Cape Town, 7 August 2006: What do Pratley's Putty, CAT scans, heart transplants and Kreepy Kraulies have in common? They are all world firsts invented or developed by South Africans. Recently launched by a Cape Town based venture capital company, Magus Ventures (Pty) Ltd, headed by Tanno Brosens and Paul Duval, another homegrown world first is about to join their ranks. By fusing their in-depth knowledge of the tourism industry and its shortcomings, with financial, technical and IT expertise, Magus Ventures have developed Booksure™, a progressive web-based credit card payment system that is set to make waves in the accommodation sector of the tourism industry. Booksure™ is the first system that empowers the establishment to fully use its own website as a portal for two-way communication with their guests, while offering secure and user-friendly credit card payment facilities, increasing the likelihood of a confirmed booking.
Acutely aware of the flourishing tourism industry - last year South Africa overtook the seven million mark, as 7.3 million foreigners visited our country - and taking into account the influx of tourists for, and in anticipation of 2010, the Booksure™ team have identified a number of problem areas in the industry that must be rectified, particularly with regard to the smaller accommodation facilities, like guest houses and bed and breakfasts.
Firstly, the owners of these smaller accommodation facilities are not fully maximising the convenience that their websites could offer guests, in terms of booking and payment. Internationally, it is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of travellers plan their trips on the internet. South African guest house owners need to factor this into their business plan. Booksure™'s aim is to empower the guesthouse owner to operate their business more efficiently, fully maximising on the speed and accessibility of the internet. It provides an integrated communication and payment system that facilitates the entire process from initial enquiry to final payment in a user friendly atmosphere.
Secondly, guest house owners rarely have the capacity to offer completely secure and safe ways of conducting monetary transactions, online. Guests are usually required to divulge credit card details. Most of the time these are faxed, emailed or written down, with no thought to the major security repercussions that stored credit card details can have. Security has undoubtedly become a priority amongst international tourists visiting South Africa. “After extensive market research, we have discovered that the local and international tourist mentality has shifted substantially of late. Talking to guesthouse owners, they have told us that they rarely have walk-ins these days. Tourists are using the internet to meticulously plan every step of their trip, leaving no detail unconfirmed. They have also commented that potential bookers are reluctant to divulge credit card details over the phone, via email or by fax. Both of these phenomena are largely based on legitimate security concerns on the tourists' behalf. This is why we developed Booksure™. To ensure that South Africa, as a destination, never loses business because of something as easily-fixed as security issues,” says Brosens of their product Booksure™.
How does Booksure™ address these concerns? By allowing the guest and the guest house owner to communicate via the Booksure™ facility on the guest house's website, requests and quotes can be dealt with quickly, maximising the chances of a booking. It also allows the guest to pay a deposit immediately, if a room is available. Transactions are processed in a completely secure online https environment. The benefits of this are that the guest's credit card details are never stored and therefore can never be used without their permission. The payment is completed in this secure environment and a booking confirmation is sent to the guest. The guest house owner is able to manage the entire process, with charges lower than the average bank charges on all transactions. “It's a no-brainer for guesthouses,” says Brosens.
Understanding that hotels and smaller accommodation facilities have vastly different needs in terms of online bookings and payments, Brosens and Duval feel that this is a sector of the industry that has been neglected. Large, established hotels are completely geared towards efficient booking and payment, but guesthouses are not. Essentially, the guesthouses need to up their game, so that they can compete with hotels and other guesthouses on a global level. The idea behind Booksure™ is to avoid what is called 'real time bookings', which are most often used by larger hotels. Real time means that a guest can book and pay immediately without any contact with the hotel, much like booking a plane ticket online. The hotel must, therefore, constantly update their register of paid-for rooms to avoid double booking. Large hotels with ADSL and 24 hour reservations have the manpower to constantly monitor reservations, but guesthouse owners do not. If they use real time systems, guests can pay and book, without their knowledge, and if the room is unavailable, the owner has the situation of a double booking.
Booksure™ is set to become a basic necessity for all guesthouses. As security standards amongst tourists rise, many are inclined to only book online when they see a Booksure™ logo. This kind of service is becoming as essential to the guest house owners as clean linen, eggs and bacon and the morning wake up call.
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