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Dear WuBookers, today we review together one of the fundamental and most frequent terms for those who work in tourism. Indeed, let’s talk about booking engines for hotels and accommodations: a useful topic both for those who are new to the industry and for those who already have some experience but want to learn more about tools and opportunities.
Booking engine: definition and operation
A booking engine is software that allows you to receive direct reservations online, that is, without the aid of external sales portals, and without the associated commission costs. Through the booking engine, the hotelier has the ability to set inventory and rates, and make them available to potential customers without further intermediation. It is, in a sense, an interactive calendar updated in real time, facilitating direct matching of supply and demand.
This system, which is very powerful and advanced, assumes several functions. Through the booking engine of the hotel, vacation home or B&B, online users can:
- search for the most suitable accommodation for them, selecting different options such as travel dates, occupancy (i.e., the number of people per age group, such as adults and children), type of accommodation and any extra services;
- compare different solutions based on the prices and different offers proposed automatically by the system;
- make the reservation online, in total autonomy and in complete security, according to the conditions provided by the hotelier and without additional costs;
- receive an email with confirmation and details of the reservation, including dates, accommodation and cancellation terms;
- get in touch with the facility via the online request form to get more information or ad hoc quotes.
But how to reach and where to use the booking engine?
How to use the booking engine
Once configured, the booking engine can be used in several ways.
The most common practice is to install it into the facility’s website: integrated through a script or with a button (e.g., “Book Now”), which opens an external link, on a separate page, where the user can check availability, choose the room and pay easily and immediately.
In addition to this, you can also use the same link on your social channels, such as Meta for example, through a booking button that leads directly to the booking engine. Or it can be sent via email or WhatsApp, in response to inquiries from interested customers.
In short, the possibilities are numerous, all viable simultaneously and equally beneficial.

The advantages of a booking engine
Installing a booking engine produces significant benefits:
- There are no intermediation costs
Direct reservations through booking engines allows you to get a higher profit margin from the sale. In fact, there are no costs to be incurred against like with the various indirect booking portals, such as OTAs and metasearchers.
- Availability and prices are always up to date
Thanks to the booking engine, the availability of rooms or vacation rentals is always up-to-date. This is possible because the system keeps track, in real time, of bookings both on OTAs and on your website, complete with availability and prices synchronized in real time.
- Allows you to diversify your offerings
Direct booking allows you to diversify the offer, proposing additional packages to customers, such as internal and external services to the facility, customized rates and discounts, depending on the period or need. It also allows you to fidelize customers incentivizing them to stay at the facility again.
- You get a higher conversion
Hotel or vacation rental websites without a booking engine have a lower conversion rate, meaning they produce fewer sales. This results in the user being forced to go through several steps before finalizing the transaction: they will have to call or email for availability and rates, wait for a response, evaluate the proposal, and then confirm. This may discourage some people, pushing them toward structures with faster consultation and purchasing systems.
- Payments are secure
Integration with secure payment gateways ensures the security of payments both on the user side – essential for building a trusting relationship – and on the hotelier side, avoiding fraud and transaction-related problems.
- It saves time
Getting direct sales through the booking engine means not only facilitating research for guests (who can evaluate, decide and pay in the way and at the time they prefer, without having to wait for the facility’s operator); but also speeding up operations for the Reception, which can limit itself to checking and possibly modifying the reservations received, without having to register them from scratch.
How to choose your booking engine: features to consider
If you are considering integrating your website with a booking engine, you should know that not all booking software is the same. In addition to the benefits listed above, a good system should always meet the following features.
Ensure a simple and intuitive checkout experience.
Users must be able to easily reach the reservation form and, at checkout, be able to book a room without running into pages that do not load or links that do not work. In fact, this could make them impatient or unsure about proceeding, leading them to abandon the site. So it is important to ensure excellent performance and an intuitive interface on all devices. In fact, the booking system must be responsive, adaptable to all devices (tablets, cell phones, ect.) so that bookings can also be made from mobile.

Ensure a high level of customization
Among the key aspects of choosing a suitable booking engine for your hotel is the margin of customization allowed, in terms of appearance, content and business strategy. Let’s start with the latter: it is essential to be able to set special offers, packages and discounts to be turned on and off depending on occupancy and season.
The look & feel of the platform must also be customizable and reflect the brand identity of the accommodation, to ensure communicative consistency.
Also not to be overlooked is the ability to set up the booking system in multiple languages, to also cater to the international customer base.
Allow integration with other technological tools.
The booking engine is not the only tool useful for optimal property and sales management. Others include the PMS for the hotel and the channel manager that allow, respectively, to govern the property in all its aspects and to offer it on third-party distribution channels. It is therefore critical that all these tools communicate with each other and transmit data in real time to avoid disruptions or hindrances to business.
Comply with all security and privacy regulations
Finally, it is imperative that the booking engine complies with all regulations regarding user security and privacy. The first requirement concerns SSL-certified technology, an encrypted system that protects customers’ sensitive data and economic transactions.
This is followed by the PCI DSS protocol related to online payment security; the European PSD2 directive, which imposes standards and procedures to protect buyers; and SCA, strong dual authentication that limits scams.
5 Good Reasons to Choose WuBook’s Booking Engine
Now that you know how a booking engine works and know its main advantages and features, we want to dwell on Zak, WuBook’s Booking Engine, which stands out for numerous features and qualities.
1. Adaptable and multipurpose
The first concerns the possibilities of use. In fact, Zak can be linked to the structure’s site, whatever technology it is developed with, or be integrated with a complete minisite, built through the proper WuBook feature. In this way, in addition to the booking engine, it is also possible to take advantage of the organic positioning of content and gain more visibility online.
2. Customizable in every aspect
Customization is also maximized starting with the 8 different colors and the ability to insert a background image and the facility’s logo, to return a cohesive image to the users who browse it.
In terms of usability, one can choose which of the 18 available languages to enable and which currencies, whether to show rounded prices, and whether to display tourist tax information or not. The contact form for information request, can also be enriched with all the main communication tools of the facility in addition to email, like telephone number(s), SMS, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, Wechat, Instagram.
3. Advanced features that can be modified as desired
In addition to this, the hotelier also has maximum freedom when it comes to the price list and can:
- set a maximum limit to the number of rooms sold in a single reservation;
- enable the filter by occupancy and, when enabled, disable occupancies other than adults;
- define the time of check-in;
- show all or only some of the rates created;
- sell all of the rooms or only some of them;
- create vacation packages and/or discount codes;
- set different cancellation rules on different periods and choose which guarantee methods to require;
- provide for extra services;
- set customized messages (e.g., welcome, reservation confirmation, no availability, and so on);
- add mandatory costs.
4. Perfect for timeshares
Thanks to the multi-property widget, potential guests can choose in which facility of the same chain or management they prefer to stay, before landing on the room selection page. An important system that allows you to show all the possibilities in a certain territory and, at the same time, monitor rooms or apartments of different facilities. In this way you can keep track of all the availability of properties, without dispersion.
5. Integrated offers and reservations
As we mentioned, not all direct reservations are made immediately by the booking engine, and it is possible that someone may need a formal estimate before making a purchase. For such cases, Zak offers a particularly efficient solution because it links the estimate to the booking page, which is already set up on the room and dates being requested. Thus the customer will not need to redo the search from the beginning and, in case of acceptance, can proceed following the steps provided by the software.
As you may have guessed, in general, the booking engine is a really useful system for those who manage one or more accommodations. Zak’s Booking Engine, in particular, allows you to make the most of all sales opportunities and keep up with the more aggressive competitor crowd every day.
Booking engines software are available for hotels, holiday homes, apartments and B&B. In the most efficient booking engine solutions, a Multiproperty Widget can be integrated, i.e. a system that allows you to monitor rooms or apartments of different properties. This way you can keep track of all the availability of your properties.
As you will have understood, the booking engine is a really useful system for those who manage one or more accommodation facilities. Knowing how it works and its characteristics allows you to be more aware of sales opportunities and keep up with the audience of competitors, who are becoming more aggressive every day.