Checkfront reviews

Long-time user, and a happy one.

Opmerkingen: We are a sightseeing tour operator company and we have been using Checkfront late 2018. We have explored other options thoroughly and this is still the one we like the most after several years.

Pluspunten:

After years of use, my favorite thing about Checkfront is the helpful support team. They always provide detailed, competent and helpful answers.

Minpunten:

Our only real issue is that they seem to be falling behind on channel integration (especially OTA's) compared to other reservation systems. But the functionality and usability of existing features is very good.

Simple Yet Robust

Pluspunten:

There are many things that I love about Checkfront. It's online booking capability and ease of use when training employees how to use it once it is setup. With a little coding expertise you can make the booking process for clients very easy and reduces the friction toward payment, so you can concentrate on operations.

Minpunten:

The Guest form and Guest information are essentially useless and would be better if it was removed altogether. I have been hoping that over the last 2 years since its implementation there would have been improvements to this portion of checkfront, but it has not been improved. There are no triggers if guest have not filled out the info, nor is there anyway to use the information in dashboard or organize it using the daily manifest or send the information somewhere else to be used in another program via automation.The email suite lacks any organizational capability I have created so many that it is nearly impossible to figure out what triggers them and we run many different trips to many different locations and it creates choas when I don't know if clients are getting the correct emails about those trips. Then you get into the creation of emails, there is no way to send test emails to check your formatting. Also you cannot create html emails in the notifications editor. I have to create email templates in Mailchimp and then export them and import them into checkfront. this might be the most ridiculous thing that I can think of. There should be a way to catogorize your emails into folders, and there should be email templates that allow you to design emails in checkfront that have mobile friendly options. If there was a way to see all the triggers without having to open every email to see that would be amazing.

aeffective booking system

Opmerkingen: professional and helpful. more than what I need. but quite happy. other than a few issues.

Pluspunten:

simple efficient. keeps track of chats easy to cancel and make bookings. very helpful online troubleshooting the techs are very knowledgeable and easy to follow their help.i love the banners paid and unpaid or cancelled very cool.

Minpunten:

the home page is clunky. would be better if your arrivals and departures were in list form on this page. the calendar would work better if you could drag and drop bookings to gain a day here and there.

Absolutely love Checkfront

Opmerkingen: When we first started out we took reservations in a paper book....yes you read correctly, on paper...knowing there had to be a better way I researched different software to use. Since then we have been so happy with Checkfront. The support from their team has been amazing. From setting us up to answering my everyday questions, their team is always friendly and helpful. I highly recommend them to anyone.

Pluspunten:

We have been with check front for 7 years now and we love everything about it. It's simple to use, training new employees to use it is easy, the booking process just flows nicely so it makes sense. Customers also compliment us on how simple and straightforward it is to use. I also feel like they are there when I need them to help me out with any issues I'm having.

Minpunten:

I would like to use the waivers section but it didn't quite work for our set up. There's a couple of little things that would be nice to be able to do with the calendar etc. I also which the app was a bit more useful. I usually always send suggestions in when I come across something that I think would be beneficial for everyone.

Simple to use for our customers and has increased online sales

Opmerkingen: Great experience and great customer service. Very helpful when we need trouble shooting.

Pluspunten:

The interface is very easy to use and straight forward for our customers. This software has definitely increased and enhanced our online booking procedures.

Minpunten:

The system is very robust and there is definitely a bit of a learning curve on the back end, but once you figure it out it's easier to use.

Great value and functionality, excellent support

Opmerkingen: Great, would 100% recommend to any business operating some type of activity, tour, rental etc.

Pluspunten:

Checkfront is an easy-to-use reservation system that can be customized very well to fit the needs of almost any type of activity or experience provider. It's excellent value comes from the fact that it only has a monthly fee and no extra per booking or per user etc which can literally save you thousands of Euros per year compared to other products that often have lesser or similar functionality. The support team is also worth mentioning, they are always quick and friendly and looking to provide good solutions.

Minpunten:

The number of OTA integrations could be higher and feature requests could be handled more quickly but other than that it's excellent.

Great Booking Software

Opmerkingen: We run a glamping business and have been using Checkfront for 3 years and it works great. The initial set up was a bit of a slog as we have an complex booking system, but it all works well. The team at CheckFront is always very responsive and helpful - with written suggestions and video walk-throughs for set up issues.

Pluspunten:

There is a lot of flexibility in the this product, with many features. Developed by a small Canadian company, that is very responsive to questions and feature requests. Very supportive with assistance for technical issues in my set up.

Minpunten:

With all the features and parameters to set up, there is lots of things that can get out of lineament. Sometimes I will spend hours trying to puzzle out why something that I have set up does not work as it should. The team at CheckFront is always great is helping me get it fixed.

Very responsive customer care

Opmerkingen: Very positive experience with Checkfront - nothing seems to be a problem, always supportive response from Support staff. Really very happy with product and overall support.

Pluspunten:

The software has many really useful functions e.g. waivers; group waivers; integration with Xero. The developements in terms of the calendar and manifest are great improvements but little tweaks in layout would declutter the view. Some of the details functionality is brilliant - often not easy to find how to do something but just ask the Support folks and they usually have a very neat solution to offer. The customer support is fantastic, so responsive and are very wiling to take a suggestion/issue back to the developers.

Minpunten:

Find the Inventory calendar a bit cluttered and the mobile app could be done with a little refinement in terms of daily manifest. Integration with Xero needs a little refinement - would be excellent if an admin could choose which Payment Methods are integrated, at the moment every transaction creates a Xero invoice which is not always appropriate (e.g. gift vouchers, cash, face-to-face card payments) so there can be quite a bit of voiding in Xero to correct position. The Partner Accounts are too restrictive for the way we work with our partners so we had to provide User accounts to provide the functionality.

Easy software for Booking Tourist Activities / invoice

Opmerkingen: - I decided to say with checkfront, because their team is very helpful, there is a community and a forum to get inspired, to get help if you are a beginner in the tourism industry

Pluspunten:

+ All in one place : Booking / customers / invoices + You can customize every detail of the Activity you are selling to your customers + The support team listens to your needs

Minpunten:

- During covid, the hibernation plan means that your website goes offline

Easy to use and customize

Opmerkingen: Excellent. Easy to use and customize.

Pluspunten:

Being able to adapt for our individual needs

Minpunten:

Our pricing plan is excellent with Checkfront. But I recently received notice it was going to increase significantly. This is very disappointing. If we utilized of the abilities of the program I would pay more but we use a very minimal amount as I do most work in house. The program is great though.

Had high hopes:( Hoping it will turn around...They will do it, I KNOW IT!

Opmerkingen: Now is the time for private, and I would guestimate that you're at least 6-months away, if not more, from you guys nailing that. Perhaps your software is much more comprehensive? A photoshop, undiscovered? A Linkedin, now FB rival? IDK. I can only find little bugs that make zero sense (on both sides). A mandatory forced parameter can never be one, and it must be less than zero, or it's NOT enforceable. I have an extensive list for your guys if I can find the time. Great people, GREAT value, guys! I just sincerely wasn't about to pay a setup fee due to the complexities of my business. I'm a HUGE what-if person, and those variables are not there yet.

Pluspunten:

The sales folks have been incredible! Very patient, helpful, and lovely.

Minpunten:

You guys are on the right track, but I think that your growth will possibly hurt you. I've been watching your Company for many years and finally convinced one of my customers to switch over from Rezdy. The integration has not been easy, and I've not slept for days, challenged with the tiniest minor bugs that I can't believe no one hasn't mentioned? I hate to say it, but I miss Rezdy. They have not changed much in at least 10-years+. What was so illogical with their software now is not so bad now. They also amped it up a notch. I also miss calling you guys up and working through a problem, impossible to get through, just in between the old and the new. Bad timing, I think?

We love it!

Opmerkingen: We love it and may change our entire booking system over to it !

Pluspunten:

That customers can see the calendar of what is booked - we do not have to manage that! They can't double book

Minpunten:

Not much we don't like - maybe could be easier to block off a day . Had to play around a bit to figure it out

Great System & Exceptional Service for my Rental Business

Opmerkingen: That said considering Checkfront is relatively inexpensive for what they offer and it's not a custom built program I can't really fault them. Some people complain about various needs not being met but unless you want to pay big dollars for a custom package you can't expect to have all your wish list met. I'm in the processes of resolving this by having my developer use Checkfront's API to integrate into my website. One of the things we're doing is adding Delivery and Collection as a separate step in the booking process. We've been very happy with Checkfront. I can't even imagine trying to run my business without them.

Pluspunten:

I have used Checkfront for five years and the service has always been outstanding. They always reply very quickly to my emails. I've phoned them a couple of times but really there's no need to phone as their email response is so good. It also means you have a record of what's discussed. Having an inventory based rental system that allows my customers to book online and keep stock updated keeps me ahead of the competition. I love the customised notifications that are specific to the items booked. The free add-ons are amazing. Being able to link to my accounting software makes life simple.

Minpunten:

You have to keep a very close eye on products being returned. If something isn't returned it's very easy for it to "fall off the system" if it's not noticed on the due date. It would be good to be able to scan items back in or at the very least for the item to remain on the desktop until it's been checked off. I understand Checkfront are working on this. The only other concern for us has been that delivery and collection has to be booked as an actual item and not offered at Checkout. Our customers are confused by this no matter how many prompts we add. I believe it's because customers are used to an online retails experience where it is common practice for Delivery to offered after items have been selected and you are at the final stages before payment.

Haliburton Forest Review on Checkfront

Opmerkingen: Overall, we have been extremely satisfied and find that checkfront has more benefits than cons, but it would be nice if the cons could be improved. We have only been using checkfront for a little over a year and couldn't ask for an easier program to use. It has definitely improved how we manage our reservations and are constantly learning about new features and how others work.

Pluspunten:

This is very user friendly, both on the back end/set up side as well as the user side. The reservation system we used to use is extremely limited. We love that we can create a reservation and easily make changes. Our old system was not as user friendly and we would have to delete a reservation and re-create it even if we wanted to something as simple as change a date.

Minpunten:

The website version is awesome, but the mobile app is not as user friendly as we would like and we are not thrilled with the reports. For the app, we are unable to check booking documents or update the reservations. That's great that we can check them in, but if they need to add a feature or change their dates at time of check in, we have to switch over to the web version, then switch back for payment. Which is another issue. We have connected checkfront with square, and a lot of the payments don't register with checkfront, so we have to first take the payment, and then record the payment. Very frustrating. We already had a few issues with the checkfront reports, which we have been able to work around, but now that we have connected to square, we are finding it extremely difficult to balance and now our bookkeeper has to refer to multiple reports, which of course does not help. One huge thing that would help is that our items in checkfront be able to communicate with square directly. Right now they convert over and say 'Custom Amount'. In one square report the booking id is referenced, but not others. Very, very frustrating. But if an item, like snowmobile passes, could actually transfer over as snowmobile passes, that would be huge. There are a few other issues, but those are the main setbacks we have currently.

FRUSTRATING !!

Opmerkingen: It was a good system to get me started in my business but it doesn't offer me the flexibility i need.
It was easy to set up.
Easy to navigate.

Pluspunten:

A relatively simple system to use and easy to navigate. The layout is good on the calendar pager and the reports offer valuable information.

Minpunten:

I find the system very inflexible to my needs, eg. Can not offer Room only and Rooms with breakfast from the same inventory stock. There are no error messages when you are clearly not setting things up correctly. Eg, Setting up an event, you have to go to the help page all the time to ensure you are doing it right. Pop ups with helpful tips would be better & time saving. Item Event Rules/rule sets are too complicated and open to user error, the software doesn't make it user friendly, there are too many pages to refer to. The software allows you to enter dates that overlap other events, this should not be allowed, its frustrating when setting up seasonal prices. The system is too time consuming and requires manual input when it should be cross checking dates and pop up an alert if incorrect, quite often the event doesn't work....Frustrating! Having to import every booking that goes through a channel manager and unlock it first ! Time consuming ! Why doesn't it go into the calendar automatically? Unable to change the price on the initial page when making a new booking, this has to be amended afterwards.....frustrating that you can not enter it right first time ! Unable to set up more than one policy. This is so inflexible when you are selling services and accommodation which have different policies for bookings. I have been waiting 6months for you to fix my inventory errors and minimum stay rules.. Poor communication and no urgency whilst I lose money & bookings.

Perfect for our Family Business

Opmerkingen: Really, us integrating Checkfront into our website and online booking was a game-changer for our family business. It has literally saved me so much time and sanity on making/changing/cancelling customer reservations, as well as monthly reports for my own records (and comparing year over year data), as well as for Hotel Tax, and easy viewing for scheduling our employees and cleaning. A true game-changer for taking our business to the next level.

Pluspunten:

Seamless integration with our website. Easy to streamline with our credit card processor. Powerful Reports at our fingertips. Customer Service if there is an occasional snafu. Helpful community and tutorial videos when setting up new accounts, items, events, etc.

Minpunten:

This was tough, but of course there is a bit of a learning curve when you are first setting up all the parameters that are right for you business. Plenty of customer service and a large community support to post your questions, or search for an answer because someone has already crossed that bridge successfully. Also loved that once I set up my "Item Event" (think: 3 day minimum stay for Labor Day) then I can easily use a copy button to make each subsequent year's Item Event. So I do not have to recreate the wheel.

A powerful tool to manage your guest house bookings

Opmerkingen: Despite some small shortcomings I am quite happy with Checkfront product and support service.

Pluspunten:

Very well thought out and feature rich to accommodate the quirks of your business with good booking calendar and discount options. The support is also great and response times are less than a day. We been using Checkfront for 7 years now and have no plans to move away despite some small shortcomings. Highly recommended.

Minpunten:

The ability to make integrations to other services like accounting systems are limited. With the rise of functional programming like AWS lambda, I think its trivial to add some capability to integrate to other systems using similar event triggered functions or webhooks. Checkfront does have something like this but its quite limited. There is no support for multi item discounts as yet so customers are unable to get a discount if they book multiple inventory items. This is a key feature that I hope they will have in future. The ability to style the embeddable iframe booking page is also a bit limited and I can't get it to match my website style.

Rental Provider

Opmerkingen: Staff incredible, software flawless and the user friendliness is exactly what i needed! I could not conduct my business without Checkfront!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pluspunten:

There is no way that i could do my business without Checkfront. I was able to learn the software and all its benefits within 1-hour. The support staff provides superior service and is always available to help with any questions or concerns i have. I recommend Checkfront to all my business friends and use it 10 times or more a day. Thank you for providing this incredible software!!!!

Minpunten:

I do not like the affiliate program and quite honestly don't understand why i would be required to upgrade my plan in order to allow affiliates to get commission and have there own portal to create booking for the company. I am currently only allowed to have 10 affiliate accounts on my business and with my business working with thousands of travel agents it would be nice if you allowed unlimited affiliate accounts as apart of the service.

Great for small camp and conference centers.

Opmerkingen: We are a small Christian Camp and Conference Center in southern New Mexico. The previous director was fully analog, doing reservation in a Day-Planner. This dramatically helped to bring us into the 21st century. We had looked at other camp and conference center booking systems, but they were in the thousands of dollars, plus initial setup fees. Checkfront allowed us set everything up on our own. There was a significant learning curve to setting it up, but once done, it has been a breeze.

Pluspunten:

The software is very customizable and affordable. It has allowed me to create an online booking system for our camp and retreat center. The biggest advantage is that it provides most of the functionality we need, at half the price, or less, of other camp booking systems. The pictures and video option for our various cabin rentals is great.

Minpunten:

There are a few minor function problems that I wish would be fixed. We sometimes have a group of folks who set up a booking together. They then want to pay separately, and there is no place to input the credit card zip code on the payment page. I have to go back and edit the original booking zip code to do this. Again, it’s a minor issue, but would be a nice feature. One other one would be an option to print a payment receipt, rather than just printing an Invoice that lists the payment being made.

Best booking software in this price range by far!

Pluspunten:

First and foremost, Checkfront is affordable for a small business our size, and even though they are much more affordable than the high-cost competition, Checkfront doesn't scrimp on features and functionality. Checkfront takes a day or two to get used to but that's only because it's jam-packed full of useful and necessary features. Checkfront is a fully functional and complete booking system that won't leave you feeling like there's always something missing, as is the case with so many other low-cost providers.

Minpunten:

I can't complain about a system that does everything the big high-cost alternatives do for a price that's affordable and cost-effective for small businesses like mine.

Good for managing make cottage bookings

Opmerkingen: A feature-rich booking system which works well on all devices. Loved by the owner, accountant, cleaner and, working in the background, benefits our guests too. Life has become a whole lot easier since using Checkfront.

Pluspunten:

Check from the allows me to easily manage my bookings between my website, Booking.com, Airbnb, TripAdvisor and Home Away. Previously when a booking can in I had to manually change the calendars on every holiday website and it was a nightmare. I have configured Checkfront to link to my accountancy software (Xero) and I have also started offering customers gift cards. I'm not technically-minded and have found the technical support excellent, especially when the send me custom videos showing me what to do.

Minpunten:

It does virtually everything I need, but sometimes I don't find it very intuitive. It's disappointing there isn't a way of getting it to work with new Google Holiday feature. No great loss now, but I expect this will grow in customer popularity.

Great for Hotels that also offer Services

Opmerkingen: Overall, we're very happy with Checkfront. We recently looked for other solutions to see what was available on the market but we ended up sticking with Checkfront.

Pluspunten:

What we like most about Checkfront is that it is a multi-use tool. We find that there aren't a lot of solutions out there if you offer rooms AND tours.

Minpunten:

It seems like they don't update it very often. The overall layout and design has been the same since 2015.

Great Solution.

Opmerkingen: Fantastic and happy I chose it.

Pluspunten:

Checkfront is an easy software with plenty of flexibility. Fantastic Customer Care and that is the best part of it. We have been successfully using it for over 4 years with almost none problems. Paying solutions are spotless and easy to use.

Minpunten:

It needs some new features such us: - Male /Female inventory control - as at the moment is not possible to control that if you need to have gender only groups.

If you are in between while choosing, choose it.

Pluspunten:

This app is a must have for any property owner or business owner. It is a great way to manage your business and you can be notified instantly when there is an event that you need to be aware of. This is an amazing hotel management app and can be used anywhere in the world.

Minpunten:

Sometimes I have minor connection problems but I think it has nothing to do with the tool. I'm not sure there is a problem, I can say that it works in general without any problems.

Checkfront Is Great!

Opmerkingen: My overall experience with Checkfront has been good

Pluspunten:

I like the reservation calendar and online booking the most.

Minpunten:

I think it would be beneficial to be able to mark rooms as they're cleaned. This would enable me to when to know when the room is clean and ready to be turned over to the next guest.