The Rio Hotel is comfort and connection with nature. There is no better description than the owners do: “Taking a trip to the EL RÍO hotel in La Danta Antioquia is to find the wonders hidden in nature, it is to be surprised with the diversity of its jungle and its crystalline rivers and waterfalls, it is to enjoy the flora and fauna that are reborn with the river, that remind us of the magic of life.”

The places of El Rio Hotel were created to go to the rhythm of nature. Here each one of the natural spaces is respected, at the same time that guests connect with the soul and recharge each drop of energy through its wide range of experiences. His cuisine is not the exception, as it has “the perfect balance for an ideal rest, combining aromas, textures, and colors.”

The combination of offers that the El Rio hotel has is clear: lodging, experiences, and restaurant. This mix of offers makes the operation more complex, so this is where the LobbyPMS tools become an important ally in the day-to-day life of the El Rio hotel. There are several benefits that bring the implementation of our software, however, at the beginning of our alliance, there were 2 specific challenges that the hotel wanted to solve with us.

💡 The Challenge: Centralize reservations in one place and increase direct sales

The hotel began operations in the first half of 2019 and with it, challenges came in different aspects. With its 3 high-level suites, its 11 experiences that allow the soul to connect with the environment, and a restaurant that promises a great experience, the appearance of LobbyPMS as an ally was a matter of time. In the beginning, everything was managed manually, however, it was necessary to have a system that would allow automating processes, controlling product inputs and outputs, centralizing reservations received from any sales channel, avoiding paying high commissions for reservations made, among others.

🏆 The solution: Booking Calendar and Booking Engine, two LobbyPMS tools

From day one of working with El Rio hotel, we have been able to contribute from different places. However, from the beginning of operations, two of the tools that most used our software in LobbyPMS were the Booking Calendar and the Booking Engine. The Reservation Calendar allowed them to organize room reservations and experiences by room and guest. These reservations could be made manually or automatically displayed on the calendar after a guest booked it through the web.

No less important was the Booking Engine. Opening a direct booking channel from the website and from social networks would allow to increase the hotel’s income, reduce the amount of commissions paid to third parties, generate greater credibility in the final customer, and experiment with rates to obtain better sales results.

🎯 The results: Increase in the performance of the daily operation and lower expenses in commissions to third parties

The results are more than evident with the help of the LobbyPMS tools:

1️⃣ Two years were long enough to see an increase in direct bookings. In the beginning, they represented only 21%, while currently direct bookings represent 68%.

2️⃣ Regarding the channel from which sales come in, there was also a big change. In 2019 direct sales represented 20% of the total, while in 2021 they have risen to almost 70%.

3️⃣ Currently, the calendar allows you to easily view daily, weekly and monthly reservations. The information displayed is historical, current, and future. In addition, room and experience reservations are loaded in one place to allow easy control and operation.

4️⃣ In order to increase direct reservations through social networks, LobbyPMS created an explanatory video where it easily explains the reservation process that a potential client must follow. This boosts direct bookings, reducing the payment of commissions to third parties and increasing the hotel’s net income.