This month’s Merlin Spotlight is on a small but powerful WebApp that could make a big impact for your owners and members. It can mean the difference between booking a vacation with their points or not. And it is an excellent way for points-based resorts to promote additional rental inventory.

Working in conjunction with Merlin’s Booking WebApp, the Purchase Points WebApp provides a simple way for owners to purchase additional usage points online, in real-time, to complete their holiday reservations. 

Here’s how it works: A member is searching through the Booking WebApp for accommodation. They find the perfect unit and time of year – but are 500 points short, so they can’t complete the booking. That’s frustrating for them and a missed reservation for you.

With the Purchase Points WebApp, they can now click on a Buy More Points button and move seamlessly, without the need to log in again, to a separate page where they can purchase the additional usage points required to complete the booking. 

The page defaults automatically to the number of points required to complete the booking. The owner can also adjust the points to a higher amount if needed. Once the amount of points required is confirmed, the page displays the price based on your fixed price list. 

The WebApp includes an online payment system allowing owners to pay for these points and complete the reservation online. And all this happens without the need to speak with an agent. The owner receives an email confirmation of the purchase and the reservation.

Of course, all of this activity is recorded in Merlin Classic, again in real-time.

The Purchase Points WebApp is a quick and easy way to promote and sell additional rental inventory for resorts. It is also intelligent enough to identify which price to use based on seasonality and is, of course, available in multiple languages. It also:

• Increases the completion rate of online bookings;
• Reduces demand for call centre teams; and
• Generates a sales lead for those who are regularly topping up.

For resorts that already have the Merlin Booking WebApp, implementation takes just two-three days, and it’s available now. To find out more, contact Mark Thomas for a detailed demo at markt@quickmerlin.com.