in operators receiving less for the booking than they should have. It is vital that, if you do want to charge for additional guests you set up your Vianet product ‘Default Pricing’ accordingly. If your Vianet listing is connected to your PMS System/Channel Manager, please ensure the equivalent product is set up identically within the Channel Manager interface. We strongly recommend you test the pricing you have on display in Travelbug to make sure additional guests are priced accordingly.

* Drawing down booking funds Vianet holds the booking funds in trust on behalf of your guest. The net funds will move from ‘pending’ to ‘available’ 72 hours from the midnight following your Vianet booking check-in time (this will be visible in your Vianet dashboard.) Click here for more information and instructions on how to activate a draw down.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support in 2009 and we look forward to working with you in 2010. 

Best wishes and a Merry Christmas from Vianet, 

The Vianet Team - Daniel, Rachel, Jeff, Alex and Chris

Date: Thursday 15th October

Highlights from inaugural ‘E Tourism Conference’

Daniel and Chris attended the inaugural E Tourism Conference in Wellington at the start of this month. Both were very impressed with the event, especially the calibre of presenters and quality/relevance of presentations. It was also a great opportunity to mix and mingle with tourism operators, regional tourism organisations and technology companies and we wish to take this opportunity to say a big hi to everyone who visited the Travelbug/Vianet trade stand. Core topics raised and repeated during the day and a half were:

- Connectivity is a natural urge of tourists these days… embrace it! For example blogs, email, mobile phones, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc

- Word of mouth is the most influential sales trigger and user generated reviews are extremely powerful

- Simple, fastloading, user friendly, professionally designed sites are successful in building trust, credibility and ultimately bookings/sales. To borrow a quote from presenter Brent Kelly (Zeald.com) “Quirky no worky”

This list could go on and on but we recommend you visit the E Tourism Conference website and check out the presentations available for download

Vianet booking stats

* Bookings transacted by Vianet in August and September grew 72% and 77% over the same period last year with September being the biggest transaction month to date!

* Bookings generated from realtime inventory continue to outweigh bookings generated by request by at least 2 to 1

* The average lead time for bookings generated in August was 48 days, and 46 days in September. Maximise your online booking potential by ensuring your availability and pricing is up to date and meeting the market for at least the next 90 days… but don’t forget Vianet promotes 365 days of your availability to the retail network.

Retail Network update

48 Vianet Retail Partners generated bookings for the Vianet Operator Network in September, the biggest number to date. We look forward to the following new additions to the Retail Network growing your marketing reach and booking success even further:

• Booknstay 
• Kiwi Accommodation
• Kiwi Motels
• NZ Backpacker
• NZ-Auckland.com
• Expressbookings.co.nz
• Tongariro-crossing.co.nz

Meet the Retailer

In time for the peak tourist season, Accommodation New Zealand website has launched a new site called Booknstay. Booknstay is powered by the advanced Vianet booking system and will promote more than 2500 New Zealand accommodation options.

Accommodation New Zealand Founder, and Web Tonic internet marketing expert, Craig Cochrane, says market research informed his decision to effectively split the original Accommodation New Zealand website into two sites; one for businesses to list and promote their accommodation with enquiries going directly to their website or chosen booking system, and a separate site where guests can instantly book their New Zealand holiday.

Craig says clients and travellers are wanting both options, as well as smart, intuitive website design, so the creation of two separate websites clearly answered their needs.

The Accommodation New Zealand website has also undergone a smart refresh, including the addition of google mapping, and retains its No.1 ranking on www.google.co.nz for the most common holiday search phrase, ”accommodation New Zealand”. Craig’s search engine optimisation skills also ensured 120,000 visitors found the site last year using 28,542 other key search phrases.

List your business on Accommodation New Zealand this month and receive a 30% listing discount. For more information go to Accommodationnewzealand/advertise

As a Vianet accommodation operator you will be promoted free of charge on Booknstay with a 12% cost of sale (commission + secure processing fee) payable on confirmed bookings. Visit Booknstay and view how your listing looks from a traveller’s perspective.

Channel Management update 

We have come across a couple of examples of late where ‘Additional Guest Rates’ have not been entered in the channel manager interface, resulting in operators receiving less for the booking/room than they should. The simple solution for this is to make sure you enter the additional adult and child rates for relevant products, and the channel manager will feed this data to Vianet. We strongly recommend you test the pricing you have on display in Travelbug to make sure additional guests are priced accordingly.

Realtime connections with three Inventory Management Systems/Channel Managers are scheduled to go live in the next month. If you are currently using (or planning to do so) any of the following, updating your inventory and pricing in Vianet will process automatically:

• Strait.PMS
• Netroomz/Freeloader
• ChannelDIRECT 

This will bring the total number of connections Vianet has to 12. Visit our blog on this topic to learn of the benefits of linking with your PMS or Channel Manager, and view the list of our current connections.

Housekeeping

… Booking cancellations! If a traveller contacts you to cancel their booking made through Travelbug (or any of the other 100+ Vianet retailers) you do not need to contact the Vianet Customer Support Team.  A couple of simple easy clicks of the mouse when logged in to Vianet will activate the system to process the cancellation and distribute resulting funds to  relevant parties, based on the cancellation policy. Click here for more information, instructions and details on how to process cancellations.

… Do you offer breakfasts? If breakfast is not included in your room rate we ask you to not to tick the ‘Breakfast’ or ‘Breakfast (continental) options within ‘Product Facilities’. We have recently had an example of a guest who took this facility option as meaning breakfast was included in the room rate, and was not at all happy when learning that it was not.

… Effectively communicating ‘Breakfast is included’! Including breakfast in the room rate is a great strategy for ‘adding value’ and/or ‘increasing overall guest revenue’. Vianet does not currently allow for ‘daily inclusions’ which means the best way to communicate that breakfast is included in the rate is to use a combination of ‘Product Name’ i.e. “Queen room - including breakfast” and ‘Product Description’ i.e “Queen rooms offer one king bed or 2 single beds and open out to the hotel’s tranquil gardens. - Cooked breakfast is included.”

… Spring cleaning reminder! Labour Weekend and the summer season are fast approaching and there is no time like the present to undertake some spring cleaning of your Vianet listing! Review your current listing, plan ahead and make necessary changes for upcoming opportunities and challenges. The best place to start is visiting Trade Me’s Travelbug, search for your listing and view it from a traveller’s perspective. Is everything up to date and selling you effectively? Login to Vianet to make changes and feel free to email support@vianet.travel if you require assistance.

Tips for maximising online booking potential You’ve taken the first steps and registered with Vianet, but now what?

- Use ‘Instant Confirmation’… On average over 74% of all bookings transacted by Vianet are confirmed instantly!

- Keep your pricing and availability up to date… and make sure it is consistent across all online channels

- Make sure your listing content sells… not just informs!

For more detail and instructions on how to action the above tips visit http://blog.vianet.travel/help/3-easy-steps-to-online-booking-success/

Best wishes,

The Vianet Team

Date: Wednesday 19th August 2009

Spring into action

It’s hard to believe that spring is almost upon us. With school holidays, Labour Weekend and the summer season fast approaching there is no time like the present to undertake some spring cleaning… of your Vianet listing! Review your current listing, plan ahead and make necessary changes for upcoming opportunities and challenges. The best place to start is visiting Trade Me’s Travelbug, search for your listing and view it from a traveller’s perspective. Is everything up to date and selling you effectively? Login to Vianet to make changes and feel free to contact our customer support team if you require assistance.

Crackdown on declined bookings

Just over one month ago we communicated our revised process to reduce declined and expired bookings aimed at improving the user experience. We have already seen a positive impact with the number of declined/expired bookings reducing considerably from the 12 month average.
Visit our blog on this topic for more information on reducing the number of declined and expired booking requests and familiarise yourself with our revised process, and consequences.

Vianet booking stats

* Bookings transacted by Vianet in June and July continued the trend for 2009 by growing at least 100% on the same period last year.

* Bookings generated from realtime inventory continue to increase over bookings generated by request inventory and reached 78% vs 22% in July.

* The average lead time for bookings generated in June was 49 days and 51 days in July. This is much higher than the average for the past 12 months of 32 days and a positive sign that summer bookings are starting to flow through. Maximise your online booking potential by ensuring your availability and pricing is up to date and meeting the market for at least the next 90 days… but don’t forget Vianet promotes 365 days of your availability to the retail network.

* The average length of booking for June was 1.72 days and 1.78 days for July, slightly up on the 12 month average of 1.69 days.

Vianet now links with Seekom and MotelMate

Vianet makes updating room availability and pricing easier and now links with 9 of the most popular PMS (Property Management Systems) or Channel Managers.

We welcome both Seekom and MotelMate to the Vianet network and encourage you to activate the link if you are using either system.

Visit our blog on this topic to learn of the benefits of linking with your PMS or Channel Manager, and view the list of current and future connections.

Vianet team update

It was a sad week at Vianet last week as Justin Smith, our National Account Manager moved on to new challenges after 3 years with Vianet. We wish Justin all the best in his new role with Seekom.

Get behind the latest Tourism New Zealand campaign

More than 55,000 invitations have already been sent through Tourism New Zealand’s ‘Great Kiwi Invite’ campaign - just two weeks after its launch. Of those, 22,900 people have accepted invitations to come down and visit their ‘mates’ in New Zealand and to enter the draw to win one of 15 pairs of Air New Zealand return flights.

We believe this is a fantastic campaign, not just because the video invitation is super cute but as it benefits all of us through the heightened awareness of New Zealand!

Have you invited your friends and relatives? Sign up online at http://www.thegreatkiwiinvite.co.nz

See you at the E Tourism Conference - October 1st and 2nd

Daniel and Chris are looking forward to working the trade stand and representing Vianet and Travelbug at the inaugural E Tourism conference to be held in Wellington on the 1st and 2nd of October.

Why attend the E Tourism conference? Visit the official website and discover why and who the line up of speakers will be.

Best wishes,

The Vianet Team

It is commonly known that next to price, the top motivation of online travel shoppers for using a particular website is user experience.  Delivering a positive user experience that is not only highly interactive and informative but also visually compelling is critical to online booking success.  An effective shopping experience starts on the retail website home page and carries users all the way through the booking process. Vianet is committed to delivering a positive user experience on behalf of all stakeholders - accommodation operators, retailer and travellers.

Experience tells us the #1 complaint from online travel shoppers is ‘Why was my booking request declined when the room was showing available? Put yourself in the shoes of a traveller who has selected your accommodation and proceeds to make a booking. Would you be happy to receive an email saying this accommodation is no longer available?

For the 12 months to July 2009, 40% of bookings that began as a request were either declined by an operator, or expired after 24 hours. These declined booking requests both annoy customers and reduce revenue.
From Monday 20th July 2009 we will be implementing a revised process to reduce declined bookings, improve the user experience and benefit stakeholders.

1. Operators who decline or allow a booking request to expire will receive an email from Customer Support alerting them to the fact and advising on how to avoid future declines.
2. Should an operator decline or allow a second booking to expire Customer Support will ring them to discuss, and offer additional training.
3. If it happens a third time Customer Support will deactivate the operator’s listing - removing it from the retail network - and send an email advising of this fact. Deactivated operators will only be allowed back on the Vianet network if they use “realtime inventory” or “realtime link”.

It is the responsibility of the operator to ensure that on-request availability and pricing is kept up to date and accurate. As an alternative to on-request availability, you can offer instant confirmation using Vianet ‘realtime inventory’, or ‘realtime link’ if you use a channel manager/PMS system such as ResBook, MotelMate, Seekom, THS, Beds24,com, Ezyield, Siteminder, Staah or Levart. Visit separate blog on ‘How Vianet makes it easier for operator to update their pricing and availability‘

Accommodation operators using Vianet have agreed to the following T&C’s:

4.2 The Operator warrants, and will ensure, that the Operator Information:

(a) is accurate and current at all times;

4.3 Vianet reserves the right to:

(c) change, alter, amend or add to the Operator Information in any manner it reasonably deems appropriate to ensure the Operator Information is compatible with the Vianet System and is consistent with the layout or look and feel of the Vianet System;
5.1 Once the initial Operator Information has been posted and for the remainder of the term of this Agreement the Operator will:

(a) update and correct such information as necessary from time to time to meet the requirements contained in this Agreement;

(f) not do anything calculated to encourage Retailers and/or travellers who have viewed Operator Information through the Vianet System, to book the Operator Services through any means other than the Vianet System;

(h) not do anything calculated or reasonably likely to damage the reputation or goodwill of Vianet, any Retailer or any other operator using the Vianet System.

5.3 The Operator acknowledges that:

(e) the Operator is solely responsible for complying with its obligations in respect of the Operator Services; and

(f) Vianet may suspend the Operator from the Vianet System if in Vianet’s reasonable opinion the Operator is adversely affecting the experience of travellers or Retailers utilising the Vianet System.

5.4 If requested by the Operator, Vianet will provide Training and Support as set out in Schedule 1.

View the full set of current terms and conditions. (Must login to Vianet)

Our objective for these revisions is to improve the user experience for all Vianet customers, and provide more confirmed bookings for accommodation operators.

If you have any questions please contact the customer support team, alternatively Operator help instructions are located on our website.

Date: Wednesday 10th June 2009

Domestic travel online bookings increasing… phone bookings falling

The latest Regional Visitor Monitor (RVM) shows that New Zealand travellers are increasingly using the internet to book accommodation. In a statement released by the Ministry of Tourism, Research Manager Bruce Bassett said, “We’re seeing a real trend to domestic travel being booked online across a range of travel purchases. Phone bookings are definitely becoming less popular compared to the internet.” Online accommodation bookings by RVM respondents have increased 16% since 2007 (up from 42% to 58%), while phone bookings have fallen 14% (down from 44% to 30%). Pre-trip research has increased by 39% since 2007, and much of this is being done online. Bruce says the findings show that tourism operators needed to get their inventory web-ready and keep their web content fresh and relevant. “The data sends a clear message to operators that domestic travellers (who account for 56% of tourism spend in New Zealand) are expecting to be able to plan and book as much as they can online. It’s important for operators to make sure their website meets this expectation.” The RVM benchmark report is available from www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/rvm.

Don’t forget that Vianet has a commission free secure online booking solution for you to use in your own website. Add a Booking Calendar to your current booking page or add Book Now Buttons alongside your product/room descriptions. Contact us for more information and to learn how simple it is to add these to your own website.

Vianet Booking Stats

Bookings generated by Vianet in April and May continued the trend for 2009 by doubling the same month last year. Here are some other stats that will help maximise your online booking potential:

* Booking volumes generated from realtime inventory has been steadily increasing month on month over bookings generated by request inventory (see below chart). Maximise your online booking potential by selling your rooms/beds on an instant confirmation basis, not ‘on request’. Click here to view the full story on realtime vs request or contact our Customer Support Team if you would like assistance in doing this.

* The average lead time (time between booking confirmation and arrival date) for bookings generated by Vianet was 32 days in May (average for the past 12 months is 31 days). Maximise your online booking potential by ensuring your availability and pricing is up to date and meeting the market for at least the next 60 days… but don’t forget Vianet promotes 365 days of your availability to the retail network

* The average length of bookings generated by Vianet was 1.7 days in May (average for the past 12 months is 1.67 days)

* The average value of bookings generated by Vianet was $225.92 in May, slightly down on the average for the last 12 months of $231.05 and reflective of the seasonal adjustment in nightly rates

New retail partners promoting you in their website

Four new retail partners have gone live on the Vianet Retail Network in April and May:

• Destination New Zealand
• Great New Zealand
• Sir George Seymour College
• Travel Careers & Training
• Ezi-Rent Car Hire

Don’t forget: Retailers are in business to drive business to your business. If you know of a website that would benefit from having Vianet accommodation retailing tools or you would like a complete list of Vianet retailers please contact the Customer Support Team.

Meet the Retailer - Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism

Christchurch & Canterbury Tourism (CCT) has just launched their new website christchurchnz.com. Promoting the Christchurch & Canterbury Region, from iconic Christchurch attractions to hidden gems in the districts of Canterbury, the site will shortly also display businesses located outside of the Canterbury region, offering visitors to the site the opportunity to map out itineraries for much of the South Island. The website, in conjunction with seasonal campaigns, is an integral part of marketing the region to the rest of the world. The features of the website include enhanced bookability, itinerary planning and enhanced mapping amongst many others things, and has been built to appeal to both the leisure traveller and the conference and incentive sectors.

Listings on the website are made bookable thanks to our partnership with Vianet, including our successful seasonal campaigns promoted heavily domestically and in Australia, our two biggest markets. Our Trade and Media teams focus on markets further afield to attract even more visitors, as well as specialised search engine optimisation work to get better results from people’s web searches.

Visit www.christchurchnz.com to find out more about what CCT does or even register your interest in becoming a member and getting your own listing on the website. You could even start planning your next holiday in Canterbury!

Vianet link with Amazing Accom

A link has been created between the Vianet system and Amazing Accom booking engine. This link enables Amazing Accom to read the Vianet database and system, pull availability data and push back availability updates. The link will save accommodation operators both time and money as they will only need to manage availability within the Vianet Booking Manager!
If you are a holiday house, lodge or boutique accommodation operator and believe you fall in to the amazing accommodation category we recommend you click here to read the full story.

New links on the horizon – Seekom and ChannelDIRECT

If you are currently using (or thinking of) the Seekom iBex online booking system or ChannelDIRECT channel management solution you will be happy to know links are under development and scheduled to go live in 4 weeks.

These links will save accommodation operators valuable administration time by automating inventory and pricing management along with removing 99.9% of the double booking risk caused by having to manage two separate booking systems.

The Vianet view on phishing (email scamming)

Vianet will never ask Operators or Retail Partners to supply their user login and/or password via email… and if you have been asked it is more than likely you have been targeted by a phishing campaign.  Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as… click here to read the full story.

Update from the Customer Support Team

The Customer Support Team is now based at Trade Me HQ in Wellington and Darren, Jeff and Rachel look forward to servicing your support queries.

The most effective method for communicating and resolving support issues is via email. The team are available at support@vianet.travel, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Best wishes,
The Vianet Team

The Vianet system and online marketplace give accommodation operators the choice in how to sell their available inventory… in realtime or on request.

What is the difference between realtime or on request inventory?

Realtime inventory (also known as instant confirmation) is the number of available rooms/beds an operator has for a given product, on a given day that will be instantly confirmed when a traveller creates a booking. The inventory is set as a number between 1 and 100 in the Vianet Booking Manager, which is the free tool operators use to manage availability. By setting your inventory as realtime you guarantee the room/bed is available as a contract is formed between you and the traveller upon booking confirmation. Vianet will notify operators via email and/or text message that they have a confirmed booking and the Booking Manager will automatically reduce the available inventory according to the booking. The travellers credit card is charged in full at the time of booking confirmation. Vianet has developed a unique tool called the ‘Availability Window’ (see image below) that helps reduce the potential for double bookings, based on your accommodation management style.

Request inventory (also known as 2-way) is different as the operator has the ability to accept or decline the booking created by a traveller. The available inventory is not set as a number in the Vianet Booking Manager which means Vianet does not know how many of these rooms/beds you have available, only that they might be. Vianet will notify operators via email and/or text message that they have a booking request and they must login to Vianet to accept or decline this request, within 24 hours otherwise the request will expire. The traveller completes the online booking form including credit card details as per normal, but the credit card is only charged when the operator accepts the booking.

What do travellers want?

Travellers researching and making accommodation bookings online expect, and favour realtime over request availability. This is clearly proven by 73% of bookings generated by Vianet being realtime, versus 27% being on request. (Based on May 2009 - Historical average is 70/30)

In the case of on request availability travellers are informed the availability or booking will be a request, and that they will need to wait up to 24 hours for confirmation. They can then decided to search again and book an operator who is offering realtime availability.

It is important to note that a traveller receiving a declined booking request is also receiving a negative online experience which may turn them off booking you and/or online in the future. Save this from happening by keeping your availability and pricing up to date in the Vianet Booking Manager. Note: Operators declining multiple booking requests will have their listing removed from the Vianet retail network.

Why does Vianet offer both realtime and request options?

The goal of Vianet was to create an online booking system and marketplace that could be used by all accommodation segments, and operators of all size. The reason we offer a request booking option is to give:

a. Travellers more choice and a better view of the options throughout all of NZ, not just our major cities, and

b. To give small accommodation suppliers the ability to promote their business alongside mainstream accommodation, and

c. Allow for accommodation suppliers who only have access to dial-up internet and therefore less opportunity to manage realtime inventory
Vianet knows the future for online bookings is realtime but we do want to continue creating opportunities for operators making the most of their exposure and who offer travellers a professional online experience i.e. up to date inventory and pricing

Realtime gives you higher ranking on search results… and the only way you can get on Travelbug’s last minute deals!

Operators selling rooms/beds on realtime will rank higher than operators selling their rooms on a request basis. This is designed to reward operators for using the availability type that travellers expect when booking online.

Managing your availability is easy

The Vianet Booking Manager allows you to easily manage your availability according to your business requirements and management style. Login to your Vianet listing, click on the Booking Manager tab and modify realtime inventory, close off unavailable dates or open up dates which are now available.

The Booking Manager tool uses either realtime or request inventory as a base (based on whichever you select as a default) in conjunction with the ‘Availability Window’ (see below). The Availability Window enables operators to set default stages to effectively manage 365 days of availability. These stages are broken in to 1. Advanced booking period 2. Standard booking period (as per default availability type) and 3. Short notice booking period.  Adjust these settings to best reflect how you manage your availability i.e. Request bookings for less than 1 day in advance of today’s date and realtime for remaining 364 days.

Automate the availability management process by using ‘Realtime Link’

Vianet makes updating room availability and pricing easier for accommodation suppliers. We have integrated with a number of popular Property Management Systems (PMS) and Channel Managers used by our accommodation suppliers in order to automate the updating of Vianet availability and pricing. Realtime link saves accommodation operators both time and money as they will only need to manage availability within the Vianet Booking Manager… and the link will do the rest! The link also removes 99.9% of the double booking risk caused by having to manage two separate booking systems. The icing on the cake is that it is free to use! Click here for more information on Realtime Link and a list of active connections.

It has been some time since we last commented and/or communicated on the subject of ‘phishing’.

In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT Administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging, and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.

Vianet will never ask Operators or Retail Partners to supply their user login and/or password via email!

Note: If you are an accommodation operator using the Vianet ‘Realtime Link’ service for managing your availability you will need to supply your username and password directly to the Channel Manager, Inventory Management System or Booking Engine you have chosen to connect with. i.e. Siteminder, EZYield, STAAH, Beds24.com, ChannelDIRECT, Amazing Accom etc… This is used within the link in order for the 3rd party connection to permissibly modify the Vianet database of availability changes.

Here is an example of a recent phishing attempt that was brought to our attention:

To:

http://www.eset.com 

Tourism operators can take steps to avoid phishing attempts by slightly modifying their browsing habits. When contacted about an account needing to be “verified” (or any other topic used by phishers), it is a sensible precaution to contact the company from which the e-mail apparently originates to check that the e-mail is legitimate. Alternatively, the address that the individual knows is the company’s genuine website can be typed into the address bar of the browser, rather than trusting any hyperlinks in the suspected phishing message.

Accommodation operators listed on both Vianet and Amazing Accom can now activate a free link connecting the two platforms. This link enables Amazing Accom to read the Vianet database and system, pull availability data and push back availability updates. The link will save accommodation operators both time and money as they will ony need to manage availability within the Vianet Booking Manager… and the link will do the rest! The link also removes 99.9% of the double booking risk caused by having to manage two separate booking systems. Some important points to consider are:

1. The link can only read and feed realtime/instant confirmation availability. If you have availability set as on request within Vianet it will show as not availbale within Amazing Accom.
2. The link does not update pricing. This is due to Vianet and Amazing Accom both having very different pricing architecture. This means you will need to set and manage pricing within each booking system, individually.
3. Bookings generated by Amazing Accom are transacted and communicated to you by Amazing Accom. Bookings generated by Vianet and the Vianet Retail Network are transacted and communicated to you by Vianet.
4. The link is FREE to you! The benefit to Amazing Accom is the link ensures accurate realtime availability data, which is an integral component of their business.
5. You will need to supply your Vianet user login and password directly to Amazing Accom. This is used within the link in order for Amazing Accom to permissibly modify the Vianet database of availability changes. Note: Vianet recommends you never supply login or password details via email, except in the case of 3rd party connections such as Amazing Accom, Siteminder, EZYield etc…

For further information and instruction please contact Amazing Accomm directly.

Amazing Accom is an online booking engine featuring amazing, luxurious fully serviced houses and venues throughout New Zealand. It is free to list and a success fee applies on confirmed bookings.

Date: Wednesday 8th April 2009

The first quarter of 2009 has come and gone and Easter is now at our door. Speaking of Easter, our Business Development Manager - Chris wanted to share a joke with you that was first told to him by his grandparents many, many Easters ago:

Why does the Easter bunny have a shiny nose?

… His powder puff is on the wrong end! Ha, ha ,ha
(We understand if you would rather Chris did not share his jokes in the future.)

News we are very proud to share with you is the continuing growth in bookings that Vianet is managing and transacting over the same period last year.

The growth trend continues… and continues

Growth in February and March accommodation bookings continues on from rapid growth experienced in December and January:

• February 2009 was up 215%
• March 2009 was up 191%
• April 2009 is up 188% in the first 7 days

Booking Stats

*Bookings made using instant confirmation continue to total two thirds of all bookings generated by Vianet. If you are currently selling your availability as ‘On request’ then this statistic should be all you need to convert to realtime and maximise your booking potential

*Average lead time for bookings generated in February was 21 days and 41 days in March. The average for the past 12 moths is 26.3 days.

*Average length of booking for February was 1.61 days and 1.65 days for March. The average for the past 12 months is 1.66 days.

*Average booking value in February was $234.74 and $225.92 in March. The average for the last 12 months of $228.44.

New Retailers joining the Vianet Network

Three new retail partners have gone LIVE on the Vianet Retail Network since the beginning of December:

• Golflinks New Zealand www.golflinks.co.nz
• Web Matters Ltd www.christchurchdailyphoto.com
• Amazing Space www.amazingspace.co.nz

Remember: Retailers are in business to drive business to your business. If you know of websites that would benefit from having Vianet accommodation retailing tools added please email retailer@vianet.travel. For a complete list of Retailers please contact the Customer Support Team.

	1.		NEWSFLASH - This week Travelbug is removing the requirement for people to become members in order for them to make a booking or place a comment. This will reduce the friction during the booking process and deliver more bookings for Travelbug suppliers. We’ve already got one of the smoothest booking processes in the industry, this will make it even better.
	2.		Upcoming development – Within the next month, we’ll also be redesigning the homepage to help users more easily find the information they need, and to better direct them to the page on Travelbug that best suits their needs. We’ll also make more of the Last Minute deals feature on the homepage to make it more visible to all visitors.
	3.		Bookings YTD vs 2008 –Arrivals for January - March 2009 are up over 86% versus 2008, and bookings for the same period are up 92%. April arrivals this year have already exceeded last April, so this trend looks set to continue, especially with the site changes detailed above.
	4.		Don’t forget if you want to be involved in the Deals of the Week (emailed every Wednesday), contact Daniel at deals@travelbug.co.nz and he’ll add you to the distribution list for submission requests.

Travelbug’s comment feature

Are you making the most of your happy guests?

You all know the power of positive referrals, but do you use this power to its full advantage? One of Travelbug’s key features is the ability for travellers to comment on somewhere they have stayed and rate it with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. There are well over 4,000 comments on Travelbug already.

Travelbug has plans to incorporate the comments features more fully with the ranking system, so properties that have been more positively rated by travellers will rise higher in the search order.

So are you using this feature? You should recommend to all guests, whether or not they booked through Travelbug, to visit your page on Travelbug and place a comment. If they’ve had a good experience, it is entirely reasonable for you to ask them to share that experience with the world, and what better place than an accommodation website.

And remember, the more positive feedback you have, the more bookings you are likely to get.

Meet the Retailer

People Publishing have taken the initiative of creating a website www.gotobednow.com to target international travellers and high end domestic Auckland markets.

They publish full page advertising within three of their popular magazines to drive traffic to the new website, and ultimately your business:>

This has resulted in Gotobednow.com generating excellent bookings since the publications have been in circulation. If you would like to be one of their ‘Feature Properties’ in future editions please contact Charlotte Wilson at People Publishing on 0275 396 326 or email charlotte@arrival.co.nz

Update from the Customer Support Team

It has been a busy couple of months and we are looking forward to the Easter break… the Bay of Islands is calling!

Remember the most effective method for communicating and resolving support issues is via email. The Customer Support Team are available at support@vianet.travel, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

FAQ’s

Question: What do I do when a traveller booked through Vianet wishes to cancel?

Answer: If a traveller contacts you to cancel their booking you do not need to contact the Vianet Customer Support Team. When logged in to Vianet a couple of simple clicks of the mouse will instruct the Vianet system to process the cancellation and distribute the resulting funds to relevant parties based on the cancellation policy. Instructions and details are located on our website http://blog.vianet.travel/help/booking-management-bookings-cancel-booking/

Question: How do I amend a booking if a traveller wishes to change dates?

Answer: Currently the Vianet system does not allow for booking amendments. Keep the booking in Vianet and amend directly with the traveller i.e. Modify your PMS system or diary and drawdown the booking funds from Vianet as per normal.

Question: Why I am having trouble logging in to Vianet?

Answer: There are many different reasons for why as an Operator you might receive an error message when logging in to Vianet i.e. Internet browser settings, wrong email or password entered and anti-virus software settings. If you are struggling to login please click on ‘forgot your password’ and follow the process. This will override any roadblocks you come up against.

Operator support during Easter Holiday period

The Vianet office will close at 5pm on Thursday 9th April and reopen at 9am on Tuesday 14 April. Operator support will be available by email support@vianet.travel only during this period. All emails will be acknowledged but if you have a matter that requires urgent attention please start your subject with URGENT and this will be given priority.

Payment drawdowns will be processed on Thursday 9th of April and then again on Tuesday 14th of April.

Happy Easter and best wishes,

The Vianet Team