Release of new Booking Engine Design
Last month we released the Sirvoy Website Builder together with the new booking engine design, and we would like to thank you for all the positive feedback we got in response! As you will have noticed, it is now possible to select the new booking engine layout on the New booking page.
From this month, it is also possible to use the new design on your website. You can enable the new look by going to Settings -> Booking engine and clicking “Edit” on the booking engine. On the page that follows, you can change the “Design template” to “Version 3.0”.
Enhanced Features
The booking engine version upgrade comes with some enhanced features you will love.
- Amenities. In your room type settings under Settings -> Accommodation when clicking “Add new” or “Edit”, you will now be able to select any amenities that are offered. These will be seen as symbols in each object type description in the booking engine, giving your guests a quick overview of available amenities for their convenience.
- Extras. In the booking process, you now see a practical drop-down menu when selecting an extra, or depending on your settings, extras may automatically show for all dates, with the option of removing them for selected dates or an entire date range. This makes handling extras much easier than before.
- Selection Overview. As you create a new booking, at the bottom of the page you will always see an overview of your current selection, including the number of guests, rooms and extras, together with the total price. This will help in making sure nothing has been missed before proceeding to the next step.
Custom CSS and the new Booking Engine Version Compatibility
Because of changes in the HTML/CSS structure, any custom CSS you might have used for the previous versions are incompatible with the new version, so if you decide to upgrade, any custom CSS will be removed. It will still be accessible in the CSS history, so you can view or restore it if you want to go back to a previous version.
We would encourage you to switch to the new (3.0) version and encourage you to get in touch with any feedback or suggestions. From April 1, 2021, all customers with the “Design template” set to “Latest version (auto upgrade)” will be upgraded to version 3.0. If you don’t want this to happen, please adjust your setting to “Version 2.0” before the above date. For example, if you currently have added custom CSS to have a uniform look and feel with your website, this adjustment might be advisable. If no adjustment is made, your custom CSS will be removed (you can still find it in the history) and the booking engine will be upgraded to version 3.0 on April 1, 2021.
Please note that we are still incorporating feedback and fixing reported issues, so if you want to start designing with custom CSS for version 3.0, we would recommend you to hold off for a month or be ready to adjust the CSS. Right now we are working to implement the latest standards and make the booking engine as accessible as possible. Until that work is completed, the CSS and HTML structure can change.
Regarding the old design template, we are planning on removing it later this year. If you decide to stay on these older versions, we will contact you in the coming months with updates about how we will proceed with removal of the old versions. If there is something that prevents you from moving to version 3.0, please let us know so that we can help you clear any roadblocks; it’s our wish that everyone can fully benefit from this design enhancement.
