Customer centric today means multilingual

Have you ever tried to make a booking in a foreign language and run into a word you don’t understand at all? I remember trying to Google some accommodation related words and feeling really frustrated about the booking. Do I need to pack sheets with me? Are towels included? What is casa rural? Is this room private or shared? Does this feel familiar? I am sure we all have been able to finish our reservations but probably packed some extra towels with us – just in case.

Clients from 50 countries

21st century people travel more and further, but still it seems that the tourism industry hasn’t realised this 100%. Many websites still offer the information only in one language, sometimes only in their country’s official language and yet they receive clients from all over the world.

Before travel agents dealt with the booking issues, but let’s face it, who walks into a travel agency anymore? Don’t we just all enjoy the comfort of booking our holidays online, from our sofa even? This is why websites are so important in a sense of hunting new clients. In the travel industry, the first touch with the client is usually through the website or OTA. You cannot influence in OTA presence, but your website is fully under your control.

Take surf camp clients as an example! They all come from different countries and speak various languages, because in the end, alongside with learning to surf, meeting new people from foreign countries is also what makes a surfcamp appealing experience. (Locals don’t go to surf camps - why would they? They have their home close by and surfing possibilities all year round.) Surf camps are international gatherings. One surf camp stated they have had visitors from 50 different countries. Don’t you think that having a multilingual website could be useful?

Be customer centric even online

The most spoken language is bad English. Normally travelers have a conversational level at least but specific booking vocabulary might feel confusing. I remember one friend telling me how her parents accidentally booked a shared dorm room for their 20th anniversary. Even though this poor couple would have understood everything perfectly, translating the website in different languages shows international and customer centric thinking. Having the information offered in the guests’ mother language is a trust factor, makes a booker feel more secure about what he is buying and that the website is not a fake one.

This is all part of the image that people have about your business. You probably want to make them feel welcome and show that you want to make their stay stress free. Why not begin from the booking stage and make that as easy as possible for your guests?

The surf industry is fast growing and has a lot of competition. Does your competitor have a multilingual website? If a client is comparing two different surf camps with similar pricing, it is probable that she’s going to choose the one that offers the information in her mother tongue. A multilingual website helps your business to stand out in a search engine searches and to bring new customers. Studies have found that each language increases sales 400%. Are you ready to increase your sales?

Multilingual booking software

Bookinglayer allows you to enable as many languages as you want in the Frontoffice, translate descriptions and send out emails in multiple languages for your clients. Clients can choose between the languages that you have selected. Our goal is to make the booking experience easy for your guests and help you to receive more bookings.

Bookinglayer helps businesses like camps and retreats with an all-in-one reservation system.