What are booking systems? Well, there are the traditional manual booking systems like a log book or the more recent online booking systems. In this article, we will be discussing the latter. An online booking system is a software or platform used to book anything ranging from hotel rooms, computers, office spaces, flights, etc. If you have booked a hotel or a flight online you have probably used a booking system before. They are easy enough to use, and are often straight to the point and intuitive. When booking on an online booking system, usually all you have to do is check the availability of what you’re trying to book. If it is available on the time or date when you need to use it or avail of it then the system will allow you to proceed.
Recently, small and large companies alike have started using online booking systems to help manage the use of communal spaces. Since not everyone is aligned on what each other is doing in an office, having an internal system makes it easy to know when an office or conference room is available or not. Usually people can book a room on the same day but at different times. Additionally, if the system or platform being used allows it, you can see who booked the office space and at what time. This allows users to know who will be using the room next. Using an online booking system instead of the traditional online spreadsheet or manual log is much more practical and efficient to use.
Although there are many benefits to using an online booking system, having one may or may not be ideal for you or your organisation. Airline companies use these systems because there are thousands of people accessing their websites to book simultaneously. This would be difficult to achieve if it was handled in real time using manual booking. This same reasoning goes for hotels. Some people may book hotel rooms at odd times during the day so having a booking system in place allows customers to know if the room or rooms are available at that moment in time. Similarly, multiple companies being housed in a large building may find a use for booking systems if they are sharing communal spaces or items like desks, computers, or conference rooms. Even smaller companies that have a single shared conference room may benefit by using such systems as they can easily check if the room will be available at a specific time.
When considering if you need to put a booking system in place you have to decide if it is necessary to have one. Will it make you more efficient? Will it benefit other people within the company? Hopefully, after reading this article you can decide if one is right for you.
