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ResConnect Channel Manager
/in Team, Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Online /by DakotahResRequest’s Exciting Leadership Changes
/in Strategy /by JillDiscover exciting leadership changes at ResRequest, as we embark on a new chapter with a strengthened team committed to delivering exceptional hospitality software solutions and customer experiences.
2022 Unwrapped
/in Team /by JoamiWell well well, can you believe it’s already the end of 2022?! Time sure does fly when you’re having fun (or when you’re surviving a pandemic, amirite?). But seriously, as we look back on the past year, we can’t help but feel grateful for all the twists and turns that have come our way. This year has been unlike any other and we’ve learned a lot, grown a lot, and hopefully even made a few memories along the way. So let’s take a moment to reflect on all that we’ve accomplished and give ourselves a big ol’ pat on the back. Here’s to another amazing year ahead!
Accounting Integrations
/in Product, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Online /by DakotahResRequest is the logical place from which to generate your official tax invoices because it contains all relevant pricing, tax, and customer data. You can integrate your ResRequest system into an accounting system to send invoices electronically from ResRequest.
Fiscalisation within ResRequest
/in Product, Technology, Strategy, Online /by DakotahFiscalisation is designed for Tax Authorities to collect and record VAT transactions accurately. Recently there has been a wave of fiscal requirements for the online recording of VAT transactions. In this article, we explain fiscalisation and how it works in ResRequest.
Sell more beds by working with OTAs
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Sales, Online /by DakotahConnect your rooms, rates, and availability from ResRequest to online travel platforms so you can sell Direct, via OTAs, and via Travel Agents. Connecting to these online travel platforms is valuable as they specialise in electronic marketing and selling your rooms.
Travel Trackers announce new release for ResInsite
/in Product, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Online /by JoamiResInsite takes your ResRequest data and transforms it into pre-built tourism charts. Developed and supported by Travel Trackers, this application is ideal for business stakeholders who need to see business trends and make decisions that improve operations and increase revenues.
2021 Unwrapped
/in Team, Technology /by JoamiTo keep us sane until 2022 we’ve put together a 2021 collage. There were highlights, lowlights, tears, and laughs. We hope you enjoy this wrap-up as much as we do.
Professional services
/in Product, Technology, Strategy, Online /by JoamiIn November we established our new Professional Services Department to meet a growing need for business-level consultation and address how ResRequest fits into your business processes.
tourism.today
/in Product, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Online /by Joamitourism.today takes aggregated and anonymised data and plots booking trends in Africa. The data is extracted from participating technology systems and plotted on interactive charts to highlight travel patterns including what markets are opening and which source markets are the most active.
WETU – helping the travel industry sell better
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Online /by JoamiIf producing content-rich, interactive itineraries that inspire your guests to travel is key for you, WETU is your answer! WETU is the place to store and distribute your content for and to your travel partners, and it’s a quick way to get noticed. It only starts there, imagery and videos stored in WETU that are relevant to bookings are automatically added to your WETU itinerary, making your customer eager to convert. […]
How to engage with your guests on social media?
/in Technology, Strategy, Sales, Online /by JillDid you know that 4.48 billion people use social media worldwide? So it’s fundamental to have a social media presence for your hotel because of the huge potential in this space.
Guests today not only use search engines but also troll social media to make informed decisions about their next vacation. […]
Increase your direct bookings with ResNova 3
/in Product, Strategy, Sales, Online /by JillMeet Bob, an extreme “hodophile” (One who loves to travel). After his most recent trip to Africa, enthralled by the beautiful landscapes and captivated by the majestic “Big 5”, he couldn’t help himself but trawl to your website to plan his next trip to Africa.
However, his booking experience has left a bitter taste in his mouth, after finding the process to be slow, and difficult to view on mobile – as a result Bob unfortunately decides to abandon his booking […]
Bringing you a Contactless Guest Solution
/in Team, Product, Strategy /by JillYour guests are super excited about their holiday with you. Help them by giving them the option to check-in online, saving them time and queues when they arrive. Plus, our online check-in is a contactless way to source guest details and preferences, so you can plan the best welcome for them. In this blog we’ll […]
what’s new in version 7.33?
/in Team, Product, Strategy /by JillWe through with the first quarter of 2021 and plans to reboot tourism are well underway. We’ve worked hard during these times to make sure that when tourism does officially reboot, you and your team will be ready to welcome guests with open arms (or perhaps an elbow tap). Online Guest Checkin We know that […]
Benefits of using a Channel Manager
/in Team, Product, Strategy /by JillWorking in a fast-paced industry like the tourism industry requires any good Hotel Manager to identify ways to increase revenue and maximise efficiency. Thankfully technology has provided many advantages for hoteliers, and none more so than channel management. So what’s the noise about channel management? What are its benefits? And how do you get started? […]
2020 Unwrapped
/in Team, Technology /by JillGlobal Protocols: ‘Safe stamps’
/in Client News, Technology, Strategy, Online /by JillCOVID-19 has certainly made most of us navigate this world with much fear and trepidation. From the paranoia of going to the grocery store to even the anxiety of leaving our homes out of fear of somehow being exposed to COVID. The tourism industry was undoubtedly hit the hardest with travel restrictions placed upon most […]
what’s new in version 7.30?
/in Team, Product, Strategy /by JillWe hope that you and your loved ones are safe and well during this time. We’ve been in touch with many of you as you work through the operational impact of Covid-19 while making plans for your team to be safe and sound. While most of us are still under lockdown due to COVID-19, we […]
FAQ: Managing Covid in ResRequest
/in Client News, Product, Strategy /by JillWho would have thought that at the beginning of this year our lives will look so different in a few short months? There is no doubt that COVID-19 has reshaped the way we work – especially in tourism. At ResRequest we noticed some trends amongst our clients with booking management during COVID, so we would […]
4 ways to effectively work from home during the Coronavirus pandemic
/in Passion, Team, Strategy, Online /by JillThe coronavirus (COVID-19) is ravaging the globe and causing panic amongst nations. Many industries and businesses are already feeling its impact and the tourism industry is devastatingly hit the hardest. The extent of this impact would depend on how long the pandemic lasts, and while it is human to feel anxious and fearful, it is […]
Business intelligence made easy with ResRequest charts
/in CRM, Product, Strategy /by JillYou may wonder what business intelligence is and what it involves. According to Forbes – business intelligence encompasses the analysis of a company’s raw data and analytics, to produce actionable takeaways. Data analysed might include current sales figures, customer shopping habits or operations costs. With more data on hand, business intelligence has become critical to […]
2019 unwrapped
/in Passion, Team, Technology /by JillChristmas wishes from our team What’s kept us busy this year We’ve had a great year preparing a bigger foundation for exciting plans we have for 2020. A big change we underwent was merging our team into our new Durban office, dubbed ResPlex. This merge meant moving 17 families from Richards Bay to Durban and […]
5 ways to improve your social media strategy
/in Technology, Strategy /by JillWhy we love automated testing
/in Passion, Technology, Strategy /by JillAs a business that follows the Software as a Service model, ResRequest’s team is mainly made up of Developers and Customer Support consultants and we use many tools to help provide a great service for our customers. Our Dev’s are in their element when nestled in front of multiple screens and have cool tools on […]
Our embarrassing travel moments!
/in Passion, Team, Technology /by adminWe’ve all had them – those cringe-worthy moments when we want to laugh and crawl into a hole at the same time. Somehow these moments are more embarrassing when we are travelling, maybe because we don’t always know who’s watching! We asked our team for some of their top most embarrassing moments. Put your […]
Keep it clean
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminIn computer science, garbage in, garbage out (GIGO) describes the concept that flawed, or messy input data produces poor, unrecognisable output or “garbage”. Essentially, a system is only as good as the data you put into it. This may seem like a basic principle, but if not followed, it can be a massive exercise […]
Are you connected to your buyers?
/in Client News, Product, Connections, Strategy /by adminConnecting to your key agents electronically will ensure you never miss out on valuable bookings. Tour operators use a host of software systems to stay on top of technology trends. Online bookings are one of the fastest growing trends. ResRequest interfaces to a number of tour operating systems enabling, tour operators to book ResRequest properties when […]
Looking good with GuestRevu
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminGuestRevu helps thousands of hospitality professionals in over 35 countries spend less time stuck behind their desks by automatically collecting online reviews from dozens of sites like TripAdvisor and Booking.com, emailing questionnaires to guests so they can provide valuable direct feedback, and consolidating data to make analysing trends a piece of cake. Listen to your […]
New scam alert!
/in Product, Technology /by adminScamming is becoming increasingly sophisticated and so have to be more alert and find out how we protect ourselves. Beware of the latest scam One of the newest ways that scammers are targeting people is to intercept invoices, edit banking details and send it to “customers” for payment. Recipients of the emails think […]
ResFit 2.0
/in Passion, Team /by adminThe year that was, 2018
/in Passion, Team, Product, Technology, Sales /by adminPay with Pesapal
/in Product, Technology, Sales /by adminHow often do you use your credit card to pay? Most people use their card to pay for almost all transactions, however, many remote locations to do have access to card machines. Pesapal, is a mobile point of pay system which started in Kenya and today operates in Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and […]
Navigating ResRequest like a pro
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminAre you a wizard on ResRequest? How many tricks do you know? Many users are not always aware of all our handy features and top tips so we’ve highlighted a few of our snazzy features from frequently asked questions and noted some helpful hints from our support consultants. Here are some of our most […]
Your guests digital guide
/in Product, Technology, Sales /by adminSmartphone technology is advancing at an incredible pace and you can do more and more with your device. Travellers now use their mobiles to book flights, accommodation, and make travel plans. HandiGo has further enhanced the travel experience by developing a new app to cater for the needs of guests when they arrive at their […]
Top travel trends
/in Passion, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by adminThe hospitality industry has changed rapidly over the past few years, largely due to the increasing digitisation of all aspects of life. Let’s look at some of the trends these changes are bringing to the industry. Data-driven Data is all the information you can collect about a person or activity. Data analytics uses […]
The ResRequest story
/in Passion, Team, Product /by adminThe African wildlife experience is on many people’s wish list. Thousands of people travel to Africa each year to live a safari dream – to witness sunset game drives and afternoon thunderstorms amidst spectacular game spotting. Africa is home to numerous quality and luxury safari lodges which offer an unforgettable experience coupled with spectacular views […]
Millennial travel
/in Connections, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by adminYou’ve seen them. You’ve heard about them. You’ve read about them. A group of people, probably in their early twenties to mid thirties, all with a mobile phone in hand and busy trying to get the perfect photo or selfie. These people are probably what society would term millennials, people aged between 18 and […]
Witness the fitness!
/in Passion, Team /by adminResFit is back and better than ever. This year, ResFit 2.0 launched with a movie theme and new teams. The concept remains the same, with individuals and teams capturing the activities they do in their branded t-shirts and competing for points. Points can be earned by participating in fun stuff mainly falling into four categories: […]
Kilifair 2018
/in Team, Sales /by adminKilifair 2018 was the next trade show on our sales and marketing agenda and Ntando made his way to the show for the second time. Kilifair was held in Moshi, Tanzania at the Ushirika Sports Stadium, an outdoor venue, and as luck would have it, it started to rain just as the show […]
Keeping your data safe
/in Technology, Strategy /by adminOn the 25th of May, The General Data Protection Regulation commonly known as the GDPR, came into play. This new legislation is designed to set for companies on standard for consumer rights on data. Companies will need to be able to show the systems they have put in place to protect consumer data and their […]
Increase your online sales with Expedia Group
/in Client News, Connections, Partners, Technology /by JillMaking memories
/in Team, Product, Sales /by adminAfrica’s Travel Indaba 2018 was a fantastic show. It drew in a huge list of exhibitors and visitors from all over the globe. ResRequest was represented at Indaba within the SATSA stand again this year – and we enjoyed the vibe of sharing in the show buzz with our industry partners. We met with a record […]
Around the world at WTM
/in Team, Sales /by adminIt was that time of the year again and time for WTM Africa 2018 in Cape Town. As has become tradition, Natasha and Ntando took our ‘Flavour your day’ mints, brochures and ResRover, our newly appointed mascot. On arrival in Cape Town, it was clear that they were no longer in Durban. The chilly Cape […]
How to open CSV files with Excel by default
/in Product, Technology /by adminResRequest sends data as CSV files and these are best viewed in Excel so you probably want to set these files to open automatically in Excel. We’ll guide you through this simple set up to save you time! CSV files are text documents where the data is separated by a delimiter, or a character […]
Get Insite – Leverage your data for smarter decision making with ResInsite
/in Product, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by JillResInsite is here to leverage your data for smarter and faster decision making – saving you time, optimising your revenues and launching you into the world of big data on a flexible and intelligent platform. Your business quietly collects millions of rows of data – whilst you are expertly tucking your guests into bed for […]
ResRover goes to Uganda
/in Passion, Team, Sales /by adminResRover’s latest journey was to the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo organised by the Uganda Tourism Board. We went to explore with the aim of increasing our footprint in far-flung Uganda. ResRover was already on his debut tour to Tanzania with Mike but luckily Ntando was able to pick him up between flights, to […]
Imminent VAT change
/in Product, Strategy /by adminRecently the South African Minister of Finance announced a tax change of 1% effective from 1 April. What will this mean for your business and how will you implement the changes in your operations? We’ve prepared a document to guide you through. Please note, this is our advice and experience and we are not responsible […]
Stop it spamming
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminWritten by Richard Howes Email remains a vital part of running our businesses with worldwide email volumes now fairly steady at around 495 billion emails per day! A more problematic statistic is that 422 billion of those emails are SPAM, leaving just 73 billion legitimate emails. In other words, over 85% of email is SPAM. […]
Learn online with a simple click
/in Product, Connections, Technology, Sales /by adminKnowing your ResRequest system well is key to effectively running your business and departments. We want to give you great tools and the opportunity to upskill yourself on ResRequest. Use our new ResRequest support website to learn about the system in your own time or refer to it whenever you have a question. We’re adding […]
The year we got ResFit
/in Passion, Team /by adminAt ResRequest, we love challenging people to grow and develop their passions. We believe that by looking after yourself, you can look after others. This year we started ResFit, our corporate wellness programme. ResFit is about being active in the community, on the sports field, in the office and as a team. We incentivised the […]
Lights, camera, action!
/in CRM, Passion, Team, Connections /by adminIt’s been a busy year. Here is what we’ve been up to! Movements We exhibited and attended a record number of trade shows in 2017 – WTM Africa, Cape Town Indaba, Durban. Our sales team then toured Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania and attended the Sanganai Tourism Expo, Magical Kenya Travel Expo and the Swahili International Tourism Expo. They were […]
Increase your online sales
/in Product, Connections, Partners /by JillImagine working with an online travel agent who understands how African lodges work. Someone who specialises in attracting customers who want your African experience. Someone who understands how your transfers and extras work and who can sell your beds, without you having to do anything! Many of Africa’s top booking agents and safari specialists are investing in development to be able to link to ResRequest via our ResConnect product. Allowing them to easily check availability, […]
Exploring Africa
/in Client News, Team, Product, Sales /by adminOur sales team recently returned from a month-long roadshow to Zimbabwe, Kenya and Tanzania to attend tourism expos and visit customers. Snippets of their journey were shared on social media but we wanted to share the full low-down. Zimbabwe was first up where Ntando joined Mike for this leg of the trip. The Amalinda Collection […]
Keep the taxman happy!
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminEvery country has its own statutory regulations on the display of statutory information on financial documents and sometimes it even differs regionally. The variation can be both in the number of statutory fields required and in their naming. The statutory details also have to be presented for both the invoicing unit issuing the document and […]
Double trouble
/in Client News, Product, Technology /by adminDuplicate contacts may seem like a small issue but they can mean double trouble for your business processes. Contacts are used to identify your Agents, Guests, Suppliers and Tour Operators and these are linked to your reservations in the relevant areas. This is important for your reports and CRM management. If you have duplicate contacts, […]
Catch up on Connections
/in Client News, Product, Connections, Strategy, Sales /by adminIf you missed our webinar on connections – we’ve written up this blog to share the details, Q&A and upload the presentation slides and audio recording. We have separated the presentation visuals and sound for ease of following due to the live technical glitches and delays. Presentation slides Audio recording The panel of speakers begins […]
ResNova’s facelift
/in Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminResNova, our website booking plugin, has had a facelift. That’s right – we’ve released some enhancements so you have even more display options when it comes to this nifty availability and booking tool. The ResNova plugin enables properties that use ResRequest to embed availability and rates anywhere on their website. This availability and these rates can be […]
What’s your Trojan Horse?
/in Passion, Product, Technology, Strategy /by adminHave you ever thought about how certain adverts appear in your social media feed or why Youtube has so many video adverts? These are all signs of the current digital marketing trends. Members of our marketing team attended a workshop hosted by Digitlab. With a focus on digital storytelling and digital marketing, the event kicked […]
Rocking INDABA
/in Connections, Partners, Sales /by adminINDABA is one of the largest tourism trade shows in Africa. It showcases the widest variety of Africa’s best tourism products and attracts international buyers and media from across the world. Mike Coppinger, Jill Bennett-Howes, Natasha Bame and Ntando Bhengu represented ResRequest this year at the tradeshow and exhibited in the shared SATSA stand. […]
ResRequest goes Google
/in Passion, Team, Technology /by adminSEO, SEM, CPC, CTR. Foreign speak? Not any more thanks to the Google Digital Skills workshop. We attended a workshop hosted by Google as part of their mission to provide digital skills to schools, communities and small businesses to get them online. The session started with a few words from the South African Minister of […]
Our geeky African story at WTM
/in Client News, Connections, Sales /by adminThe 2017 World Travel Market Africa (WTM) was held at the Cape Town ICC. Since its inception in 2014, the show has seen constant growth and attendance. ResRequest was represented by Jill and Ntando. For newbie Ntando, who had just joined the team, it proved to be an insightful introduction to the travel industry and […]
Forgotten password?
/in Team, Technology, Strategy /by adminHow many times a day are you asked for your password? We have so many passwords that it’s hard to remember them all, albeit impossible. It sometimes seems simpler to have the same password across multiple sites, or to create an easy to remember password. However, password hacking is an increasingly common and dangerous threat. […]
Global sales through Expedia and ResRequest
/in Product, Connections, Technology, Strategy /by adminWe have some exciting news! Expedia, the world’s largest online travel company, now has a connection to ResRequest. ResRequest is constantly improving its product and connectivity between suppliers and buyers is a strategic focus. With our new Expedia connection, properties using ResRequest to manage their reservations can now connect directly to Expedia without a channel manager. Connections allow […]
Hop, skip and a Stride to your perfect trip
/in Technology, Strategy, Sales /by adminJared Alster- Stride Travel Growing a travel business in today’s environment is challenging. Travellers have more choice than ever when it comes to booking a tour, safari or adventure vacation and the internet and social media has delivered huge amounts of travel-related content direct to consumers. But how does a tour operator ensure that their […]
Blocking pesky pop-ups
/in Product, Technology /by adminHave you ever landed on a web page and a pop-up immediately blocks the web page content? Pop-ups are usually blocked on web browsers because they’re generally advertisements but in ResRequest, pop-ups are menus and entry screens because ResRequest works off a pop-up based web interface. If pop-ups are blocked on your browser, you might […]
Rhinos Without Borders
/in Client News, Passion, Technology /by adminAnna Rathmann: Great Plains Foundation Have you ever seen a rhino fly? Well, we at the Great Plains Foundation have. And our goal is to see 100 rhinos fly. In 2014, Great Plains Conservation partnered with fellow conservation-minded safari company, &Beyond, to embark on one of the most ambitious rhino conservation projects to date: Rhinos […]
Keep it clean
/in Product, Connections, Technology, Strategy /by adminYou’ve probably heard of plain text and rich text but do you know the difference and the effects of each one? In ResRequest, many modules use plain text to sort and store information and so making sure your information is in plain text is important. What does it mean when we say rich text? […]
Get the specs
/in Product, Technology, Sales /by adminThe saying ‘change is inevitable’ is certainly applicable in the technology sector. This is a positive change as we have new products to solve problems, improve online storage and facilitate tracking. As with most new technologies, however, there are often unforeseen consequences. This is true for servers. Servers are the core of ResRequest’s productivity. […]
Horsing about in 2016
/in CRM, Passion, Team, Connections /by adminHere’s a short summary of our year and what we got up to. Movements We attended a record number of shows and conferences this year. Connecting with many of our power users and business partners, as well as new prospects. In conjunction with our integration partners, Direct Pay Online and Expedia, we hosted a workshop […]
Superhero stack
/in Passion, Team /by adminEvery super team needs ‘superfood’ This year Santa sent us a super sweet Christmas treat of waffle makers to ensure regular waffle parties to keep our energy levels up. These crispy golden-brown delights are a hit with our cake-loving team. In the spirit of ResRequest, meet our extra special toppings that make our waffle out of […]
ResRequest and Horseplay
/in Passion, Team /by adminAs 2016 draws to a close, the ResRequest team embarked on their annual team build. The location was kept a secret and anticipation was noticeable. Horseplay in the Dargle Valley was the location of the 2016 team build. This innovative programme uses horses to demonstrate the need for effective communication as the horses will not […]
How a 24 year old started a $70,000-a-month online business and travels the world
/in Passion, Product, Technology /by adminWritten by Tanza Loudenback Aileen Adalid entered the corporate world at age 19 after graduating from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines, with a degree in business management and had a combined year of training experience under her belt at huge multinational companies like Nestlé, Unilever, and Siemens. But the trilingual Philippines native quickly grew envious of […]
Will daylight savings time affect my ResRequest?
/in Product, Technology /by adminDaylight saving time (DST) or summer time is when people adjust their clocks forward by one hour during the summer months so that evening daylight time lasts an hour longer. DST is particularly prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere where the summer days are long and winter days are short. DST allows people to make the […]
Saving the environment with an app
/in Passion /by adminWritten by Emmanuelle Landais Hunched over her laptop, eyes locked on the screen, Marième Seye listens to the step-by-step instructions given by her teacher. The 18-year-old isn’t studying maths or history, however. With 24 other Senegalese students, she is learning to develop a mobile app to raise awareness about the environment. In small groups, the […]
Your online presence and ResRequest web pages
/in Product, Technology, Sales /by adminWritten by Jennifer Coppinger What is the value of having a great website? Having a website is no longer optional. Having a positive online presence through a website and social media platforms has become essential for almost every business and service. The quality of these sites and platforms is constantly evolving in the up-beat and competitive digital […]
How bees, elephants and farmers are keeping each other safe in a genius way
/in Passion /by JillBy Laura Caseley Farming is hard work, but being a farmer in places such as Kenya, Botswana and Sri Lanka has a unique challenge that other areas of the world don’t have: elephants! Wild elephants, whose natural behaviour is to roam, have been known to march through crop fields and causing damage to, or even […]
e-Commerce Strategy
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by JillWritten by Jill Bennett-Howes Online selling is a very exciting area to add to your sales strategy. We’ve seen many of our customers celebrate increased profits when they implement and manage an effective online strategy. Key elements for your eCommerce strategy Each element will need effort from your team to prepare the strategy, implement, maintain and review it – […]
Backing up
/in Technology /by JillBacking up your data Technology and data, and free access to both, has become a vital part of everyday business running procedures. People still overlook the importance of backing up their data, making sure that in case of an unfortunate event, they will not lose valuable information. We have a backup policy for our online […]
Proactive Reservations | Managing your reservations & maximising your channels
/in Client News, Partners, Strategy, Sales /by JillWhat do you do if your establishment is too small to rent or manage a reservation software solution? Have a look at Proactive Reservations has to offer… Proactive Reservations have years of combined international and local experience in various hospitality and tourism positions and offer in depth knowledge of all aspects of front office, hotel reservations and tour operating. Their team members […]
What are connections?
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by JillTo be competitive in an increasingly online and automated space, Safari Agents and Tour Operators have implemented software applications that manage their business needs. A software application is the first part of their solution, the second part is electronic access to your system (to view rates and availability and make bookings) so they can prepare quotes and book […]
More exposure on Airbnb
/in Technology, Strategy, Sales /by adminAirbnb shares how you can get more exposure for your property by listing it on airbnb.com. More than 80 million people have travelled on Airbnb so listing your property gives you access to a broad base of customers who love to travel. It is free to list and Airbnb only charges a 3% commission. About Airbnb Founded in August […]
Changes that impact your email
/in Product, Partners, Technology /by JillAt the end of February we received notification from our email provider, Mandrill, that they would be moving to a more secure method of emailing which would require verification of email senders when sending mail via their web service. The change is in line with a global move to reduce SPAM and have resulted in a new […]
rainmaker | Google 360° virtual tour
/in Technology, Strategy, Sales /by Jillrainmaker is the accredited Google Street View Trusted Agency in Africa, bringing you all of the new features and benefits of the Google Travel Services. This will significantly improve your direct booking conversions, digital presence ranking and, thus, your revenue, average daily rate and occupancy. Providing stunning rainmaker VISTA 360° Virtual Reality Tours (powered by […]
See, Sample, Sow – How you can benefit from ResRequest on-site
/in Client News, Strategy /by JillWe turned off the tar road from Karen and went through a security gate which allowed us passage into the Nairobi National Park. Our bumpy progress was soon brought to a halt as a uniformed orphan keeper crossed the road with a four month old giraffe in tow. A short distance further we passed Max, […]
Rates | price right and save
/in Product, Strategy, Sales /by JillContact our Call Centre to schedule your rates setup with us today Many clients issue next year’s rates around Indaba. Should you require assistance to load your rates onto your system, then please send them to us as soon as they are finalised to avoid any delay. On that note… When setting your Rates there are some […]
Tour Radar | Booking tours made easy
/in Technology /by JillWant to sell your own tours? TourRadar, the web and mobile marketplace for group travel has launched a payment and messaging platform connecting small/medium sized tour operators with customers. Now with 20,000 bookable multi day tours TourRadar boasts the largest unbiased selection on the web. Adventure travel news Specialising in multi day tours, particularly 7-10 […]
Centricity | Guest Surveys, Online Reputation Management, Image Library
/in Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy /by JillCentricity provides three separate solutions to the hospitality industry – Guest Satisfaction Surveys, Online Reputation Management and an Image Library solution. Through an integration with ResRequest you can automate the sending of post-stay guest surveys and receive high quality guest feedback and comments in real time. In addition to guest surveys, Centricity also help hotels to monitor and […]
Periscope | The world through someone else’s eyes
/in Technology /by JillWritten by Jill Bennett-Howes Cool advancing tech For two years the theme at tourism and social media conferences is clear – the world wants to watch videos. Come to think of it probably 15% of my week is spent watching videos on my YouTube channel and my Twitter and Facebook feeds! With video being the […]
Love your agent
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology, Strategy, Sales /by JillOne of the major advantages of moving away from an excel booking sheet and onto a central reservations system as sophisticated as ResRequest is that you can leverage your availability to increase sales. We know that the online realm can be a little bit alarming – and knowing how much access to give and to […]
The Giant Flag
/in Passion /by JillWe’ve got behind a creative initiative with monumental potential which we will follow and share with great interest. We became a part of the flag by picking to plant red hot blooded desert roses aka the Fire Barrel. The Giant Flag is a legacy project of vast proportions, a celebration of the spirit of South Africa […]
On safari in the Congo
/in Client News, Passion, Partners /by JillWritten by: Carrie Hampton alias the SAFARI TART! Seasoned travellers will be interested in the Odzala Discovery Camps in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park of the remote north of the Republic of Congo’s river basin. It’s the world’s second largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon, and one of the earth’s largest lungs, playing an essential role in global climate control. The region has been a National […]
Star Wars characters renamed
/in Passion, Team /by JillEvery year we pick a creative way to highlight and celebrate the team. Since many of our geeks are Star Wars fans and with the release of the latest film, Jill cast our team. Check out our motley crew’s profiles. If you want to know what we really look like – visit our team page.
Our growing team
/in Team /by JillWe are thrilled to share about the newly appointed members to our growing team. This year we welcomed six new staffers to our family. Jen Coppinger is contributing to user interface graphics, user guide material and social media. Alex Moore strengthens the call centre by assisting with data capture, while Angie Geringer supervises product support. […]
How to get guests in your bed – a strategic guide to get more bookings
/in Partners, Technology, Strategy /by JillWritten by Mqondisi Gumede, Man and Machine One of the difficulties of marketing in travel is that it is a very large place that boasts an incredible array of beauty. It is a never ending pageant of scenery, culture, beauty, culinary delight, diverse experiences and accommodation establishments at their best décor and service. In such a situation, most hoteliers […]
Working with specials
/in Client News, Product, Technology /by JillWritten by Paula Chaplin Offering discounts is a practise many of our customers use to ramp up sales. When you implement a discount strategy, it’s important to ask yourself strategic questions like: How will this affect my profit margins? What are my competitors doing? Are there options for promoting sales before we reduce price? It’s […]
E-tourism Africa summit takeaways
/in CRM, Technology /by JillWritten by Paula Chaplin I was blown away by the standard of the recent eTAS conference I attended. The presentations were incredibly interesting and I learned an enormous amount about social media and the new frontiers of marketing and travel. As far as our clients are concerned – this is what you would have heard… Some of […]
The Twitter consumer
/in Technology /by JillTwitter is an everyday activity – 61% of users visit Twitter everyday & more than 2 in 5 engage several times a day. Mobile is at the heart of Twitter – 85% use a mobile device (phone and/or tablet) to access Twitter. 79%, of whom, state that mobile devices are the primary way they access Twitter. Followers are part […]
A work of love
/in Passion, Team /by JillThe AWOL Team Belinda Blakeman our call centre manager, takes leave every year to help run a local annual event called AWOL (A Work Of Love) #aworkoflove2015 . Approximately 200 teenagers attend a camp in Empangeni – coming together to build relationships as well as receive practical and spiritual input to equip them for life. They also share God’s […]
Your management checklist
/in Product, Strategy /by JillWritten by Paula Chaplin How you track your business is dependent on how your systems are set up, what your processes are, and how you structure your roles and responsibilities. Even with these being unique to each of our customers, there are still basic checks you could be working with to help manage your business […]
Zambia bike safari
/in Passion, Team /by adminWritten by Mike Coppinger One of the privileges of my job is that I get to travel around Africa. Often when I’m soaring through clear skies I gaze down on vast wilderness expanses and imagine traversing those territories by foot. In July 2015 I had an opportunity to turn those dreams into reality. Better than […]
SATSA conference highlights
/in Team, Connections, Partners /by JillWritten by Natasha Bame I had the privilege this year to attend the annual SATSA conference which was hosted at the Fancourt hotel in George. It was an ideal opportunity to get to know our partners and other tour operators personally, putting names to faces and building the relationships. Also, it was a great space to meet all […]
Phone a friend…FAQs
/in Product /by JillWritten by Angie Geringer As the call centre inbox supervisor I process and respond to many of the incoming support requests. The 3 most common questions have to do with clearing caches, user access permissions and reports. We aspire to help our users manage their ResRequest system efficiently. It can be extremely daunting trying to interpret loads of technical jargon – […]
Jen Packs-for-a-Purpose
/in Passion, Team /by JillMany lodges and camps are linked to the great initiative, Pack for a Purpose, which helps travellers to give practically to the surrounding communities, when they go on safari. When we have opportunities to travel to areas that are in need, we jump at the chance to fill our bags with useful things for those communities. Jen, a member […]
‘Jack and the bean sprout’ | explaining electronic connections
/in Product, Connections, Partners, Technology /by JillWritten by Alex Moore For the non techy ‘Jacks’ amongst us, it’s not so easy to get our heads around how electronic connections work and we definitely don’t want to be left behind in this fast moving online world. To try and explain the concept for those who unfamiliar with tech terms, we have drawn […]
Drumming our hearts out
/in Passion, Team /by JillTwice a year our team gets the opportunity to gather for departmental reviews and a team building activity. Having two offices and a couple of staffers working remotely, it’s an invaluable time to spend together. This May after a couple of newbies had recently joined, we held our AGM and rounded this time off with a drumming session […]
Centauri announcements
/in Product, Technology /by JillWe want to keep giving you a great product…Here’s our very latest features and updates. A new online booking plugin for your website We are super excited to release an online booking plugin for your website, ResNova. ResNova is a customisable booking plugin that feeds your availability from ResRequest to your website. We’ve developed two versions of ResNova […]
Quick tips & tricks
/in Product /by JillGo back! We spend a lot of our day moving from a contact record, to availability, to rooming then back to the contact record. It didn’t take long before we realised, we wanted to do it much, much faster, so our team magic’ed up a quick way to go back to the last contact, reservation or […]
See your business clearly
/in CRM, Product, Strategy /by adminWritten by Paula Chaplin This is the time of year you start looking forward and trying to gauge what the year ahead will bring. If you happen to be in a region beset by issues (perceived or real) negatively impacting tourism (terrorism, ebola, government unrest etc) – this is probably quite a trying exercise. Unfortunately […]
Introducing our new release CENTAURI
/in Product, Partners /by JillWe are excited to announce our version 6.0 release, named CENTAURI. In this release are behind-the-scenes changes, including an upgrade from PHP4 to PHP5 and a database change from MySQL to MariaDB. This forms the foundation for lots of great, new modules already in development. Also in this release is a graphics facelift. Our new […]
ZRA certifies another ResRequest customer
/in Client News, Product /by JillThe Zambian Revenue Authority put us through our paces and another ResRequest customer is certified. The Zambian tax authorities require that any business producing Tax Invoices from a computer system, has to have their specific use of the system certified. This certification means that VAT registered customers are able to claim input VAT supported by such […]
New web app tracks the great wildebeest migration in real-time
/in Passion, Connections, Partners, Technology /by JillWant to know where the wildebeest herds are? People planning to travel to Kenya and Tanzania for the Great Migration can now track one of nature’s most spectacular events even before they get there – via a web application called HerdTracker. Created by Discover Africa, a leading tailor-made safari operator based in Cape Town, HerdTracker plots […]
East Africa E-Tourism 2014 conference experience
/in Team, Partners, Technology /by JillWritten by Jill Bennett-Howes I arrived at Nairobi airport greeted by bright yellow walls and friendly customs attendants shouting ‘Jambo, Jambo’. I reminisced on my Kenya trip 9 years ago when we installed ResRequest at Governors’ Camps. At the time our greatest challenge was the modem dial up contending with at least 4 other voices […]
The Mamma Gogo initiative
/in Passion /by JillWe are running alongside a creative outreach called the MammaGogo Initiative. Adventure through art – The aim is to: Explore the creative potential of communities across South Africa and potentially Africa through a the medium of a creative outreach program. Document the diverse heritage of her people and the expression of her culture by means of a photo journal Engage communities (including those on social media) to […]
Are you interested in a direct link to Africa’s finest properties?
/in Product, Connections, Technology /by JillOur interface product, ResConnect, offers you stock, rate and availability access to Africa’s most luxurious and remote destinations. This service is now available FREE. ResConnect links Agents, Tour Operators and Online Travel Channels to ResRequest inventory, rates and bookings. • Quick and Easy Setup • View Availability & Rates • Create Bookings Electronically How to […]
Team news | end of 2013
/in Team /by JillSnippets of the movements and news of the team from the last quarter of 2013… Baby Benjamin Soper, son of developer Nick, arrived in September – the 4th ResRequest baby to be born this year. Read more
Project Luangwa
/in Client News, Passion /by JillSouth Luangwa in Zambia is a magical destination for a safari holiday and its beauty and wildlife leave a lasting impression long after you’ve returned home. But it can be harsh and unforgiving too, especially for the local people. Most are subsistence farmers who live side by side with Luangwa’s wildlife but whilst wild animals […]
Team snippets
/in Team /by JillOur team has grown! There have been announcements, celebrations and new recruits! Natasha Lynn and Mark Bame announced their engagement | TK Madikane introduced us to his beautiful baby girl, Soyama Thakasa, which means be happy/content | Paula Chaplin acquainted us with her gorgeous newbie, Sidney Sofia Charlotte and Nick Soper will soon have a junior joining the ranks. And it’s not just […]
Pack for a Purpose initiative
/in Client News, Passion, Team /by JillProviding positive presence on the internet Written by Rebecca Rothney Pack for a Purpose (PfaP) is a great way to achieve additional exposure, at no cost, for the community projects supported by your lodge on the Internet. Our NGO is based in Raleigh, NC, in the United States. Our mission is to positively impact communities […]
Team snips | beginning of 2013
/in Team /by JillThis year has been off to a running start and we have many projects on the go, along with new developments. We are not only growing in productivity but also in number. We were as excited as the proud parents when Jack was born on 22nd of January. Congratulations to Dylan Bridgman and Daniela on their first gorgeous babe! […]
Making a difference further a field
/in Passion /by JillTUJATANE “Let us all hold hands together” – Tongabezi Trust School After Mike’s recent circuit trip to Zambia he spent time with a charity initiated by one of our Zambian clients, Tongabezi. We wanted to make a difference and have sent a donation for the school to purchase some much needed educational games and supplies. […]
Superheroes
/in Team /by JillThis year has seen a number of our team members fashioned into superheroes, inspiring Jill to write a superhero poem. SUPERHERO As a kid I always wished that superman I’d meet, he’d catch me when I was falling and gallantly return me to my feet. His bulging muscles beneath his shirt would help make me real […]
Team snips 2012
/in Team /by JillFrom left to right: Paula Chaplin strengthens the consulting team. | Chirlaine Viljoen joins our Call Centre team to replace Denelee, who has left to be a full time mom. | Natasha Lynn has joined us to run communications and special projects. | Developer, Dylan Bridgman and Daniela are excited that they will be meeting with their first baby in January. | Not even load shedding could […]
End of 2012 team highlights
/in Team /by JillThis year’s end of year bash involved team building activities and a delicious lunch in an idyllic setting. We had fun witnessing each other under very different circumstances, and exercising huge amounts of motivation and team spirit while using our brains and brawn. Presentations included a 5 year service award to our call centre heroes Nomfundo Magagula […]
Making a difference in our community
/in Passion, Team /by JillInspired by Mike and Jill’s passion to “give back”, our team wanted to find a way to help our community. Close to our offices in Kloof, we located The Neema Foundation, where we knew immediately that we could add value and impact children’s lives positively. The Neema Foundation Trust was born out of a passion […]