Direct booking engine
Rooms, rates and live availability on your own website, synced with your PMS and channel manager.
Hotel software: direct bookings, packages & upsells
Hotels: more direct bookings, less commission. Fill rooms, keep the margin.
Most of your rooms come through the OTAs at 15 to 20 percent a pop. The dinner-and-stay package won't fit their booking flow, nobody offers late checkout until the guest asks at the desk and the inbox is full of "what time is check-in?" emails. We build direct booking engines, packages, upsells and guest systems for independent hotels that plug into your PMS and channel manager. Then we host them and look after them.
Looking for a hotel direct booking engine that actually sells packages and extras?
An independent hotel is a handful of businesses under one roof: accommodation, a restaurant, a bar, a function space and sometimes a day spa or a bottle shop. The rooms run through a PMS and a channel manager, the restaurant has its own booking system, functions live in an inbox and packages get sold over the phone because nothing online can handle them. Meanwhile Booking.com and Expedia take a cut of the bookings that could have come straight to you.
Wollopit builds custom hotel software around how your property actually runs. Guests book rooms, packages and extras on your own website with live availability from your PMS. Pre-arrival messages answer the questions before they're asked. Function enquiries turn into quotes and run sheets. Corporate clients book at their own rates without ringing reception. We connect the platforms you're happy with, replace the ones holding you back and host the lot on our own servers.
01The problems
What we hear from hotels
Does your hotel have these problems? Here's how we'd fix them.
Most independent hotels we talk to run a great property and lose a big slice of every booking to someone else's website. The fixes are usually simpler than people expect.
- The problemOTAs take a big cut of every roomMost bookings come through Booking.com and Expedia at 15 to 20 percent commission, even from guests who found you on Google first.How we fix itA fast, mobile-friendly booking engine on your own website with live rates and availability from your PMS. Every direct booking keeps the commission in your pocket.
- The problemYour booking engine looks like 2012Guests click 'Book now' and land on a clunky third-party page that doesn't look like your hotel. Half of them give up and book on the OTA instead.How we fix itA booking flow in your branding, on your domain, that takes a guest from dates to paid in a few taps on a phone.
- The problemPackages are impossible to sell onlineDinner, bed and breakfast deals, romance packages and long weekend specials get sold by phone because the booking system only knows rooms.How we fix itPackage booking that bundles the room, dinner reservation, breakfast, wine on arrival and spa treatments into one price with one checkout.
- The problemUpsells never get offeredLate checkout, room upgrades, parking and breakfast only come up if the guest thinks to ask at reception.How we fix itUpsells offered during booking and again in the pre-arrival email, with stock limits so you never sell two late checkouts on a full Sunday.
- The problemNothing makes direct look betterSame room, same price everywhere, so guests stick with the OTA app they already trust.How we fix itDirect-only perks like free breakfast, a welcome drink, flexible cancellation or member rates for returning guests, shown clearly on your site.
- The problemThe inbox is full of the same questionsWhat time is check-in? Is there parking? Can we bring the dog? Reception answers the same five emails every day.How we fix itAutomatic pre-arrival guides with check-in times, parking, directions, Wi-Fi and dining hours, sent at the right time before each stay.
- The problemCheck-in queues at 3pmEveryone arrives at once, forms get filled in at the desk and ID gets photocopied while the line grows.How we fix itOnline pre-check-in with guest details, ETA, ID and card capture done before arrival so the desk just hands over keys.
- The problemFunction enquiries scattered everywhereWeddings, conferences and birthday dinners come in by email, phone and Facebook and nobody's sure which ones got a quote.How we fix itFunction enquiry forms that feed one pipeline, with quotes, deposits, room blocks and run sheets in the same place.
- The problemGroup and wedding room blocks by spreadsheetWedding guests ring up asking for 'the wedding rate' and reception hunts through a spreadsheet to find the block.How we fix itPrivate group booking links with the agreed rate, a release date and a live pick-up count for the organiser.
- The problemCorporate clients ring to bookRegular business travellers email their PA, the PA emails you and the negotiated rate gets keyed in by hand.How we fix itA corporate portal where approved companies book at their own rates, with invoices to one account and monthly statements.
- The problemRestaurant and rooms don't talkIn-house guests can't book dinner when they book the room and the restaurant has no idea who's staying.How we fix itDinner reservations offered during the room booking, synced with your restaurant booking system and charged back to the room.
- The problemReviews pile up unansweredGoogle, TripAdvisor and OTA reviews come in all week and nobody has time to reply.How we fix itPost-stay emails that ask happy guests for a review, with every review in one inbox so replies take seconds.
02What we build
Solutions
What we build for hotels. Usually all talking to each other.
Pick the one that's hurting most or join the whole lot up. Everything is built around how your team works, not the other way round.
Package builder
Bundle rooms with dinner, breakfast, spa, tours or wine and sell them as one price with one checkout.
Upsells & extras
Late checkout, early check-in, upgrades, parking, pet fees and celebration packs offered at the right moment.
Direct-only perks & member rates
Returning guest rates, promo codes and perks that give people a reason to skip the OTA.
Pre-arrival guides
Automatic emails and SMS with check-in details, parking, directions, Wi-Fi and dining hours.
Online pre-check-in
Guest details, ETA, ID and card capture before arrival, so check-in takes a minute.
Digital guest compendium
A mobile guide to the hotel and the local area with room service menus, spa bookings and requests.
Function & event enquiries
Weddings, conferences and private dining captured in one pipeline with quotes, deposits and run sheets.
Group & wedding room blocks
Private booking links with agreed rates, release dates and pick-up tracking for organisers.
Corporate booking portal
Approved companies book at negotiated rates with consolidated invoicing to Xero or MYOB.
Dining reservations for guests
Restaurant bookings offered at room booking and synced with your restaurant system.
Gift vouchers
Stay, dining and spa vouchers sold online, redeemable against direct bookings.
Post-stay reviews & rebooking
Review requests, a reviews inbox and a 'come back' offer for next season.
Guest marketing
Past guests segmented by stay type, with off-season offers sent through Mailchimp or Klaviyo.
A website that books
Hand-built, quick on mobile, with rooms, packages and dining front and centre, built to rank for 'hotel near me'.
03The systems
The big ones
Your whole hotel, booked direct.
These are the systems independent hotels ask us about most. Each one works on its own and they get properly clever when they're joined up.
Direct booking engine
Your rooms, your website, your margin.
A booking engine that looks like your hotel and runs on your domain. Live rates and availability come straight from your PMS and channel manager so you never double-sell a room. Guests go from dates to paid in a few taps.
- Live availability from your PMS
- Synced with your channel manager
- Your branding on your own domain
- Fast mobile checkout
- Stripe payments, deposits or pay later
- Flexible and non-refundable rates
- Minimum stays and long weekend rules
- Promo codes and member rates
- Direct-only perks shown clearly
- Abandoned booking reminders
Packages & upsells
Sell the whole weekend, not just the bed.
Bundle the room with dinner, breakfast, a bottle on arrival or a spa treatment and sell it as one price. Upsells like late checkout and upgrades appear during booking and again before arrival, with limits so you never oversell.
- Dinner, bed and breakfast packages
- Romance and celebration packs
- Spa and tour add-ons
- Late checkout and early check-in
- Room upgrades at a set price
- Parking and pet fees
- Stock limits per night
- Upsells in the pre-arrival email
- Packages pushed to your PMS
- Revenue per package reports
Guest journey
Answer the questions before they're asked.
Every guest gets the right message at the right time: a confirmation, a pre-arrival guide, a pre-check-in link and a post-stay thank you. Reception stops answering the same emails and check-in becomes a quick hello.
- Branded confirmation emails
- Pre-arrival guide by email or SMS
- Online pre-check-in and ETA
- ID and card capture
- Parking and directions
- Digital guest compendium
- Room service and spa requests
- Dining hours and bookings
- Post-stay review requests
- Come back offers for next season
Functions & events
Weddings and conferences, off the inbox.
Every function enquiry lands in one pipeline, whether it comes from the website, the phone or Facebook. Quotes, deposits, menus, room blocks and run sheets live together so nothing slips through on the big day.
- Enquiry forms for every event type
- One pipeline from enquiry to booked
- Quotes from your packages and menus
- Deposits and payment schedules
- Space and date availability
- Wedding and group room blocks
- Private booking links for guests
- Run sheets for kitchen and floor
- Dietary lists and final numbers
- Follow-ups so leads don't go cold
Corporate & groups
Business travellers who book themselves.
Approved companies log in and book at their negotiated rates without ringing reception. Stays roll up into one account with monthly statements going into Xero or MYOB.
- Company accounts with their own rates
- Multiple bookers per company
- Booking on behalf of staff
- Charge to company account
- Monthly statements and invoices
- Invoices to Xero or MYOB
- Group bookings for sports and tours
- Allotments with release dates
- Room nights per company reports
- Rate reviews made easy
Restaurant, bar & vouchers
Guests who stay, eat and come back.
Dinner reservations are offered when guests book their room and sync with your restaurant booking system. Meals and drinks go back to the room. Gift vouchers for stays, dining and spa sell online and redeem against direct bookings.
- Dinner bookings during room booking
- Synced with OpenTable or your system
- In-house guest list for the restaurant
- Charge back to room via your POS
- Breakfast numbers for the kitchen
- Stay, dining and spa gift vouchers
- Vouchers redeemed on direct bookings
- Past guest offers by email
- Off-season campaigns
- Reviews from every channel in one inbox
04How it changes
Before and after
A long weekend, wolloped.
Here's how a long weekend booking could change. Every hotel is different, so we map yours first.
Before
- Guest finds you on Google then books through an OTA
- Commission comes off the top of the stay
- They ring to ask about a dinner package
- Nobody offers late checkout or breakfast
- Three emails asking about parking and check-in
- Queue at the desk on Saturday afternoon
After
- Guest books on your website in a few taps
- Commission stays with you
- Dinner and stay package booked in the same checkout
- Late checkout and breakfast added during booking
- Pre-arrival guide answers the questions first
- Pre-checked in, so they grab the key and go
05Services
Everything under one roof
Software, websites and systems for hotels.
Whether you're starting fresh or upgrading what you've got, it's one team from the first sketch to the support call.
Custom software for hotels
Built around how your hotel actually runs: direct booking engine, package builder and the admin in between, in one system you own.
Websites for hotels
Fast, hand-built websites that rank for the searches your customers make and turn visits into enquiries, bookings or orders.
Hotel system upgrades
Running on spreadsheets, old software or a platform you've outgrown? We move your data across and upgrade in stages so the business never stops.
Apps and portals for hotels
Upsells & extras and direct-only perks & member rates: customer and staff portals that work on any phone without an app store.
Integrations and automation
We connect Cloudbeds, RMS Cloud and Mews so information moves on its own and nobody retypes it.
Hosting, support and care
Managed hosting, updates, backups and security for your hotel, looked after by the people who built it.
06Integrations
Connections
Plays nicely with what you already use.
We connect to your PMS, channel manager and payments, work alongside platforms you're happy with or replace the ones holding you back.
- Cloudbeds
- RMS Cloud
- Mews
- Oracle OPERA Cloud
- Little Hotelier
- SiteMinder
- Booking.com
- Expedia
- Stripe
- Tyro
- Xero
- MYOB
- Lightspeed
- Square
- OpenTable
- Mailchimp
- Klaviyo
- Google Business Profile
- TripAdvisor
- Deputy
07How we work
The process
Some people dip their toe in. We turn up in a rebreather.
We get properly below the surface of your hotel: the systems, the busy days and the jobs everyone hates. Then we fix the bits that matter most first.
- 01
Think
We spend time at reception, in the restaurant and in the back office, then look at where your bookings come from and where the commission goes.
- 02
Archi-tech
We plan it before writing code: your PMS, channel manager, rates, packages, upsells, functions, hosting and cost.
- 03
Build
Real engineering, shown to you early and often. Usually the direct booking engine first, so you start saving commission before the next long weekend.
- 04
Look after
We host it, maintain it and keep improving it. When something breaks you call the people who built it.
08Questions
FAQ
Things hotels ask us.
Something else on your mind? Ring 0423 011 252 and ask the people who'd build it.
Can it connect to our channel manager and PMS?
Usually, yes. We connect to common platforms like SiteMinder, Cloudbeds, RMS Cloud and Mews so availability and bookings stay in sync and you never double-sell a room.
Do we have to switch PMS?
No. If your PMS and channel manager are doing the job, we build around them: the booking engine, packages, upsells, guest messages and function pipeline on top. If something is holding you back, we'll show you what replacing it would involve before anything changes.
Will we still get bookings from the OTAs?
Yes. Booking.com and Expedia keep sending you guests. The goal is to win more of the bookings that should have come direct, especially returning guests and people who found you on Google.
Can we sell dinner and stay packages online?
Yes. Packages can bundle the room with dinner, breakfast, spa treatments or anything else you offer, sold as one price with one checkout and pushed through to your PMS.
Can guests pay deposits or pay later?
Yes. We can take full payment, a deposit or a card to hold the booking through Stripe or your existing payment provider, with rules for each rate.
How much does a hotel booking system cost?
It depends on what you need, so we quote up front once we understand it. No surprise invoices, no lock-in and you own what we build.
How long does it take?
Smaller jobs like pre-arrival guides or a function enquiry form can be quick. Bigger systems are planned in stages so you get the first win early, usually direct bookings, instead of waiting for everything at once.
Who looks after it once it's built?
We do. We host it on our own managed servers and keep it updated and secure. When you need something you ring the people who built it.
We already have systems. Can you upgrade them instead of starting again?
Usually, yes. Most hotels we work with keep what's working and upgrade the rest in stages. We move your data across, connect the old and new while we switch and retire the old system only when the new one is proven.
Contact
Got a hotel problem? Consider it wolloped.
Tell us what's slow, broken, manual or missing. You don't need a spec, just describe what's going on.