Sykes Product Showcase 2022

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Here at Sykes Holiday Cottages, we have a mission: to create lasting holiday memories with a positive social and environmental impact.

We know how important technology is to achieve that mission, and our underlying aim is to give both our customers and property owners the best possible experience when interacting with us. We're constantly innovating and developing our products to make them easier to use, and we're proud to share 100 of the improvements we've made over the past few months to all our digital products.

For our customers, we have been adapting to new consumer behaviour, as travel begins to re-open and holiday habits continue change. Customers are now booking more last-minute holidays and becoming more flexible as a result, with the average holiday lead times dropping by 10%. For our property owners, we've created new tools to make it even easier to list a property and start their letting journey with Sykes. The pandemic has accelerated a new digital era, which we have fully embraced, allowing owners to list their properties digitally with no human interaction.

Customers

• Imminent bookingsFully automated request system for customers wanting to book super last-minute
• FlexibilityNew ways of searching across multiple dates to give customers the freedom to find their perfect holidays
• AccessibilityRefreshed website elements to make our website and booking experience more accessible

Owners

• Owner portalA full rebuild of our owner portal with a refreshed look and feel to make it easier to use and manage your property
• Digitally onboardFull digital solution to list your property with us
• Income calculatorEasily calculate the estimated income of a new property before you list

Below is the list of 100 improvements that we've made to our digital products over the past few months. This is the first of many updates that we will share with you periodically, as we continue to improve our experiences for both our customer and owners.

For our customers

1. Flexible dates

Increased flexibility to help you search from a broader range of dates.

2. Imminent bookings

We've made last-minute bookings easier and quicker via an automated request system.

3. Flexible calendars

Customers can now select dates across all instances of the property page calendar.

4. Supporting families

Making it easier for customers with young children to request infant essentials at their property.

5. Faster searches

We've improved the efficiency of our search to find you properties faster.

6. Customer accounts

Clearer and easier login for our customers, for a better user experience.

7. Online balance payments

Support for customers making partial payments online.

8. Low deposits

Customers can make a property booking for as little as £50 (during certain promotions).

9. Book with confidence

Need to cancel because of COVID-19? Our insurance add-on has you covered.

10. Easier payments

Greater awareness of payment options for customers within checkout.

11. Simpler language

We've updated the checkout process with more natural language making it easier to understand.

12. Simplified checkout

We've simplified the checkout process by removing some less-used elements.

13. Insurance

We've made it easier to understand and add cover to your holiday.

14. Accessibility improvements

Changed the un-ordered list to an ordered list on the main menu to help those using screen readers.

15. Improved feedback

Our new feedback form makes it easier than ever to tell us, and the property owner, about your stay.

16. Inclusive design

We're constantly updating our products to make them accessible for everyone.

17. Upfront reviews

See how other customers enjoyed their time in each property.

18. Faster navigation

Find your way to the areas that matter most with our mobile's app-style navigation.

19. Enhanced map icons

Find properties and nearby activities with ease with our redesigned map icons.

20. Redesigned favourites

Shortlist your favourite properties to share and compare later.

21. Price refinements

Our redesigned price refinements make it easier to find a property that fits your budget.

22. Better imagery

We know that the look of a property is important, so we've put property imagery front and centre.

23. Trustpilot Ratings

New property ratings added for peace of mind when booking.

24. Marketing preferences

We've improved how we collect customers marketing preferences.

28. Search form improvement

Enables customers to find holidays suitable for families, through children and adult filters.

29. Saving properties

Driving consistency and improved customer experience by aligning the save icon and name across the website.

30. Search preferences

Reduce laborious form filling by setting your search preferences, which are automatically applied to your searches.

31. Tab redesign

Merged 'Contacts' and 'Account' tabs into one to better organise the Help Centre in the app.

32. App FAQs

Added App FAQs to inform our customers on where to find information and where to go for help on the app.

33. Cancel a booking

Straightforward booking cancellations now available in our app.

34. Change dates

Easily amend your booking dates on our app if the unexpected happens and you need to move your holiday.

35. Amend party size

More of you going? Less? Change your party details quickly in our app.

36. Customer ratings

Brought new customer ratings from web to the app, to assist our customers when browsing and comparing properties.

37. Near shop/pub

Experiment to increase visibility of the near shop/pub filters for easier access.

38. Home screen redesign

Improvements to the app home screen to bring a contemporary and fresh look.

39. Calendar improvements

Changes to calendar design and functionality, based on user research.

40. Feature highlight

Present new functionality to customers to let them know about big features.

41. Simple login

Log into your account with just your email address.

42. Short break flexibility

We've created new short break products to deliver more flexible pricing.

43. Mobile-friendly maps

Our maps are now much more mobile-friendly, so you can search on the move.

44. This is your time

Promoting Sykes' major marketing campaigns on-site.

45. Tone of voice

We're constantly reviewing how we communicate, and the language in our products are no exception.

46. Clear prices

Nobody wants confusing pricing, so we've broken ours down to make it clearer.

47. Live Chat

We've improved the quality and availability of our live chat services to provide better customer service and booking assistance.

48. Mobile-friendly photos

We've reduced the size of our property images to get faster access to our properties and save your data.

49. 30% deposits

Book your holiday for less, with our 30% deposits which are now easier to find.

50. Viewing maps

Some people like lists; others like maps. We've simplified how customers find our maps to give everyone options.

51. More activities

We're continually adding new activities for you to filter by.

52. Up-front features

Each property's key features are now much more visible so you can find the right combination for you.

53. Checking in and out

Each property's check-in and checkout times are now available throughout your search.

54. Be inspired

Find new areas to explore with our holiday inspiration pages, now accessible from any page.

55. Location recommendations

Find similar locations based on your current selection.

56. Redesigned favourites

Find suggestions if your favourites lists are empty.

57. Share your favourites

Easier ways to share your favourites with friends and family.

58. Google Pay

Pay in seconds with Google Pay.

59. Our family of brands

Find more properties from our family of brands on the Sykes site.

60. Property summaries

Property summaries are now clearer and easier to find.

61. COVID-19 support

Our "Book with Confidence" pages provided support and reassurance to our customers during COVID-19.

62. Page speeds

We've optimised our web pages for mobile so you can access our site more easily on the move.

63. Bigger buttons

More accessible buttons to make moving around easier.

For our owners

67. Online onboarding

Enable our onboarding owners to list their property online through of self serving onboarding tool.

68. Customer feedback response

Owners' responses to customer feedback are displayed on property pages to assist other customers when booking a holiday.

69. Changing booking dates

An automated process that allows property owners to accept or decline requests for date changes.

70. Managed Services

A dedicated page to educate and inform users about Sykes's Managed Services offering.

71. Worth the investment

Reviews show what our customers think about our holiday homes for sale.

72. Regional research

We've implemented expert analysis on every region across the country to understand the pricing for your area.

73. Contract support

If you have any questions about your contract, you can talk to an advisor.

74. Thinking of buying

Those who do not own a rental property can visit our content hub, displaying information to support you in your journey.

75. Enquiry form

Our enquiry form is now more user-friendly, making it easier for owners to start their journey with us.

76. Calculator placement

The updated calculator placement makes it easier to estimate how much you could earn whilst letting with us.

77. Onboarding assistance

Throughout the property onboarding process, there is a number available for you to contact us if required.

78. Improved form validation

It's now easier to make an enquiry with our improved form validation.

79. Improved header

Making the header clear puts more emphasis on the background image and enquiry form.

80. Mortgage letter promotion

We've made it easier to find and access mortgage letters on our Thinking of Buying pages.

81. Owner communications

Our owners can control the way they receive communication by selecting their channel preference.

82. Income proposals

We've updated our income proposal to reflect the growth of the short break market and potentially increase owner earnings.

83. Market enhanced pricing

Income proposal for potential new owners that demonstrates pricing for current and future markets.

84. Floating action button

For our mobile users, we've made enquiring easier with a button that appears on the screen at all times.

85. Future year projections

Using data to accurately predict our owners' income for the next three years.

86. Income maximisation options

We've created a new income maximisation option to give our owners more flexibility on how we manage their prices.

87. Buying a holiday let

A content hub that includes holiday letting advice and guides about buying, financing, and running a holiday let.

88. Contact us

Our new form makes it easier for our owners to contact us.

89. Start your journey

Whether via telephone call or online listing, we allow owners to start their journey whichever way suits best.

90. Download the owner pack

Instant download available for our free holiday letting information packs.

91. Information panel

Easy to access information from your owner portal.

General

95. Improved service

Our new features enable our contact centre to provide better case tracking and offer premium support.

96. Information pages

Our information page suite is continuously growing and offers a wide range of useful information.

97. Customer help centre

We've created support guides within the customer account to support customers at every stage of their holiday.

98. Service routing

We've developed algorithms to intelligently route customer emails to appropriate contact channels.

99. Web messaging

A customer messaging service that provides faster responses to customer queries.

100. Improved customer service

Raise concerns or queries while on holiday with a few simple clicks.