When choosing a spa or hospitality software, one of the first considerations should be ease of use. Here’s why.
When choosing a software for your hospitality spa business, one of the most important things to consider is how easy it is to use, also known as “ease of use.”
You want both you and your team to feel comfortable using your software. So, you need a system that’s easy to navigate, easy to use, and to learn and manage with little training. And your guests should be able to get through the online or mobile booking process seamlessly and easily.
Here is a more in-depth look at why ease of use matters in a software.
Time is money
A good, easy to use software saves time. You want it to be intuitive and for your team members to feel comfortable. It’s been noted more than once in our interviews with industry leaders that spa and wellness might be a little behind some other industries when it comes to technology adoption. If your employees are less technologically inclined, it’s going to be very important that your software is fast and simple to learn and use. The more time it takes to learn, the more it costs you in labor hours and in time that would be better spent focusing on your employee and guest experiences.
At Book4Time, a dedicated trainer and customer success manager will walk you through the simple steps to get you on the road to taking full control of your booking experience. Book4Time also has a library of available resources to make onboarding and adoption a lot easier.
Empowering team members means less work for managers
There are spa software systems out there that employees are downright afraid to use, lest they make a mistake and throw the whole system out of whack (this is what we’ve been told at Book4Time and Spa Executive by managers who are frustrated with their existing software system and looking for a new one). This can create tension and cause problems. Your team should feel confident and be able to access all the information they need in a few seconds – from their own schedules to their treatment bookings to the customer information and beyond. This sense of autonomy empowers employees to make decisions on how to create the best experience possible, which allows for seamless business operations and guest experience.
Vivian Villamizar, Spa Director at The Palms AVEDA Spa, Miami Beach, told Spa Executive that ease of use was a top consideration and that Book4Time is “very user friendly.” She said, “I have therapists who didn’t even dare to use our system before, They now feel very confident about using the software system.”
When a team is empowered and able to find what they need and do what they need to do, they don’t need to constantly go to management with questions. And they’re less likely to mess something up or make a mistake. This means managers spend less time holding hands and putting out fires .
Daisy Tepper, Spa Director of the Forbes Five Star Spa at the Post Oak Hotel, said in an interview, “When you hire someone, the easier the system is for them to learn, the better for us.” She added that Book4Time is “very user-friendly. That’s what I was looking for, and that’s what I got.”
Your guests deserve the best
Your guests want an easy and intuitive booking and checkout experience. A complicated checkout process, website errors, and a site that looks untrustworthy are among the top reasons shoppers abandon their carts – or reasons why someone might abandon the booking process.
A good online and mobile booking functionality should be polished and visually appealing, offering all the information a customer needs to make a decision about booking an appointment. This should include the map location and contact information for your spa, an easy to navigate menu, booking options for individuals and groups, and the ability to make changes to your booking. This user experience should be consistent on a desktop, tablet, and smartphone.
Book4Time’s Online and Mobile Booking Experience offers all of this in an intuitive and attractive package that includes the ability to customize your look and feel with your own images.
You’ll stand out from the competition
What it comes down to is that, if your website and booking experience are slow, confusing, or not intuitive, people are going to leave and look elsewhere — and there is a lot of competition in the spa and hospitality world. Pay attention to ease of use and don’t lose customers because of a bad booking experience.
Want to learn more about hospitality software? Take a look at the list of considerations when making your decision.
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Spa Executive is published by Book4Time, the leader in guest management, revenue and mobile solutions for the most exclusive spas, hotels, and resorts around the globe. Learn more at book4time.com.