Activity Reservation Software
Choosing the right activity software is critical to growing your business
What is activity reservation software?
Put simply, any application designed specifically to make life easier for activity providers counts as activity reservation software. Primarily, this comes in the form of facilitating online and in-house reservations and helping booking and reservation managers that help activity providers keep track of who’s scheduled for what time. Depending on the solution, it may have advanced features like retail/foodservice support, digital waivers, etc.
Is it just for activity providers?
Actually, no. Some activity reservation software (RESMARK included) functions just as well for the event and event-based businesses as it does for the tour and tourism-based businesses. Essentially, if your experience or service is date-based, there’s a good chance you can find an activity reservation solution that will meet your needs.
Different Types of Activity Reservation Software
Solutions like these typically come in one of two forms: web-based applications, or desktop applications.
Desktop-Based Activity Booking Systems
Originally, all activity booking solutions were desktop apps that you had to download and run off of your own machine. This had the advantage of being able to function when offline but meant that you couldn’t use multiple devices to manage the same inventory, and couldn’t offer online bookings. While desktop apps that connect to other devices are possible, most solutions have switched to browser-based applications.
Online Activity Booking Systems
Internet connectivity has changed the game for activity reservation software. With browser apps, multiple devices (including mobile devices) can connect to and manage the same inventory. Guests can book online from anywhere in the world. And the dev team that made the software can continuously push out feature updates, adding to what the tool can do. There’s no downloading the tool—you just pull up the website and log in.
The Needs of Activity Businesses
Ok, that’s what activity reservation software is, but do companies really need it? Let’s look at the most prominent needs activity providers have in their business.
Booking Activities
If you’re doing everything manually, booking activities and managing those bookings is a hassle in and of itself. First of all, people can’t book online and have to call in or show up to make a booking. Once they do, you have to keep track of it (and all the others you’ve got), and make sure that the schedule is accurate and up to date. Then, you have to be able to track customer information for additional payments, refunds, and a host of other things. Frankly, it’s just a lot.
Operating Activities
Running the events may be the fun part, but that doesn’t mean it can be done without some planning. In fact, as the business (and your team) grows, actually providing the experience becomes the most logistically difficult. You have to coordinate seating, assets (like boats, jeeps, or other inventory), and guides. It’s a bit much for a simple spreadsheet or piece of paper.
Signing Waivers
For most businesses in the industry, waivers and other legal documents are a critical part of the process, and you can’t afford to take on guests that don’t sign the right agreements. Paper waivers are a huge hassle, and it’s difficult to get them into the hands of guests early enough to satisfy the courts. Plus, heaven help you should you have to dig through all those stored signed documents to find one you need.
Emailing Customers
There’s often a lot of information that needs to be passed on to customers before the start of their trip. They need confirmations and trip itineraries, packing lists, and “how to prepare” advice, reminders of the upcoming event, and more. Sending all those emails by hand, especially when you need to send them to hundreds or even thousands of separate recipients is a Herculean task.
Managing Resellers
Operators in this industry often find themselves working together with other businesses in order to sell more activities. Whether it’s cross-selling for another operator, a hotel concierge hooking a guest up with something to do, or a travel agent planning a trip, having all those resellers and partners call in every time they want to make a booking with you for a guest isn’t just inefficient—it’s a nightmare.
Increasing Sales
Finally, every operator is looking for ways to help scale the business and increase sales. Finding new customers is a constant concern, and it’s hard to do that when the vast majority of travelers have no idea who you are. Even when they visit your website, you have no way of knowing who they are, and no way of encouraging them to book with you (as opposed to your competitors).
How RESMARK Can Help
The team here at RESMARK is very sensitive to the needs of operators and suppliers (more on that below), and we built our activity reservation software to answer a host of concerns (including the ones listed above).
Book Better
RESMARK is a web-based app that enables you to take
online bookings and make online bookings from anywhere that has an internet connection. Keep your inventory up-to-date, offer automated discounts (or enter them in manually), track guest information, get analytics data, and more, all packaged in an easy-to-use interface. It’s activity booking done right.
Control Distribution
The RESMARK suite also includes TrueConnect, a tool built to help you manage your resellers and distribution channels. Not only does TrueConnect enable your resellers to book directly from your live inventory, but it allows you to set separate net rates for each reseller, and even gives you access to a whole marketplace full of potential resellers. It all translates into better collaboration and more sales.
Digital Waivers for Activities
We know how important waivers are, which is why we built digital document functionality directly into the system. With WaiverSign, you can have an unlimited number of document templates, store an unlimited number of signed waivers, and keep everything in the system for as long as you like. It’s paperless, contactless, and hassle-less.
Generate and Nurture Leads
Lastly, the RESMARK suite also includes CruiseControl, our marketing automation tool. Create custom lead forms for your website where you can collect contact information, turning anonymous website visitors into leads. Then, set up automated email campaigns to nurture those leads and encourage them to book. You can even set up email campaigns for after the customer has booked, as well as after their trip is complete, encouraging them to leave reviews.
"From generating new online business on our website to booking reservations through resellers, RESMARK sells more than our top sales staff - and it's a lot less expensive!"
Cort Wright
Moab Adventure Center
“Working with RESMARK support has been phenomenal! If there is any one thing you should preach to every potential customer, it is how great customer service is with RESMARK.”
Erik Weiseth
Orange Torpedo Trips
"So happy with Resmark! With the Resmark System and their help on our website, we're saving 75% on our cost of converting leads!"
Kent John
Great Alaska Adventures
What Qualifies You to Build Activity Reservation Software?
We know there’s a lot of tools out there, and we’ll be the first to admit that RESMARK isn’t right for every activity provider. So what makes us so special? Why would we recommend our solution? Simple: we have first-hand experience with the demands of operating single-day and multi-day activities.
We’ve Been in the Business a Long Time
We got into the tour and activity business all the way back in the sixties, and we pioneered the idea of multi-day rafting trips as a vacation option. Since our humble beginnings, we’ve expanded the business considerably, and are currently offering rafting tours, off-road safaris, and other activities throughout the West.
We Built RESMARK to Answer Problems We Were Having, Too
RESMARK as a solution came into being because we were having the same issues as other activity providers, and we couldn’t find a tool that was giving us all the functionality we needed. Frustrated, we decided to build our own software, software that cut down on the need to subscribe to more than one SaaS solution.
Get In the Driver’s Seat
We have a slightly different philosophy here at RESMARK. Where other software solutions keep all the editing permissions to themselves (so you have to contact support whenever you want to make a change), we prefer to give you the tools and the support you need to manage your own account. We teach you how to use the toolset, and standby to help anytime you need it, but we give the keys to you and let you drive.
So go ahead and get in touch with us. It’s never been easier to make your job easier.
LEARN MORE
CONTACT US
