Most guests prefer to place a booking directly, and to know that their preferred dates are reserved for them immediately. However, some properties, in particular large group or Exclusive Use properties, might prefer to operate on an 'Enquire Now' basis. Each of the options is explained briefly below.
It is therefore possible to configure a property to operate on an enquiry basis for Website bookings. This means that the guest is able to see availability and pricing for the property, and is then directed to 'Send Enquiry' via your Enquiry form. This will register interest, but no payment will yet be taken and the dates will not yet be blocked in the calendar.
To set-up:
- Go to Properties- Edit and go to the 'Settings' page for the property you wish to make an 'Enquire Now' Property.
- On the 'Settings' Page, under the 'Availability Chart Options' section, change 'Hide Booking Button' to 'Yes', and select 'Yes'' also next to 'Allow Enquiries'.
- 'Save' the page at the bottom.
The property will now not be directly bookable via your Website Calendars. Instead, the guest will choose the dates they are interested in, and their guest numbers, and be shown the price you have entered in the Price Planner. The 'Book Now' button has now been replaced by an 'Enquire Now' button. This will redirect the guest through to the Enquiry form, where they enter the details required to place the enquiry, including answering any custom enquiry form questions that you have set-up.
You will be notified by email that an enquiry has been made, and can then respond accordingly. If you are happy for it to proceed, you would then convert the enquiry into a booking, thereby blocking the dates in the calendar, and send an email with the Booking Summary appended to inform the guest of how much to pay, and if you have a Payment Processor set-up, you can include the payment link to allow them to pay their deposit by card.
How do I create my own questions to ask on an enquiry form?
1. To add a custom field go to Properties > Booking and enquiry form fields.
2. Here you can set-up custom questions on your booking and/or enquiry form. You might, for example, want to ask the guest how they would like their rooms set-up: "How would you like your beds made up? Double, single, or z-bed."
3. In the "Help notes" box you can add notes about the extras and these will appear beneath the question on the booking form.
4. On the drop-down menu, choose a question type.
5. You can make individual custom form fields compulsory by ticking the "Compulsory question" box. This means customers must answer your set question in order to progress with their booking.
6. Next, choose where you would like the custom question to be shown:
- booking form
- enquiry form
- both forms
- no forms (this is if you want to remove the question).
7. Tick "Show to customers" if you would like the custom question to appear on the booking and/or enquiry forms. If this box is unticked the field will not show on forms for your customers, instead it will show in the backend forms only for use by admins taking bookings.
8. Then click Save. You can preview the form to check that it appears correctly.
How to I edit the enquiry form autoresponder / thank you page?
When guests submit an enquiry using the SuperControl forms they are directed to a "thank you" page and sent an autoresponder email. You can customise the message.
Go to "Admin > Customisation" and then click the "customisation" button for the relevant website.
Scroll down to find the "Enquiry form autoresponder / thank you page" section. You can add your content here. The same will be used on the thank you page and the email.
How to Convert an Enquiry into a Booking
1. To convert an Enquiry into a Booking, go to 'Enquiries- View/Edit.
2. Click the Green Filter Button to see all current enquiries. The most recent will be at the top of the list.
3. Click on the Enquiry number (marked with a red arrow below) to view the details of the individual enquiry.
4. If you wish to send an enquiry related email, to clarify details or request further information before proceeding, or if you do not wish to convert the enquiry into a booking, you can communicate with the enquirer by sending an email from the enquiry. Choose your enquiry specific template and click 'Generate', then send the email.
Note- the Enquiry email template can only include a specific selection of email tags to populate information related to the individual enquiry. These must be taken from the 'Customer' and 'Enquiries' Tag sections ONLY. Sine it is not yet a booking, tags from other sections will not work if used in an Enquiry email template.
5. To convert the enquiry into a booking (which will block the dates), simply click the 'New Booking for [Property Name] button in the bottom right of the Enquiry.
6. This will then allow you to add any additional details (such as requested booking extras) or amend anything required (such as adding additional guest names or housekeeper notes).
7. You can then go ahead and Save at the bottom left to place the booking and block the dates.
If you wish, you can tick the box to 'email receipt to customer' which will send a copy of your booking summary to the guest's email. If you include a payment link for card payment and/or bank details, this will give the guest all they need to make the deposit payment. You can also choose to send this manually, appended to any of your templates instead, once the booking is placed.
8. The booking is now in place in the calendars, and will have its own booking number. In the History and Correspondence section of the new booking, there is a note to remind you that it originated as an enquiry, with a link to the original Enquiry details.
From this point onwards, the booking can be managed as you would any other ADMIN booking.
If you want the guest to agree to your Terms & Conditions, you can send them a link to do so.
N.B. Any integrated third party-listings for the property will be governed by the settings set-up on that third party, and so will not necessarily be able to be 'enquiry only' if the third party mandates instant booking as a pre-requisite for connecting the listing with SuperControl.