BookingBug: Get Your Businesses Booked Online

Since something like 35 percent of every travel dollar is being booked online, its clear that people like the always open and convenience aspects of web booking a whole lot.

So the concept for BookingBug seems a natural. The idea here is to take the concept of online booking and reservations to virtually any business category.

Their largely self service platform offers merchants and service providers of all sorts effective ways to tailor a booking process especially for their business. Using BookingBug, the company can build a website, or simply download high function booking widgets to their existing web site. I think that sort of flexibility will be well appreciated. Check out the text from their site that discusses all of the customization options:

·         Use as your sole website, or embed within your existing website

• Create a website with one of our customizable templates
• Embed a BookingBug booking calendar in your company's site

·         Control if people can book, reserve, enquire or just see your availability

·         Have members lists and control whether members or the public can book:

• By week
• By day
• By fixed time slot
• By variable length time slot

·         Take payments on-line, or defer to billing in person

·         Offer your prices by:

• Time
• Day
• Week
• Year

·         Members' site for customers to re-book, request changes and update their details

·         Customize your public website:

• Wording
• Auto-reply email text
• Customer information requests
• Anything!

·         Scales up with your business requirements

• Calendar feeds
• RSS feeds
• Email
• SMS
• Communicate and integrate based on your business's style and needs

·         Scaling price based on your business needs

• Don't pay for features you don't use
• A BookingBug site will cost most small businesses only £5 to £10 per month

·         We're a friendly company ourselves! We value your input and welcome new ideas

• Join our community
• Tell us what you like and don't like!
• New features added regularly.

With that broad a set of options it's easy to see how businesses might find this model highly appealing.

Naturally a self serve model plans to get a lot of its traction from small business, and small business will only be interested in the model if the pricing is reasonable. Well, it is. Rather than reciting all the prices and stipulations, I'll just reprint their pricing chart below.



Now, this is a UK company, so it is only natural that they also offer a reasonable SMS notification service that tells the business owner when a booking has been made. The site has a US version though, so it could very well be relevant to 'merican businesses immediately.

Here's their Tech Crunch 60 Second Pitch:



Brass tacks: this is a great idea with a lot of flexibility to meet the needs of many businesses. And the self serve model means they can make serious money very quickly.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.