How to filter products in the availability calendar

By adding a few parameters to the availability calendar, you can control exactly what products are being included in the list. You can also control what product should be the default product in the list.

Here’s an example of a regular availability calendar URL:

http://www.webreserv.com/book?hostcode=DCSA

Adding a product filter

To filter the products in the product list, add “productfilter=[productid]“. You can include multiple productid’s, separated by comma.

Example

This availability calendar shows only the standard single:

http://www.webreserv.com/book?hostcode=DCSA&productfilter=5

And here we show the standard single and standard double:

http://www.webreserv.com/book?hostcode=DCSA&productfilter=5,6

Making a product default

To make a specific product the default, include the parameter “ptid=[productid]“.  In the URL below, we include all products, but default to the suite (productid 7):

http://www.webreserv.com/book?hostcode=DCSA&ptid=7

See also http://www.webreserv.com/articles/20060901 for more tips on the reservation widget / availability calendar

Adding the availability calendar to your website

The reservation widget / availability calendar is a cool utility from WebReserv.com. It can be added to one or more existing websites and provides all the reservation functionality needed to make a website interesting for the consumer. The reservation widget provides the following features:  availability calendar, customer information, credit card information.

The reservation widget can be embedded within your site or it can be opened as a pop-up window. In most cases, you’ll want to embed it in your site as it looks awesome with the availability calendar right there on your website.  It is easy to customize the reservation widget to have the same look as your own website (colors, fonts etc). Whether you embed the widget or open it as a popup-window will give you the same functionality.

How to embed the availability calendar

When you embed the reservation widget / availability calendar on your website, you can make it blend completely with your website layout and many customers prefer this option for that reason. In the screenshot (and example link) we made Casa Deco’s booking component use the same colors as the website, and the result is impressive.  Click here to see it:

http://www.webreserv.com/casadeco/reservation.html.

How to pop-up the availability calendar

The pop-up version widget can be added to any website with just one line of HTML code. With the pop-up approach, you’ll get a booking button on your website, and a booking window will open when a customer clicks the booking button.
This is what the pop-up widget looks like:

http://www.webreserv.com/casadeco/reservation-popup.html.

Note: You can copy the HTML code from WebReserv.com and paste it onto your website. To get the HTML code specifically for your business, log on to WebReserv.com and select Web Components from the main menu. Click here to see it:

 http://www.webreserv.com/casadeco/reservation.html.

Adding the booking component as an embedded component requires a few more lines of HTML code and possibly a little bit of tuning to get the colors right. To get the HTML code specifically for your business, log on to WebReserv.com and select Web Components from the main menu.

Google maps…

Helping your customers to find your business location fast and effectively is one way to increase customer satisfaction. We have added support for Google Maps on WebReserv.com so your customers can quickly find your location.

Showing Google maps along with your business description and pictures can be quickly added. In most cases, your longitude and latitude have already been calculated from your address. To check if your address is shown correctly, log on to WebReserv.com, and go to Setup -> Business Information -> Map/Directions. The marker should point directly to your business address. Here’s how to fix it if it doesn’t:

How to fix an incorrect map position.

There are several ways to change the marker position. First, click “Get coordinates from address”. This will reset the marker to a geographical location calculated based on your address. Inspect the map (zoom in if necessary). If the marker is a little bit off, just move the marker to the correct location.

In rare instances it is not possible to position the marker correctly based on the address. This can happen if the address isn’t know in the map database or if the address format is different from what is expected by the system. In those cases, the marker might be placed on a big white or blue background.

If you get the big white or blue background, simply enter the longitude and latitude of your business and the marker will be positioned correctly. Don’t have access to a GPS that can give you longitude and latitude? Don’t worry – just zoom all the way out on the map, move the marker to a place near your location, zoom in a bit, readjust the marker, zoom in a bit more and repeat until the marker is at your exact business location.

Show me the way…

While you’re on the Map/Directions page, don’t forget to add the directions to your business location. Typically, you want to include turn-by-turn directions from nearby airports or highways to other cities.

Go to http://www.webreserv.com/news to read more about the Google maps.

Welcome to the official WebReserv.com blog

Welcome to the official WebReserv.com blog. We will be using this blog to share news about WebReserv.com, describe new features, talk about upcoming events and much more.

The blog is also intended for you to share feedback about WebReserv.com, suggest new features and functionality and so forth.

Once again welcome!

Martin Israelsen
WebReserv.com