An escape room is a service business that relies on client appointments, so streamlining the client booking and appointment process is a must to maximize reservations and grow your clientele.
In this post-COVID era, consumers want the convenience and versatility of booking their appointments online. It would be best if you made it as easy as possible for your potential clients to book your games anywhere, anytime, and on any device. So, enabling 24/7 online booking by integrating a booking software solution is now a necessity.
Yet, with all the different options available in the market, choosing the right booking software solutions that will fit your escape room business’s unique needs can be pretty challenging, especially if you don’t know what you are looking for.
Not to worry, you’ve come to the right place.
This post will discuss all you need to know about getting the right booking software solution for your escape room business: how to identify your needs, what must-have features you should look for from a booking software solution, and more.
Without further ado, let us begin right away.
Why Your Escape Room Business Needs Online Booking
Online booking will provide an essential competitive edge for your business, so you are always available in front of your potential clients digitally.
In practice, online booking functionalities will provide the following benefits:
1.   Your business is open 24/7
Potential clients who decide to book an escape room game won’t wait until your business is open. They want to lock in the appointment right away, and if you’re not available, they’ll move to your competitor.
Having an online booking system in place means that you can take appointments 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
2.   Reduce double bookings and errors
Another essential benefit of online booking is that by automating the online booking process and reducing the involvement of human employees in recording the appointments, we can also reduce or even eliminate human errors, especially double bookings.
3.   Maximize reservations and reduce no-shows
With online booking, your potential clients are the ones proactively booking their reservations at a time that suits them, so they are more likely to show up. Also, automated reminders and notifications, common features in most online booking platforms, have been proven effective in reducing no-shows.
Another significant benefit of integrating an appropriate online booking solution is that when a client inevitably still needs to reschedule or cancel their appointment, the spot will automatically open for other clients to fill in real-time so that you can maximize reservations.
4.   Get paid upfront
If you’d like, you can get clients to pay (fully or partially) for your games upfront.
Doing so can provide two potential benefits. The first is that you can get your money faster, translating into a healthier cash flow. Second, since they’ve paid for their games, it will reduce no-shows, and you’d still get your money nonetheless.
Also, this can make sure that the customer can enjoy your game on the day of the appointment without needing to worry about payment.
5.   Valuable insights about your escape room business
Advanced escape room booking scheduling software like Bookeo offers analytics and reporting features that will provide valuable insights into growing your business.
You can track your client’s booking behavior, most requested time slots, worst-performing time slots (so you can offer discounts), and so on. By understanding your client’s behavior and preferences, you also can design your games better.
Choosing A Booking Software Platform for Your Escape Room
Identify Your Must-Have Features
Before evaluating different solutions, you should first try to identify your business’s purpose in integrating the booking software solution. Your escape room business is unique, and you’ll also have special needs.
The best approach in choosing your online booking software solution is to get the most affordable solution that offers all the must-have features you need.
Most online booking solutions offer two core features:
- Online booking page: customizable online booking page that you can integrate with an existing website
- Interactive calendar: It is an online calendar where your clients can view available time slots and make their bookings in real-time.
However, different platforms or solutions may offer their unique features not available anywhere else, and some unique features you might want to consider include:
- Customizable services, for escape room businesses, you can offer different rooms with different levels and durations
- A customizable widget you can integrate into your website
- Data security features to protect your client’s sensitive information
- Real-time calendar sync with popular apps like Google Calendar, iCalendar, Outlook, and more
- SMS and email automated notifications and reminders
- Reliable and qualified customer support, preferably 24/7 customer support
Assess Ease of Use
Even if a booking software solution offers all the must-have features you are looking for, you still need to evaluate whether it’s easy enough to use the platform. If the solution is too difficult to use, you won’t get too much value out of it.
Make the most of the free trial period to test whether the solution is easy to use with comprehensive documentation. Ensure you can efficiently train your staff on using the solution and check whether the customer-facing interface is intuitive enough.
Evaluate Customer Support
Accidents can happen, so make sure the booking and scheduling software comes with reliable customer/tech support. Ideally, you’d want a vendor that offers comprehensive customer support 24/7, 365 days of the year, but makes sure the cost can still fit your budget.
Update Frequency
Make sure to choose an escape room booking software updated regularly in terms of back-end technology and interface. These updates should also include regular security updates to protect your data. Technology and design are advancing rapidly, so updating the solution regularly is essential, or it will look and feel clunky quickly.
Wrapping Up
While choosing between different escape room booking software solutions can be challenging with the vast number of options available, the process will become more accessible by first identifying your needs and your must-have features.
Investing in the right booking software solution can significantly help maximize reservations, attract more clients, and ultimately grow your escape room business’s clientele.
