Configuration
Important: Every property must have its individual BookDirect fully configured so it can be used for the Groups module.
The settings of the Groups module are very straightforward and clear. As mentioned above, the majority of configurations are done on an individual level for each property, while through the settings of the Groups module, you can set up how the 'shell' module will behave.
In order to configure the module, navigate to menu Settings -> All Settings -> Online distribution -> BookDirect for groups.
- Show Bonus/Company/Block code (1) - enable or disable the code fields for the Groups module.
- Hotel sort order (2) - set the sort order of the hotels. Please note that hotels that do not have availability for the desired period will be placed at the bottom of the list.
- Languages (3) - select in which languages you would like to offer the BookDirect for Groups and which one will be used by default.
- Brand name (4) - enter brand (Group) name. This is visible on the top left corner of the BookDirect for Groups.
Once these settings are completed, you can scroll down to the 'Hotels' section where you will see each of your properties listed.
Click on one of the properties and you will see the following settings:
- Location (1) - enter the location of this property - this can be an area of the city, city, state, etc. This property will be offered along with other properties marked with the same location when the guests select their desired destination.
- Location Map/Location map description (2) - these are automatically inherited from the respective account settings. You can read more about locations here.
- Hotel description (3) - add a description of the property that will be visible to the guests when they check more details about this particular hotel.
- Image Gallery (4) - add images of the property that are visible to the guests when they check more details about this particular hotel.
Branding
You can set the appearance of the BookDirect for groups module by scrolling to the 'Appearance' section. The Branding options are the same as the ones for an individual BookDirect. You can read more about BookDirect branding here.
Integration on your website
Similarly to the individual BookDirect, we have made integration of the module to be extremely straightforward and easy. You will only need to copy the integration script and paste it on your website. You can locate and adjust the integration script from the 'Integration script' (1) button in the 'Website Integration' section.
The BookDirect for Hotel Groups module can also work in standalone mode - without being integrated into your website. You can obtain its link from the 'Standalone URL' (2) and share it. If you need further assistance with the integration you can always refer to the 'Integration help' (3) or reach out to our Customer Service team.
Link Builder
The Link Builder functionality has proven to be a very useful feature for hotels due to the ability to generate links for 'Call-to-action' buttons or HTML codes for buttons on your website. In order to not lose any benefits from the functionality, we have also added it to the BookDirect for Groups module. To access the builder for the Groups module, navigate to the settings and scroll down to the 'Link builder' section. You can find full information about its use here - Link Builder.
If you have already integrated the BookDirect for Groups on your website, add the address of the page in 'Default website URL'. This way, any links that you generate through the Link Builder will include your website address, but not the 'standalone' BookDirect address.