Want to go phishing?   You’ll only catch some trouble.  Instant World Booking’s fraud department has uncovered some attacks and scams that could cause you some serious trouble, so read on for how to keep your user ids and passwords safe.

A recent “phishing” scam involves a fraudster’s attempt to duplicate a similar-looking webpage to our homepage.  They send emails to clients alerting them to new reservations, and direct them to the scam page to sign in.  Obviously, if you follow their link and enter your password, the fraudster now has it.

Protect yourself.  With any website you use with a user id and password, make sure you’re certain that you are on the correct site.  Here’s how to know.  Look at the address bar at the top of your browser page.  If the page doesn’t start with the precise domain you are trying to access, then don’t sign in.  Many scammers will purchase similar looking domains, but may have additional characters added to fool you. 

To be more certain, use the “secure” version of the website.  Any website that is serious about protecting your security will have a secure server.  So, when you go to the InstantWorldBooking.comhomepage, use the login section at the upper right corner of the page.  Once you click login, you will notice that you are then at https://www.instantworldbooking.com/.  Note the “https” with an “s”.  This signifies that you are now on a secure server.  A little padlock icon on your browser will also indicate the server is secure, and by clicking on the padlock, you will be able to view security information about the secure server.

So, protect your security and personal information.  Always make sure you know what site you are on, before logging in.

The following is a list of calendar management systems currently linking to Instant World Booking.  What this means is that these 3rd party systems, whether CMS, Channel Management systems, availability calendars, property management, or front desk software systems, provide an interface to automatically update your calendar on the Instant World Booking network.

• http://myallocator.com/
• http://www.bnbmanager.com
• ASSD Hotel Property Management System PMS

If you are currently working with another 3rd party system like those described above, tell them you want to be able to feed your availability directly to Instant World Booking.  Typically, services will respond positively to their clients’ requests of this type.

If you wish to check out one of the services listed above, please do so, and tell them you heard about them from Instant World Booking.  Frequently, services will be happy to offer special introductory pricing if they know their partners are referring new business to them.  So, it can’t hurt to ask.

A special discount is now offered to Instant World Booking clients for trying the BnB Manager online property management service.  An added benefit is that Instant World Booking now interfaces with BnB Manager, and you can automatically upload your availability to Instant World Booking from BnB Manager.

BNB Manager offers 10% off the full first year cost to the first 50 IWB members who join and stay beyond the 90-day free trial period.  All you need to do is enter the Promotional Code “IWB123″ on the BnB Manager sign-up page.

http://www.bnbmanager.com

BnBManager has created a feature-packed yet simple-to-use small accommodations management system.  Offering state of the art security, functionality, and usability, BnBManager makes managing your guest information and reservations simple, while also providing a wealth of features to help you manage your back-office operations. Please visit BNB Manager today for a full list of features.

For more information about Instant World Booking’s XML feeds and other systems we integrate with, please see:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/category/xml-feeds/

Instant World Booking now offers a convenient new way to update availability calendars for hostels, hotels, and bed & breakfasts.  Our XML API/interface for uploading calendar availability is available for:

• Property Managers
• Hostel chains and National Associations of lodgings
• Channel Management systems
• Other booking engines

In fact, anyone who is tired of managing availability manually, or updating systems on multiple booking engines, doesn’t have to.  Don’t spend hours trying to manage availability manually, or learning additional systems.  Our simple XML file format is easy to use and easy to upload.  We can offer assistance to anyone in need of help integrating an automatic allocation of rooms/beds on the Instant World Booking network.

If you are currently using another front end system for managing your available rooms and beds, let us know.  If we already interface with their system, you can upload your availability to us automatically.  If we don’t currently interface with your provider, call them up today and tell them you want to upload your calendar allocation to Instant World Booking.

To get started with our XML API, begin by checking out our manual, or send it to your developer:

Instant World Booking API XML Manual

For more information, contact us today at: info@instantworldbooking.com

If you are searching for an inexpensive front end system for managing multiple booking engines, check out http://myallocator.com/.  You can also contact us for other recommendations.

For a list of some 3rd party calendar management systems currently linking to Instant World Booking, please see:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/blog_iw/2009/12/list-of-calendar-management-systems-linked-to-instant-world-booking/

Every once in a while, we introduce a new service that is so revolutionary, we can’t wait to tell you about it. IWB Payments is one of those services. Why is it revolutionary? Because no other service provider offers it.In short, IWB Payments offers you the ability to accept credit cards from your guests for any service. You don’t need a merchant account, credit card machine, or gateway. You don’t need all the costs that come with other merchant services and payment systems.

IWB Payments is a unique payment system offered only by Instant World Booking. It is unlike any service offered by competitors. How? You can accept credit card payments for any travel-related service, including rooms, meals, activities, etc. Charge customers up front as a deposit or as a final payment. For cancellations and no-shows (when your guest fails to arrive), you can now collect a cancellation fee according to your policy.

IWB Payments even allows you to charge your customers for reservations originating from other sources. Consider this: Even if a reservation was confirmed from another service, like HostelWorld or BedandBreakfast com, you can charge your guests here for the reservation and related travel costs. No other provider offers such convenience, which is so important to your guests.

To read more about IWB Payments, view the following pageplease check out the following page:

http://www.instantworldbooking.com/payments-systems.php

To comment or ask questions about this new Payments System for hotels, hostels, and bed & breakfasts, you may reply to this post.

What is the lowest cost on the internet for a fully-customizable booking engine for your website?

We have the answer: 1.9%. That’s because Instant World Booking also offers a basic service option with the lowest price available anywhere. And, that still includes online bookings combined with credit card confirmation for your website.

In fact, we offer a range of pricing options starting at the industry-low of 1.9%, offering integrated bookings and credit card deposits all the way up to full collection of the reservation amount up-front. Contact us today to learn more about pricing options and an online booking solution that’s perfect for your business.

Get more about fully-integrated booking engines for your website.

Add your hotel today for online booking at Instant World Booking.

With all the buzz about economic conditions worldwide, some wonder what President Obama and the policies of the new White House administration mean for hotel and hostel owners.  For a look at how things may be changing in the coming months for travel and accommodation, please see this video published on CNN.  (See comments for the link)

A recent Instant World Booking tour of Spain and France included many cities as well as a broad selection of hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, and hostels.  We were surprised to find that less than 1 in 5 properties offer free WiFi to their guests.  One of the best conveniences to offer guests these days in the war to win over new business is free WiFi.

As business travelers, the ability to maintain constant contact with office and associates is critical.  As tourists, we also know the value of keeping up to date with friends and family, especially when on an extended tour.  In fact, while traveling Spain and France, we found it not only difficult to connect while in our hotel rooms, but also as we tried to find backup WiFi internet connections within the city.  For example, in Toledo, Spain, while some hotels offer WiFi to their guests only, ours did not.  We had arranged a stay in one of the city’s nicer 3 star properties, which was also a historic landmark.  While the hotel advertised WiFi, we were disappointed to learn that the service offered was a public network offered at a prohibitive price.  The only backup choice was a bar in the central of the historic district.  The major lesson learned is that our team in Spain vowed never again to book at a hotel that did not offer convenient, free WiFi in the guest room.  We’re sure many other travelers are exercising the same decision-making, especially in these days of excess hotel rooms available.

So, we want to inform all our hotel and lodging partners, offer free WiFi to your guests!  Advertise with a sign at your entrance or lobby, displaying your choice to offer “free WiFi” to your guests.  If you are a hotel that already offers internet access to your guests at a cost, remove that cost immediately.  Intelligent travelers these days know that it costs no more than about $50 to purchase a wireless router and set up wireless internet at minimum in a hotel lobby.  To charge for wireless these days is a message to prospective customers that your are going to be cheap and nickel and dime your guests for every last item.  That’s a real turn-off these days in a troubled economy.  If you operate a street front restaurant or cafe in conjunction with rooms for rent, hang a sign outside offering free WiFi.  This will surely start bringing in additional customers for a bite to eat or coffee.

Instant World Booking is a recognized leader in credit card collection for hotels, hostels, and lodging worldwide, and offers the widest range of collection options with an integrated booking engine for hotel websites.  Because of this experience we get a lot questions from hotel managers on how to deal with difficult and unpleasant problems with credit card collections.  Here’s one question we recently received from a lodging partner regarding a reservation they accepted directly:

I had a situation recently where a scammer paid me with a credit card and then the rightful owner of the credit card reclaimed the money. This left me with a big overdraft and i am still trying to clear it. Is there no insurance against this sort of thing? When i approached my bank (bbva in Spain.) they said there was nothing they could do as there was no signed credit card receipt from the person who made the reservation. This person is a recognized scammer and I had an e-mail from him confirming the reservation which I showed to the bank and they just ignored it.  Who is wrong?

Unfortunately, in this situation, the customer is right.  In fact, the customer is always right in these situations since credit card companies protect the cardholder first.  In a fraud situation, there is nothing you can do to recover the loss, and this can be considered a cost of doing business with credit cards.

If you want to avoid having to deal with this type of online fraud entirely, consider using Instant World Booking’s reservation booking engine on your website.  Instant World Booking offers the most flexible and comprehensive set collection options available among any online provider today.  Any deposit amount can be collected by credit card for your website reservations.  Additionally, you will not have to deal with any disputes since Instant World Booking handles everything.  An even greater benefit is the Full No-show and Cancellation Protection offered with every hotel website booking engine.

If you list your hotel, hostel, or bed and breakfast with Instant World Booking, or other online booking agencies, here is some advice for maximizing your reservation potential:

1) Ensure your listing is up to date and accurate. Include as much information as possible, not only about your property, but also about local attractions, restaurants, etc.

2) Make sure to spell-check your listing. Incorrect spelling signals to guests that the property is not professionally maintained.

3) Add photos. Listings with photos gain at least 4x more traffic than those without photos. Make sure your photos are large and complement your property and location.

4) Add a complete calendar of availability. Your calendar is important, since guests prefer instant booking over online requests. Make sure you have complete availability online, and at least 6-9 months of availability.

5) Include an accurate street address on your listing, as well as local directions. Guests will not book properties that they can’t easily find.

6) Use Instant World Booking’s low-cost options for accepting reservations on YOUR OWN website.

Remember, it can take several weeks to several months for Google and other leading search engines to effectively index your page on our network of sites. Instant World Booking has proven to be very successful in gaining top search engine rankings for its listed lodging partners. One last reason it is very important to use the instant booking method is that we use pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to market your property on Google and other sites. Effectively use of a PPC campaign can cost you hundreds of US dollars. However, for our partners who use instant booking, we advertise your property in PPC campaigns for free.

One last note, persistence and patience is the key to success. Online marketing is “collective”. This means it is more effective to advertise your property on 2 services than 1. Persistent online presence is necessary to achieve online name (brand) recognition, and to gain higher search rankings for pages containing your property’s name. Advertising with Instant World Booking is an extremely valuable, and free, method of increasing your online presence.