Introduction. Important information on Valk.com themes

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Adelia Heath
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1 Package manual

2 Table of contents Introduction Important information Valk.com themes Packages & Deals The online channels Valk.com Difference between Packages & Deals Obligatory demands Valk.com Packages & Deals &8 Other themes Valk Verrast Hotel website Frequently asked questions Packages in the Valk Database , 14 & 15

3 Introduction Dear Valk colleagues, In this manual we would like to show you the ropes in all channels on which your packages can be published, and hopefully increase sales. Of course all hotels are free to choose their own pricing policies and make up their own packages. We do however see a pattern in the many deals and packages that our locations are offering. We will propose a few basic rules in this manual, which will be used for the publication of your packages on Valk.com. On your own hotel website you will still be free to fill in the packages any way you like. The sentences with an! are essential for your online visibility. Please implement them directly. Good luck! Team Valk Internet Important information on Valk.com themes 1. 3=2 For 3=2 you can create a separate deal for each season; so that there s a 3=2 spring, 3=2 summer, 3=2 autumn and a 3=2 winter. Before that same separation was present in the Valk.com themes, however starting May 2016 this will no longer be the case. All 3=2 will be included in the theme: 3=2. 2. Seasonal specials For seasonal deals you can also create a separate deals for each season; so that there s a spring deal, summer deal, autumn deal and a winter deal. Before that same separation was present in the Valk.com themes, however starting May 2016 this will no longer be the case. All seasonal deals will be included in the theme: Season specials. Do not forget to change the valk.com theme for all of your 3=2 and seasonal specials, otherwise these packages will not be shown on valk.com and the hotel site starting May 2016! 3

4 Packages & Deals The online channels To sell your packages and deals there are 4 possible channels: and The hotel website Online Travel Agents (Travelbird, hotels.nl, etc.) In this manual we will not discuss the publication of packages on deals on OTAs! 4

5 Valk.com Guests can book packages of all Van der Valk hotels through Valk.com. To make the website as accessible as possible for the guest, we have highlighted the most booked packages and deals. These are: Packages: Holiday packages o Christmas & New Year o Easter o Valentine o Mother s day o Father s day o Pentecost Seasonal packages o Mid Winter (December 1 st February 28 th ) o Happy springtime (March 1 st May 31 st ) o Mid summer (June 1 st August 31 st ) o Lovely autumn (September 1 st December 1 st ) Bicycle packages Suite Dream packages Deals: Seasonal specials 3=2 Deals Park Sleep Fly Deals 5

6 Packages Difference between Packages & Deals A Package minimally consists of: 1/2/3 x Overnight stay(s) 1/2/3 x Breakfast buffet 1/2/3 x 3 course dinner Possibly other extras (bicycle routes, bicycles, welcome drinks, champagne etc.) Deals A Deal at the very most consists of: 1/2 x Overnight stay(s) 1/2 x Breakfast buffet Possibly 1 x Welcome drink No dinner! A package must minimally be half-board and a deal is at the most lodging and breakfast! 6

7 Obligatory demands Valk.com Packages & Deals The name of a package or deal and the Valk.com theme can be selected in the CMS. Seasonal package PLEASE NOTE! This package must have the name: Mid Winter, Happy Springtime, Mid Summer or Lovely Autumn! o Mid Winter (December 1 st February 28 th ) o Happy springtime (March 1 st May 31 st ) o Mid summer (June 1 st August 31 st ) o Lovely autumn (September 1 st December 1 st ) The seasonal package minimally consists of: 2/3 x Overnight stays 2/3 x Breakfast buffet 2 x course dinner The seasonal package is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: Mid Winter, Happy Springtime, Mid Summer or Lovely Autumn Seasonal specials PLEASE NOTE! This deal must have the name: Winter deal, Spring deal, Summer deal of Autumn deal! o Winter deal (December 1 st February 28 th ) o Spring deal (March 1 st May 31 st ) o Summer deal (June 1 st August 31 st ) o Autumn deal (September 1 st December 1 st ) The seasonal special minimally consists of: 1/2 x Overnight stay(s) 1/2 x Luxury breakfast buffet The seasonal special is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: Season specials 3=2 PLEASE NOTE! This deal must have the name: 3=2 Winter, 3=2 Spring, 3=2 Summer of 3=2 Autumn! o 3=2 Winter (December 1 st February 28 th ) o 3=2 Spring (March 1 st May 31 st ) o 3=2 Summer (June 1 st August 31 st ) o 3=2 Autumn (September 1 st December 1 st ) The 3=2 deal minimally consists of: 3 x Overnight stays 3 x Luxury breakfast buffet The 3= 2 deal is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: 3=2 7

8 Park Sleep Fly PLEASE NOTE! This deal must have the name: Park Sleep Fly! The Park Sleep Fly package minimally consists of: 1x Overnight stay 1x Free parking 1x Free shuttle to the airport Thee Park Sleep Fly deal is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: Park, Sleep, & Fly Suite Dream PLEASE NOTE! This package must have the name: Suite Dream! The Suite Dream package minimally consists of: 1x Overnight stay in a luxurious suite 1x Luxury breakfast buffet 1x Delicious 3 or 4 course dinner The Suite Dream package is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: Suite Dream Bicycle package PLEASE NOTE! This package has the name: Bicycle package or Bike package! The bicycle package minimally consists of: 1x Overnight stay 1x Luxury breakfast buffet 1x Delicious 3 or 4 course dinner Addition for cyclists (such as bicycle rent, a map with cycling routes or a packed lunch to bring while cycling) The bicycle package is categorized in the Forestapp CMS under the valk.com theme: Bike If packages and/or deals do not fit the demands mentioned above, they can not be categorized under said theme on Valk.com!!! 8

9 Other themes Besides the most booked packages and deals, these themes are also used on Valk.com: Weekend Away Romance Wellness Family outings Culinary City trips Culture, Castles, Museums Vacations Theatre & Musical Golf Nature Sport & Adventure Senior Trips Concerts & Events Relax The following themes are currently not used on Valk.com: Business Holiday in the sun Beach Kids special ebike LikeMyBike Orange Venison Movie park Deals There are no demands for the usage of these themes. Of course the selection of the themes of the packages and deals should always be relevant and logical. 9

10 Valk Verrast Contrary to Valk.com, Valk Verrast themes sometimes need an accompanying region to be published on the website. This means we will also need you to fill in this information in the package settings. If no region is selected for a package that is categorized under the theme Attracties, Stedentrips, Wandeltochten or Fietstochten (Valk Verrast is currently only available in Dutch), it will not be shown on the website. PLEASE NOTE! Sometimes the themes do not have a typical region name. The region that you select for Stedentrips are cities, while for Attractions they are well known attractions. Always check whether each variation of your package is categorized under the same themes. Check examples for regions on: For Valk Verrast there are no specific rules for the categorization of packages. Please do NOT create different packages for Valk.com. If for example you create a Happy Spring package, it must be the same on Valk.com and Valk Verrast. 10

11 Hotel website On the hotel website each hotel is free to publish what it wants. We do however have a few pointers that you can use to your advantage: Don t make too many packages. Many packages don t sell very well but cost a lot of time to think up and set up in the CMS and IDPMS. Be critical towards new packages. Realistically it works best to have between 10 and 20 packages. Check whether everything was set up correctly and if the themes have been selected for the central websites! This is an easy and fast way to get more bookings! Make sure your guests are really getting something extra when they book a package. If not, there is no added value for creating a package. Always check the period of availability of your packages and make them inactive when it can t be booked. We often find packages on the hotel sites that are no longer available! Update them every once in a while and delete them when they are no longer being used. You should always select a valk.com theme under the tab themes, otherwise the package will not be shown on your hotel website 11

12 Frequently asked question 1. I just made a new package (or set an existing package back to active), why is it not visible on the website yet? It always takes a while before the package is shown on the website after you create it. Once it is visible in the package list, it will send you to a page with an error if you click it but this will change within an hour and lead you to the package page. Is the package not visible on the website 24 hours later? Even after emptying your cache or checking in a different browser and checking the settings in question 2? Please contact us on support@valkinternet.nl 2. I created a package yesterday, why is it not visible on the website yet? There is a mistake in the Valk Database settings. Are all the necessary boxes ticked? Are all the booking dates and visibility dates set up correctly? Are all of the bullet points filled in for the active languages? Did you select themes under the tab themes? Did you use a special character in the package name? Please change this. 3. Why doesn t the package show availability in the booking tool? This can be because the wrong IDPMS code was selected for the package in the CMS, or because there is something wrong with the IDPMS settings. 4. Why is the package not on Valk Verrast? There might be something wrong with the Valk Verrast themes. Check whether the theme is on Valk Verrast, and whether a region should be selected. For the themes Stedentrips, Wandeltochten, Fietstochten and Attracties (Valk Verrast is only available in Dutch) a region must be selected. For Stedentrips these regions are cities, for attractions they are well known attractions and for Wandeltochten and Fietstochten these are actual regions. Check which regions you can choose from before selecting one: When all your settings are correct it s possible that we still need to approve the package for Valk Verrast. If this is the case you can contact us on content@valkinternet.nl 12

13 \\Packages in the Valk Database 1 Tab with package settings 2 Tab for adding pictures 3 Tab for extras that can be booked with the package 4 Tab with the theme selection for valk.com/vandervalk.de/valk.be/hotel site (obligatory, the package can t be shown without one) 5 Tab with Open Graph text (this will be shown when you share the package on social media) 6 Tick to show the package 7 Tick to show the package on the hotel website 8 Tick to show the package on valk.com/de/be 9 Tick to fill in Between which dates the package should be shown 11 Tick to fill in Between which dates the package can be booked 13 Price per person or total price 14 Tick on which months the package is available (the booking tool will open the first available month) 15 Language switch to fill in the package in different languages 16 Bullet points (obligatory, fill these in for all the languages in which the package is active short (!) description of the max. 4 most important elements of the package 17 Tick to make package available for this language 18 Name of the package (obligatory, fill this in for the languages in which the package is active) 19 Description of the package (obligatory, fill this in for the languages in which the package is active) 13

14 Voor elke variatie worden de volgende punten apart ingevuld: 20 Select IDPMS code 21 Enter price 22 Number of nights 23 Bullet points of the variation (obligatory, fill these in for all the languages in which the package is active short (!) description of the max. 4 most important elements of the package 24 Valk Verrast - theme selection 25 Valk Verrast region selection 26 Name of the variation (obligatory, fill this in for the languages in which the package is active) 27 Description of the variation (obligatory, fill this in for the languages in which the package is active) 14

15 28 Delete a variation 29 Add a new variation 30 Terms and conditions for all variations of the package (obligatory, fill this in for the languages in which the package is active) 31 Don t forget to save your changes 15

IMPROVING THE DIGITAL USER EXPERIENCE

IMPROVING THE DIGITAL USER EXPERIENCE DIGITAL FOCUS 2018 Digital support to assist meeting GSOBT goals: Increase number of click-throughs from GSOBT website to Industry Partner websites Conversion points: