PIMS and Secure Payment Site

[fariszaini]

Hi guys,

I have been searching for a secure payment page and booking calendar for a while now. The ones I found out was some plugins that provides calendar with payment straight to Paypal. If possible, I wouldn’t want to use paypal as my receiving account. I wanted the payment be made straight to a bank account. I have read past threads that PIMS is the way to go in regards to booking. I saw the demo, it made everything easier (Shoutout to e-richard).

I would definitely give PIMS a try but I have a few questions. First, ive read that PIMS comes with a payment system straight to your Paypal account. Is it only available to Paypal or users can opt for Credit Card Payments as well? Secondly, I’ve seen the demo from the managing point of view, how do I see it from the customers point of view? Thirdly, which subscription plans would you recommend?

Well, I guess it was only three questions. I found out that formstacker provide payments form, but being the clueless guy I am, it was confusing for me to use it. I really hope that PIMS comes with a credit card payment system. If anyone would be so kind to pm me a referral code would be kindly appreciated.

On another note, for the charge per transaction, does Paypal gives a lower charge then other payment options?

[e-richard]

Hi fariszaini,
I hope the following helps, but if you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me directly at richard@holidayrentalmanagement.com

Is it only available to Paypal or users can opt for Credit Card Payments as well?

You can give your guest any number of payment options that you wish (e.g. Cheques, bank transfer, PayPal, Other merchant accounts). We do not actually support any credit card transactions ourselves. We give you the features to interface with your chosen supplier. The actual payment is then made on your supplier's secure website, but PIMS may be able to link to their website.

Secondly, I’ve seen the demo from the managing point of view, how do I see it from the customers point of view?

http://www.holidayrentalmanagement.com/ ... /index.php is a contrived rental site that tries to demonsrat a wide range of options that you may show on your website. Inevitably, we cannot show all possibilities as its incredibly flexible in the way you set things up and how you present it. By the way, when you fill in any enquiry or booking, I do suggest that you use your real email address so that you get to see the feedback process.
[ooops] I have just noticed that, like a real rental website, we have not updated the prices recently. I will do that next. We update the prices in PIMS, and they are automatically updated in the website.[/oops]

Thirdly, which subscription plans would you recommend?

Based on the questions you are asking, I would suggest the most popular "Gold" version.

[Nemo]

Hi fariszaini

Richard's your man for answering your specific questions, but as always I'm happy to endorse the product.

I'm now on the Gold version; I have three properties, use the short break pricing feature and the online forms. I've used the system since 2010 and am slow to embrace the many exciting features, but I get there eventually.

I use Paypal currently to offer payment by credit card, but I dislike the company and the high fees, so plan to take on another credit card system in the New Year. I currently send links to booking forms and payment forms; if the guest wants to pay by Paypal I create an invoice. However I like keeping manual control of my system, it's possible to make it far more integrated than I have chosen.

I've sent you a pm.

[Essar]

Have a look at STRIPE they have a credit/debit card processing system, you don't need a merchant account. I use it with Wufoo forms and that works really well. They also provide all the API you need and easy to follow tutorials to set up a payment through your website. There is no joining fee. Fees are 2.4% +20p which is a whole 1% less that PayPal.

[fariszaini]

Thank you guys so much for the reply. This whole thing is so new to me and i have so much to learn. I would definitely email you if i have any questions. Oh and thank you Nemo for the code !

Aside from that, Stripe looks great. I still have to do more studies. This whole creating website is really hard and part of me thinks i should just hire a pro.

I am currently facing a problem with my bookings. I would like to get an opinion on this. When it comes to bookings, i noticed most of you doesnt have online payment. How do you handle bookings? If i were a customer wanting to book, how do you provide the payment method for me and the receipt for that payment?

Do you provide a certain link after negotiating? Please advice this newbie.

[kevsboredagain]

Thank you guys so much for the reply. This whole thing is so new to me and i have so much to learn. I would definitely email you if i have any questions. Oh and thank you Nemo for the code !

Aside from that, Stripe looks great. I still have to do more studies. This whole creating website is really hard and part of me thinks i should just hire a pro.

I am currently facing a problem with my bookings. I would like to get an opinion on this. When it comes to bookings, i noticed most of you doesnt have online payment. How do you handle bookings? If i were a customer wanting to book, how do you provide the payment method for me and the receipt for that payment?

Do you provide a certain link after negotiating? Please advice this newbie.

I guess it depends what you are trying to achieve. For me, I simply have an online booking form. When this is completed, the guest receives an email and this email contains a link on how to pay. The payment page gives them an option of paying by bank transfer but also interfaces to Paypal for a credit card payment. I could also do this with other payment systems like Stripe.

What have not considered worthwhile, is make a link from calender to automatic booking. I'm not a hotel, my total number of bookings are low and I always want that 1 step of person to person communication before I give the client details on how to book.

[greenbarn]

I'm not a hotel, my total number of bookings are low and I always want that 1 step of person to person communication before I give the client details on how to book.

Same here.

I've now integrated (using PIMS) a "Reserve Now" feature onto our website: it allows a guest to check availability and price and then complete a booking form to reserve the dates; at that stage the dates are automatically blocked off but they don't pay.
I then check the booking form details (are they wanting to get 7 people in a sleeps 4 for example) and if all is okay I send a confirmation and payment instructions, including handling a card payment which will take them directly to the gateway provider I use (Barclaycard in my case). I can also answer any particular questions (or ask them!) before any payment is made and a contract is in place.

That's as close as I'm likely to get to instant booking. I hate the the idea that what we offer can be regarded as a plain brown box; we all offer something special and we all want the best for our guests. The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

[Nemo]

That's as close as I'm likely to get to instant booking. I hate the the idea that what we offer can be regarded as a plain brown box; we all offer something special and we all want the best for our guests. The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

Hear, hear.

[e-richard]

I hate the the idea that what we offer can be regarded as a plain brown box; we all offer something special and we all want the best for our guests. The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

I totally sympathise, but I don't think you can state that HA are "wrong". You can say "different", but not wrong:

If you follow any of the recent press about HA, you'll notice that they are gearing up to be bought by either Expedia or BookingDotCom and in both cases its a pre-requisite that HA are 100% online bookings.

QUESTION: Is it wrong to make a few BILLION dollars for your shareholders, staff and principals ?

To keep this in context:

As long as there are owners like GB and Nemo and many others on LMH, there will always be a place for a flexible system like PIMS (and others like it), but it would be wrong of me to ignore the trends in the industry - whether its changes from the guest point of view or whether its changes driven by the big players, they are going to somehow or other impact all our businesses.

[greenbarn]

The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

I totally sympathise, but I don't think you can state that HA are "wrong". You can say "different", but not wrong:

Ooh, I like the rare opportunity to cross swords with e-richard!

I'll chuck in a bit of bold:

The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

My business isn't about providing commodities, nor are the businesses of those I'm addressing.
You can't argue with that, and even if you do I'm a bigger linguistic pedant than you are

QUESTION: Is it wrong to make a few BILLION dollars for your shareholders, staff and principals ?

Not if that's your declared intention from the outset. Of course, how you actually go about doing it might be questionable, but that's a whole different issue.
History provides many examples of success in business by telling people what they need and then selling it to them, or even inventing some widespread embarrassing condition and then selling you the means to "fix" it (see "Listerine"). Is it just a coincidence that Halitosis begins with HA? Never believe in a coincidence when there's the remotest possibility of a Conspiracy Theory.........

Listerine

Extract from Wiki: Listerine was invented in the nineteenth century as a powerful surgical antiseptic. It was later sold, in distilled form, as both a floor cleaner and a cure for gonorrhea. But it wasn't a runaway success until the 1920s, when it was pitched as a solution for "chronic halitosis"— a then obscure medical term for bad breath. Listerine's new ads featured forlorn young women and men, eager for marriage but turned off by their mate's rotten breath. "Can I be happy with him in spite of that?" one maiden asked herself. Until that time, bad breath was not conventionally considered such a catastrophe. But Listerine changed that. As the advertising scholar James B. Twitchell writes, "Listerine did not make mouthwash as much as it made halitosis." In just seven years, the company's revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

[e-richard]

Ooooh, its been a while since I wallowed in linguistic pedantry and to do so with the esteemed Greenbarn is a privilege.

The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

You may rightly suggest that their strategy is wrong for you or wrong for me.
My simple argument is that they are a very successful business so maybe, just maybe its not wrong for them, and that is indeed their declared intention.

Its a fact that when you list on the stock exchange that is, a priori, your definition of business - it is the beginning, middle and end of everything you do. Nothing else matters.

.... and I speak from (good and bitter) experience.

[greenbarn]

Ooooh, its been a while since I wallowed in linguistic pedantry and to do so with the esteemed Greenbarn is a privilege.

The brains behind HA see our business as providing commodities; they're wrong.

You may rightly suggest that their strategy is wrong for you or wrong for me.

Within the context of my argument, I wasn't suggesting their strategy is wrong; I was stating their belief is wrong.

Within the context of how HA operate it is of course impossible for them to be wrong, as they define all the rules.

[Essar]

Although, I like to sit on the fence in a liguistic contest - just to get to know the possible rivals of the future - in this instance I must intervene; I find that I cannot agree or disagree with the conclusions reached or not by either of the parties involved.

On the question of Listerine - can one assume that Flash is also good for Gonerhere?

[greenbarn]

Essar - be very afraid. I've just finished reading Iris Murdoch's The Philosopher's Pupil and am likely to be unbearable (more than usual) for a couple more days. That will wear off; the linguistic and semantic pedantry will remain.

I bet the OP wishes he hadn't started now - and yet, just where is the point where the thread creep takes off?

I'll also point out that if you do go with PIMS you get excellent support from e-richard even if you ask dumb questions. Ask me how I know.