Finally its here... web-in-a-box
Web-in-a-Box is a brand new initiative from VisitScotland.com, set up to assist accommodation providers to go ‘live’ on the internet with a fully operational website capable of taking electronic bookings. This innovative tool could help many businesses utilise the internet at a minimal cost.
The product is a custom made toolkit that enables the user to edit content, layout, create pages and update availability. A key aspect of WIAB is the ability to accept ‘real-time’ bookings online with credit and debit card billing for deposits. When a business updates content on their WIAB site it is simultaneously updated on VisitScotland.com and the regional VisitScotland sites. The tool aims to enable businesses to use their own website, as well as VisitScotland.com, to generate sales.
This is a great step in the right direction for accommodation providers in Scotland. Queen Margaret University E-Commerce Capability Research has suggested that approx only 4% of accommodation providers in Scotland have websites capable of taking electronic payments. With the current trend in online booking increasing, WIAB will obviously help this statistic to flourish, and this will benefit the industry as a whole.
A condition of Web-in-a-Box is that it can only be bought by those which participate in VisitScotland's QA scheme and which take a listing on www.visitscotland.com (either as part of a VisitScotland Marketing Opportunities Package or as a stand-alone entry)This is enabling businesses to get more value out of their package than they would previously. Furthermore, any bookings made directly through their own WIAB site are transacted at a 0% commission rate. (A credit card processing fee of 0.5 % is applicable, to cover costs).
Marco Truffelli, CEO of VisitSCotland.com, insists that this scheme will add to the diversity of VisitScotland.com and will enable businesses to drive their own sales. Truffelli presented WIAB to the Tourism Innovation Group in April. From witnessing the product first-hand TIG believes that this is a positive product development, adding to the Scottish tourism brand, which will only make it easier for today’s modern traveller to book a trip to Scotland.
C-J Fordyce