Product Showcase - Winter 2022/23

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

In the last few months, we have focussed on two key areas for our customers; improving the booking experience to make it as seamless as possible, and secondly, enhancing our online customer service offering, making it easier to manage bookings at the touch of a button.

For our holiday let owners, a new help section has been created. There’s advice and articles designed to help owners provide the best experience for their guests, and maximise income. Alongside this, we have enhanced our earnings calculator, so owners can now get a better income projection for their property.

There are also some exciting new features in the pipeline. We understand how important constructive feedback is, so we are working to enhance how ratings and reviews are collected and how owners can act on the feedback. In the second half of 2023, a brand-new app will be launched for our owners. To name a few features; owners will be able to contact their guests directly, schedule messages and share important holiday information. They will also have access to income comparisons and bespoke recommendations to improve performance. We look forward to bringing you more on this in our next showcase.

Customers

• Contact free booking managementFully automated system for customers looking to amend their holiday dates or party size.
• Flexible searchNew and improved ways of searching for your location of choice, giving customers more freedom to find their perfect holidays.
• AccessibilityContinued commitment to making our website and booking experience more accessible.

Owners

• Owner-focussed AppConnecting owners with their guests, as well as with key services designed to optimise property performance.
• Thinking of buying?Guiding you through your journey from purchasing a property to taking your first booking, and beyond.
• Welcome onboardOnboarding and managing your property is now faster and easier than ever.

In our winter 22/23 update, we bring you over 50 new improvements made to our digital products since our last showcase. Come back again in spring, as we continue to improve our experiences for both our customers and owners.

For our customers

1. Managing your app account

App users can delete their account easily, in line with Apple requirements.

2. What went wrong?

Things don’t always go right the first time. We’ve been working on making it easier to understand what might have gone wrong.

3. App surveys

We now have surveys on our app designed to gather customer feedback.

4. Customer support hub

Use the comprehensive guide on our customer FAQs and contact information page to manage bookings.

5. Ratings and reviews

Better mobile designs based off our customer’s preferences.

6. Push notifications

See dates on push notifications for accurate results.

7. App links

It’s now possible to deep-link to more places within the app.

8. Accidental damage insurance

We’ve made it easier for you to purchase accidental damage insurance to protect your booking.

9. Google Pay

Customers now have the option to pay for their holiday using Google Pay.

10. No insurance excess

Customers weren’t sure if they’d need to pay an excess on their insurance, so we’ve made it easier to understand.

11. Clear pricing

There’s now further clarity around how much your holiday, and any other add-ons, will cost.

12. Easy-to-use vouchers

We’ve simplified how you apply a voucher at checkout to get your holiday secured more quickly.

13. Accessibility

We’re always trying to make our site easier for everyone to use.

14. Summer Sale

Fantastic offers and the best sale prices presented across the whole site.

15. Party time

When you save a property you love, we celebrate with you with a little burst of confetti.

19. Property images

We’ve made it simple to view property images by showing you the full gallery when you double click.

20. Calendar improvements

The calendar look and feel has been improved, including the introduction of a new background colour and improved text legibility.

21. Property carousel

Our homepage will showcase our best cottages that are most popular with customers right now.

22. Site navigation

You can now get round our site easier with new and improved navigation tabs.

23. Page speeds

We’ve improved page speed and site performance.

24. Clearer savings

See how much money you’re saving on a discounted property.

25. An easier experience

You can now focus on the content you want, as we’ve taken away clutter from search results.

26. Changing dates

We’ve automated and streamlined the process to change the dates of your booking.

27. Amend party size

Change the number of people in your booking party without having to get in touch with us.

28. URLs

We’ve changed our location URLs from numbers to words so you can read the location name.

29. Super-fast API

We’re using the latest tech to speed up site content loading times by up to 400%.

30. Livechat improvements

Contact us however you’d like, with our improved livechat service making it simple for those who’d rather type than talk.

31. Discounts and offers

It’s now even easier than ever to find your perfect deal.

32. Scottish regions

We’ve improved the accuracy of our regions, especially those in Scotland.

33. Narrow your search

We’ve made it easier and less stressful to search and narrow down locations when looking for holidays.

34. Regional brands

Over 50 improvements made to site experience for 20 regional brands, from improved accessibility to property rating, unlimited reviews, and more.

35. Bigger regions

We’ve expanded the scope of our regions so you have more choice of properties in different locations.

36. Town search

The way our town search works has been adjusted, so now it’s easier to find places that can be spelled or punctuated differently.

For our owners

37. Health and safety made simple

Take the worry out of compliance with a dedicated system for keeping your health and safety documentation in order.

38. Communicating clearly

Choose how you want to hear from us with renewed contact preferences.

39. Enhanced earnings calculator

We’ve improved the accuracy of our calculator to give you a better understanding of what your property could earn with Sykes.

40. Getting help and advice

Easier ways to search and filter our owner advice and information pages.

41. Current balance improvements

Clearer balances for those with multiple properties.

42. Messaging

Contact us how you want, when you want. We’re adding more ways to get in touch, whatever you need.

43. Easier onboarding

Onboarding with Sykes is easier and faster than ever with a brand new tool to help our property consultants understand your holiday let.

44. An owner-focussed app

This major new development will enable owners to speak directly to their guests, get income projections and comparisons with similar properties, and offers tailored recommendations for maximising property potential.

45. Bespoke content

Crafted content has been created for the regional brand’s ’Let Your Property’ page, helping potential new owners get a better idea of why our local experts are the right brand for them.

General

49. Internal testing improvements

Improvements to our internal testing infrastructure have allowed us to launch new features quicker and more safely than before, to help our colleagues continue to give our owners and customers a best-in-class service.

50. Enhanced post-booking service

Get the service you expect thanks to more efficient call handling.

51. Privacy customisation

Making sure our customers and owners have the right information about what happens when getting in touch with us.

Find out more about improvements we’ve made

Product Showcase 2022