CultBookings vs. Bookassist Two Booking Engines Compared – alternative and competition

Updated: 03 Feb 2021 (BA)

In this post, we will compare two common hotel booking software: CultBooking and Bookassist. We will break down each feature of the booking engines from a user perspective. 

This review will look at:

• free demo’s, promotional codes, multiple languages, multiple currencies, prices for children, multiple room discount, dedicated booking link on each room description page, travel insurance, payment gateway, cancelation tag Upsell, Add-ons, Live Chat, mobile-optimized Property management system (PMS) integration channel managers, integration-free trial period and pricing.

We will be in full covering each aspect mentioned above. If you want to know the final outcome, keep reading on until the end.

Booking Engine: Product Overview

Before we jump straight into this comparison, let us provide you with a bit of background about hotel booking engines. If you are already familiar with reservation software, you can move on to the next section. 

Hotel booking engines make the lives easier for those working in the hospitality sector and their guests. This is because guests can check from a website, tablet, or a mobile app, current room rates, and availability within a hotel, apartment, hostel, B&B, villa, etc. 

This is a great help towards those in the hospitality sector, as it will take time away from the staff’s workload, as they don’t need to answer as many calls. Because guests can book direct, the hospitality sector’s team can shift their focus to elsewhere within the business.

Similarly, guests can book straight from you, which means you receive the entire fee. You won’t need a service provider taking a commission rate from your booking. Likewise, guests have to input their card details, which cover you for a deposit if they don’t turn up.

However, if you wish to use this software, alongside well-known booking websites (OTA) as Booking.com or Expedia, it can help you gain control over your hotel marketing strategy. This benefit is possible because CultBooking has its own channel manager and also has connections to other providers. 

Company Overview

CultBooking is a division of Cultuzz Digital Media GmBH, a leading provider of software and technology solutions for the travel and tourism industry. The headquarters are in Berlin. Whereas Bookassist is a booking engine with its headquarters in Ireland, it has offices in many other countries. 

To show CultBooking we will use the booking engine of  Hotel Landmann in Steinen, Germany https://hotel-landmann.de/

For Bookassist We will use Hotel Golden Grown in Prague. 

https://www.hotelgoldencrown.com/

1.Booking Calendar

1.1 Smart Calendar

A smart calendar serves as an instant calendar allowing potential customers to check for available rooms instantly. This saves them time from calling up and enquiring about dates where rooms may be fully booked. Similarly, it also allows potential customers to see when the best deals are available.

The CultBooking System on Hotel Landmann has a smart calendar, showing the dates which are available and the ones which aren’t are in a lighter color. However, it does not show the price, as this is not activated by the hotel. The property owner can decide to turn on or off the pricing feature, along with many other customizations. 

Whereas the Bookassist engine on the Golden Crown shows available dates and different prices across different periods, in a table format. 

2. Functions

2.1 Promo Code

A promo code allows the guest to enter a unique code that will enable them to access exclusive discounts, perks, or benefits of the hotel. 

Cultbooking offers a place to insert a promo code underneath the check-in dates.

Similarly, Bookassist also allows you to input a voucher or promo code underneath the dates.

2.2 Occupancy Prices 

Occupancy prices allow you to determine the amount of how many people can stay per each room. This is great when large parties want to make a reservation as they can get an idea of who to share with.

This is an example of it on Hotel Landmann 

An example of an occupancy price setting on the Golden Crown Hotel.

2.3 Children Prices

Similar to the above, both booking engines provide occupancy options for children.

2.4 Booking Multiple Rooms

Both of these booking engines allow you to book multiple rooms in one go. 

As soon as you select your dates, Hotel Landmann allows you to select multiple rooms for the ones that are available for those dates. Moreover, CultBooking cloud-based technology, it allows us to book multiple rooms of different room types. So that you make a combination of rooms into the same booking, without the need to start the whole process from the beginning. This is a great feature when you book for several people as for example a group of friends. 

Similarly, Hotel Golden Crown allows you to select multiple rooms up to 8 after the dates have been selected too.

2.5 Payment Gateway

This is the form of payment made for the property. Depending on the booking engine, it may allow you to leave card details and pay upon arrival to the property. Or, on the other hand, there is an option to pay in full before the stay via credit card. In this case, a credit card is secured and stored and hotel can access it and charge in case of no-show or damage. 

Hotel Landmann offers payment at the property feature and secures the credit card data, to confirm the reservation. CultBooking offers the extra feature to activate payment gateway, based on request. The recommendation is to have a rate offer without credit card secured and one with credit card payment or Paypal. So that user can have a more flexible rate and also a more strict rate. The flexible rate would be more expensive and the strict one a bit cheaper. 

Whereas Hotel Golden Crown secures reservations. This means there is no payment gateway activated, as the hotel has to manually check if the credit card is valid and in case of no-show charge part of the amount of full amount, depending on the cancellation policies. 

3. Add-Ons

3.1 Travel Insurance

Cultbooking does not have the option of travel insurance and based on the request, this is a feature to be implemented. 

However, Bookassist does and it’s shown in this photo below. I am wondering how many people use this function and if guests are happy to pay extra for this? 

3.2. Extra Services

Extra services are where a hotel engine allows additional options for guests to buy into. It’s a way for them to upsell and provide extra services. It’s a way you can promote extra services online directly from the website. 

Cultbooking and Bookassist offer extra services. (photo included)

4. Internationality

4.1 Multi-Currency

Customers from abroad, love to look at the exchange rates and compare the prices of their stay to their local currency. It’s always a good idea to have this option as it allows guests to know if they’re securing good value for their stay or not. 

Hotel Golden Crown offers this feature.

While CultBooking is developing the feature to be available soon.

4.2 Multi-Languages

While English is a popular language for the hotel industry, many people still prefer to browse their native language and have options available to them. 

At Hotel Landmann you can decide between German and English. 

However, on Hotel Golden Crown, it has English, Italian and Russian.

Both CultBooking and Bookassit allow the hotel to choose from a set of languages and activate them based on the location of their guests. If the hotel realizes many guests are coming from Russia, then he may want to show the Russian language on the cloud-based solution of the booking engine. 

5. Personalization

5.1 Cancellation Tag

Hotel Golden Crown offers a cancellation tag system allowing its guests to cancel the booking from their website once booked.

Whereas Hotel Landmann or the CultBooking Software does not have this feature yet. However, if required, the team can develop it.

5.2 Login 

Sometimes, the guest needs to be able to access their current booking on the hotel’s system. This is in case they want to leave a message with the hotel, change card details, cancel the reservation, and so forth.

Both CultBooking and Bookassist offers a login feature. ???

6. Support

6.1 Live Chat

Bookassist offers live chat options for guests to get directly in touch. In contrast, CultBooking for Hotel Landmann has not activated this feature. 

Here is an example of Bookassist offering this option.

7. User Interface

7.1 Responsive

The majority of people looking at your hotel will be looking at it from a mobile device. Therefore it needs to be user friendly. This is available for both websites and booking engines.

8.Hierarchy

8.1 Multi-Property

Neither does CultBooking or Bookssist offer the option of multi-property. This is a service that allows guests to book into multiple properties.

This feature is on the roadmap of CultBooking and soon will be developed. 

8.2 Room Link

This is a feature on a website that allows guests to view and explore each room in detail. Here they will see images and general room descriptions. Next to each room description, there should be a link that can take the guest straight to the booking page. 

CultBooking does not have this feature activated for Hotel Landmann. But this is easy to create and integrate. 

Bookassist offers this feature for Hotel Golden Crown.

8.3 Product Link (Packages)

Sometimes as a hotel, you want to attract more guests by using a package to lure them into spending more money. 

CultBooking offers this function and needs to be activated and installed by the hotelier on their website. 

The Bookassist engine on Hotel Golden Crown offers these allowing guests to do so.

Here is a screenshot of Hotel Golden Crown offering Product Link Packages.

These arrangement packages are done by the hotelier on their website, but when clicked directly on ‘book with this offer’, the user is landing on the generic booking engine and does not see this specific offer. So he needs to navigate and find this offer. Would have been great to show only the rooms with this promotion. 

8.4 Vouchers

To make a customer feel appreciated, some hotels sell products such as a meal, dry cleaning, cookies or a massage, etc as an optional add on. Likewise, if a room is getting booked for someone else, a person may want to gift a voucher as a surprise or as an additional present to the guest.

Bookassist does not have this feature, whereas CultBookings are currently developing this feature.

9.Integrations

9.1 Property Management System (PMS) Integrations

CultBooking is integrable with 40 PMS integrations. In contrast, Bookassist does not offer information about connected PMS systems. 

Here is an example of CultBooking showing 40 PMS integrations.

9.2 Channel Manager Integrations 

Bookassist only has 1 channel manager integration, whereas CultBookings has 17 channel manager integrations. 

Here is a screenshot of Bookassist displaying only 1 channel manager integrations.

This is an example of CultBookings displaying 17 channel manager integrations. 

10. Offer

10.1 Free Demo

CultBooking has options for a free demo to use before you purchase. This allows you to see the advantages of the software and get a feel of it before you come to a decision.

Here is an example of the CultBooking Demo available.

There is not available a DEMO hotel to check on BookAssist. 

10.2 Free Trial

Bookassist does not offer a free trial; however, CultBooking offers hotel owners a free trial for a month.

Here is an example of CultBooking offering a free trial.

10.3 Pricing

The prices per month for Bookassist are around 200 euros per month, this information has to be checked and verified as there are no official prices on their website.  Whereas CultBooking is 29 euros a month for the software. Cultbookings is one of the cheapest available on the market as there are no hidden prices or installation fees.

Bookassists may charge extras price such as set up or service fees which come alongside it. So you need to count on extra money to spend, just to be able to use the booking engine with your needed configurations. 

Why do our customers choose CultBooking?

• Cost-effective: In comparison to other hotel booking engines, we have no hidden costs in our monthly fee. Likewise, we are also one of the cheapest in the industry. 
• Quick and Simple installation: There’s no hardware involved, the system is installed straight onto your website and can be done in no time.
• Notice the benefits almost instantly: Due to the centralized booking reservation process, it allows the staff at your front desk to have more time doing other duties. That’s because their work becomes centralized. 
• Simple PMS and channel managers integration: CultBooking is the leading hotel booking engine for the integration with current PMS and channel managers. 

After reading this comparison review of the two hotel software CultBooking vs. Bookassist, we hope we’ve helped you with your decision. That CultBooking is crucial to use, to amplify your online hotel booking sales. Perhaps, you’re still unsure? 

We recommend you to try the software for at least one month as it’s free on us! Then, witness the remarkable rise in sales it will bring to your room booking conversion rates.

If you want more details about CultBookings or have any queries, feel free to contact us at info@cultbooking.com