At its core, your job as a business owner is to keep your organization thriving and your bottom line healthy. And if you’re a business that offers space rentals—like an indoor golf facility, a music studio, or a tennis club—your goal is simple: get as many bookings as possible because that’s where most of your money comes from. Yet many businesses unintentionally make it harder than it needs to be for their customers to book. Don’t be the obstacle to your own revenue.
With over 5,000 venues worldwide using AllBooked, we've identified the top reasons venues struggle to secure reservations, and paired them with exactly how to get more online bookings.
Causes:
- Frustrating mobile experience: Ever downloaded an app and immediately deleted it because it was either too clunky or confusing to use? If so, you know firsthand how this could deter someone from making a booking.
- Unclear where or how to book: If a user navigates to your website and doesn’t immediately see a link to make a booking, chances are, they’re going to give up and look elsewhere.
- Too much work required to make a booking: If you ask customers to manually fill in booking information, they’re less likely to follow-through.
- Rates are too expensive: Your pricing strategy should strike the perfect balance; attractive enough to win new customers while still driving healthy profits for your business.
- Value isn’t clear to customers: If your online presence doesn’t immediately answer the question, “Why should I book with you over someone else?” with a clear, compelling statement, your prospective customers are less likely to make a reservation.
How to create a seamless booking experience
The strategies below all target one goal: increasing your conversion rate. Forbes defines conversion rate as the percentage of prospective customers who take a desired action, such as filling out a form, making a purchase, or calling a company. In Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO), conversions for your business translate directly into sales—and for your business, every priced booking is a sale. Read on to learn how to get more online bookings, or conversions, to drive your bottom line forward.
Know your current customer journey
Before making any changes to your booking process, first identify where customers are most likely to abandon a booking and when they complete one successfully. To start, we recommend mapping out your customer journey to give you a clear view of every touchpoint prospects have with your business—from discovery to the moment they book.
How to start:
- List out every way a customer can discover you. I.e. Organic search, social media, ads, or referrals/word-of-mouth.
- Use Google Analytics to see which channels are driving the most traffic to your booking page.
- Use analytics tools to spot where website drop-offs happen most often. Behavioral data platforms like Hotjar, Heap, Fullstory, or Microsoft Clarity can record visitors’ screen interactions, giving you data on click patterns, heatmaps, and mobile usage.
- Identify and fix the biggest problem areas, or optimize for the best performing areas. Look at when most people drop off and make any necessary changes, or double down on what’s working well.
Following these steps can give you key insights into booking patterns, and guide you in the right direction to creating a seamless booking experience so that you get more online bookings.
Make changes to your booking process
Offer payment options with mobile wallets
Your customers shouldn’t have to work to give you money. Whether your booking process involves endless text chains and emails, or even a clunky booking system with too many steps, the result is the same: the more steps required, the less likely people are to follow through.
By 2026, more than 5 billion people around the world are expected to use a mobile application, such as PayPal or Apple Pay, as their method of payment. With this trend, it’s no surprise that 96% of consumers will never use a company again if they have a poor checkout experience.
The solution? Make it as easy as possible for your customers to make a booking by offering as many payment options as possible.
Make your booking link impossible to miss, or create an online booking experience
Today’s customers expect a seamless, click-and-go experience—if booking takes too much time or effort, they’ll most likely give up. Make it easy to schedule time by placing a reservation link front and center of every digital channel. Don’t handle bookings online? We’d recommend giving it a try. Let technology handle the hard work and create a booking experience both you and your customers will enjoy—free from the hassle of emails, texts, and phone calls.
- Add your booking link directly to your social media profiles
- Add your booking link directly to your Google Business Profile
- Add your booking link to your email signature
- Embed your booking calendar on the homepage of your website, so that visitors can book directly on your website
Cut back on information asked in the booking process
Do your customers have to fill out a form or send an email every time they want to book? Cut out any unnecessary steps and create the seamless booking experience they expect.
- If your customers fill out a form, revisit what’s included and only include the essentials. Better yet, see if you can turn any text fields into check boxes or drop downs to make it easier for them to complete.
- If your customers book via email, consider creating a template that you can embed directly into your messages, making it quick and easy for them to provide the information you need.
Highlight value to your customers upfront
If your customers can’t see the value of booking with you, then why would they choose to? Craft a value proposition that’s concise, compelling, and sets your business apart. To get started, Harvard Business School suggests asking yourself these key questions.
- What is my brand offering?
- What job does the customer hire my brand to do?
- What companies and products compete with my brand to do this job for the customer?
- What sets my brand apart from those competitors?
Use your answers to craft a one sentence elevator pitch that captures who your company is, and place it front and center across your online presence. This makes it easy for your customers to see why they should book with you instead of the competition, and ultimately helps you get more online bookings.
Use a booking app
The best way to create a seamless booking experience for your customers is to make booking as accessible and streamlined as possible. In this case, we’d recommend using a booking app, so there’s never a question about logistics, amenities, or rates—and customers can book on their own terms. Let’s look into why they’re so effective.
- Designed for user experience
Interface design is about more than just aesthetics—it also boosts conversions. Forbes states that a well-designed user experience could yield conversion rates up to 400%. Now, imagine what a well-designed booking experience could do for your business.
- No more booking back-and-forth
Cut out all inquiries during the booking process by using an app that shows availability, amenities, and rates right in the booking window. Not only will your customers enjoy the ease with which they’ll be able to book, but you’ll also appreciate the time saved from fewer emails.
- Automation functionalities
Apps with automation features eliminate hands-on work, reducing the risk of human error and freeing you up to focus on tasks that truly move your business forward. But, what does automation look like for your customers? A waiver that once was sent out by your team member can now go out automatically. An email with a security code can be triggered the moment a booking is made, giving customers seamless access to your building at their scheduled time.
- Customers can pay directly within the app
The right app will make payment effortless, allowing customers to use a saved credit card or mobile wallets, like Apple Pay or Google Wallet. This way, there’s no need for them to dig out their wallet every time.
Curious what seamless bookings can do for your bottom line? Use this calculator to find out.
What a streamlined booking experience could look like for your industry
Athletics
Coaches and players are constantly on the go, and with fluctuating schedules, it’s far too hectic to manage bookings manually—mistakes are bound to happen. That’s why venues in the athletics industry should opt for a simple, mobile-first booking solution to get more online bookings. With it, coaches and players can check real-time availability, make adjustments on their own as needed, and confirm bookings instantly. The result? Less chaos, more stability, and more time dedicated to their sport.
Arts
Artists require very specific tools depending on their discipline, and often need flexible, on-demand access to studios. That’s why it’s essential to use a booking solution that gives them full autonomy—letting them book on their own, check real-time studio availability, pay directly within the app, and know exactly what’s included in their booking. Whether it’s amps, paintbrushes, filming equipment, or microphones, everything should be clearly outlined, eliminating confusion and driving more online bookings.
Community + shared spaces
Community centers, coworking spaces, and event venues all have one thing in common: they’re hubs where people come together in shared spaces. With so many different types of gatherings happening in these multi-purpose venues, bookers need to know exactly what to expect—what the space looks like, how many people it can hold, and when it’s available—all at once. That’s why these types of venues benefit from a booking solution that puts these details front and center, eliminating confusion and reducing booking friction.
To learn more about how AllBooked can streamline and drive more online bookings at your venue, reach out to an expert—we’re here to help!
