Online Availability - Plan for Change
Submitted by swirt on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:55am
I recently switched from one online availability sytem to another. I was with the original system for 6 years. It was time for a change. I thought the biggest part of the change would be learning the new system. There were only a couple of changes to be made on my website to point the reservation links to the new system. No big deal.
What I hadn't planned on were the number of other little directories and other sites out there that were also pointing to my old availability system. What a pain to contact them and have them make the changes (and those are just the ones I can remember) there are bound to be some out there that I've completely forgotten about.
The problem hit home for me when I got an email from a potential guest in February saying that they saw from our availability calendar that we had no openings for July and August. What??? Of course we have openings. Then it occurred to me that they were actually seeing my old calendar.
In hindsight here is what I should have done, and here is what I recommend to anyone from this day forward.
- Have your webmaster set up a redirect so that any request for www.yoursite.com/check goes to your availability calendar or reservation system.
The redirect is essentially invisible to the user. It just happens. - When you list in a directory that offers a link to your reservation system, have them link to www.yoursite.com/check
This way, if you switch systems after a few years, all you have to do is have your webmaster change the redirect and it automatically makes sure everyone else is pointed to the right spot. You don't have to go dig up all the directories that are pointing to your system and have them make changes. Some of these directories sort of shut down over time and getting them to update your listing is like trying to push a rope.
The other advantage is that you have a nice short link to send someone in an email if you want them to go directly to your reservation system.
FAQ's
What about BIG directories that may have other features built in?
My concern is not really the BIG directories like bedandbreakfast.com or bbonline.com These directories are not likely to be forgotten when you make changes. Also it is pretty easy to have them make changes when they happen. It is true that if the directory is affiliated with the reservation system (example: bedandbreakfast.com and Rezovation or Webervations) then it is likely they have some features built into the directory where you are better off letting them link to your system in the way they think is best. However, for all the other directories out there, this is the best method.
What about my own site, should it link to this redirect?
Yes, for the simple reason that there are so many new directories that pop up and they pull info off your site and set up listings without your permission. If they build a link to availability, they are likely to just copy the link from your site. So if you link directly to the availability system, then they will too. So for this reason it would be better to link to the redirect on your own site too.
Will this mess up my tracking or goal conversion data?
The short answer is that it should not if it is set up as a proper 301 redirect. Goals are usually placed on the outgoing link so that would be no problem and many systems are able to use your Google Analytics ID right in their system so that would not be affected either. However, if you have a webmaster that hacks out some javascript redirect or meta redirect, then yes it might.
What should it cost to set up the redirect?
I've timed myself. On most servers I can set-up this particular redirect in around 10 minutes, and most of that time is spend waiting for the software to launch and to look up the login information to the site I am working on. So your webmaster should not be charging more than 10-15 minutes time for it.
What if my webmaster can't do it?
If your webmaster says "I don't know how to make a redirect" or they make some goofy page that says "You are being redirected to..." then it is time to consider finding someone else.