If you operate tours that require equipment, inventory management and assignments in your software play a crucial role in the success of your operations. Based on overwhelming user input, The Flybook "resources" feature has been rebuilt to streamline your guests' booking process, deliver more control over equipment assignment and selection, and enable more strategic pricing to help capture new revenue.
What's new in this update:
- Set pricing rules for your resources! Charge based on the type of equipment reserved and the number of people on your trip.
- Enhance the online booking experience. Guests can now book a resource "category" instead of sifting through an extensive list of available equipment options.
- Stay informed with all the essential details for seamless operations, including the number of guests, the specific equipment reserved, and the breakdown of trip participants versus the number and type of machines for Powersports Tours.
- Simultaneously oversee and automate both guest count and resource availability.
Here's a quick video of what this looks like in your back office view!
Table of Contents
Be More Prepared with Better Trip Data for Guests and Equipment
Equipment = Availability Complexity
When equipment is a capacity-restricting component of a tour, the complexity of prepping for and executing a reservation increases significantly. It makes the booking process more cumbersome (which we never want), and your check-in process has more variables and unknowns (your worst nightmare with 20 people standing in your lobby).
Flybook KNOWS Resources
Flybook is unique in its ability to grasp the complexities of equipment management. It ensures you avoid overbooking when your equipment is rented or reserved for a tour.
But You've Needed More
Historically, it's been difficult, especially in the booking flow, to know the number of people on a trip and the configuration of what equipment to provide them.
Some Flybook users prioritized the selection of resources and set those as their tour pricing rules (e.g., selecting the number of single kayaks, double kayaks, or canoes). However, when done this way, you do not know the total number of people on the tour.
Some users have prioritized knowing the number of people and letting the system assign the equipment (e.g., booking 4 people, and as long as the system recognizes 4 seats, we are good to go).
NEW: No compromise
With the latest enhancements, there is a straightforward, concise way to collect BOTH information. Guests booking a tour online can decide what vehicle, boat, or piece of equipment they want (AND you can charge them accordingly!) while capturing the total number of people in the group. All of this comes with accurate capacity management and tracking.
Additionally, with these improvements and the priority on better trip data and management, you can now include manually added equipment that does not affect the availability of the trip itself but still needs to be tracked for logistical or operations purposes.
- For example, suppose your trip relies on kayak availability and requires an assigned vehicle for transport. In this case, the vehicle can now be assigned and associated with the activity but is not necessary through the guest booking process. It can also be added or modified at any point.
Maximize Revenue by Charging Based on Equipment Selection
Pricing is now flexible for activities that require equipment. You can assign pricing rules for boats, ATVs, and other resources.
- Activity pricing remains unchanged: guests can still be charged for the tour and the number of individuals participating.
- NEW: You can also associate a price with the equipment required for the trip or add optional equipment not required for availability, which would allow guests to upgrade their trip experience with supplemental paid add-ons (this option enhancement replaces the previous "promoted rentals" feature available when creating activities or tour offerings in Flybook.)
- You can opt to enable ALL of these pricing strategies or a single option.
Let's take a river tour as an example. Various vessels are available for this tour: single kayak, double kayak, canoe, raft, or stand-up paddle board.
- You can now charge a base price for the tour ($29).
- Then, there can be a secondary cost depending on their chosen vessel.
- For example, a group of 4 people can choose to go together in a raft for $20 or separately in their own single kayaks for $15 each.
Improved Guest Booking Experience
Many Flybook users have large operations with extensive inventory and various bikes, kayaks, and more. Guests often find themselves scrolling through long lists to select their desired equipment. This led to confusion among guests and operators, prompting some to eliminate the option for guests to choose equipment, resulting in operational penalties and delays during check-in.
NEW: Guests booking online can choose from categories like "double kayak," "single kayak," or "canoe" in a streamlined booking process, allowing them to then select their preferred equipment with clarity and ease.
Simplified Resource Setup
As the Flybook product advances, we are dedicated to providing more straightforward and intuitive methods to manage and enhance your reservation platform. The updated resource setup incorporates the following:
- Clearly defined steps for resource settings within an activity (no more confusing checkboxes!)
- Choose between two setup flows that allow you to decide whether guests can select their equipment or not.
Conclusion
It's not only about making things easier for you but also about improving your guests' experience. With the new resource booking process, guests can now easily choose their equipment. At the same time, the system seamlessly manages the inventory, and you increase your profits based on them choosing their desired option (regardless of price!), making their adventure even more memorable.
