Building a web-based software product is a continuous, intensive process. Lodgix launched over 12 years ago! Wow. During that time, pretty much every competitor that was around then has folded, a few were sold or retired and others rebranded (which is the online equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig). There are a few that remain, and they show their age. Web-based software is tough. You think you can do it with a small team, but the reality is that interfaces and technologies change and they change quickly. Consumer preferences change. Industries change. No shortage of challenges! So, it’s a constant battle between spending time updating frameworks, UIs, partner APIs, infrastructure and the need for new functionality. Many, if not most, small web-based companies are not up for that challenge and eventually the product gets dated and the cost and time required to update is too much, and the product sorts of fades into obscurity. Very common.
Lodgix on the other hand is now on our 4th framework update, and it’s an exciting one. With each new interface launch, the interfaces are faster and offer a ton of additional mobile functionality. We are finally in a position with our new team members to tackle the oldest of interfaces…with only invoicing and triggers left to update. Lots of great updates, faster interfaces for larger accounts and a gradual, but great improvement to the mobile experience.
So what is in store for the near term?
- WordPress plugin 2.0 is under active development and it will be great. Mapping, favorites, quoting, new themes, etc.. Beta testers will get a taste of it in late June to early July. It will be a much needed improvement and super exciting.
- Calendar tape and booking calendar improvements. We’ve already made incredible performance improvements over the past month which has allowed us to launch vertical infinite scroll. Additional optimizations are underway to allow for horizontal finger scroll on mobile devices. Should be very cool and be a dramatic improvement when using the booking calendar (and calendar tape) on mobile devices.
- Guest credits. This is a new feature which came about as a result of the large number of cancellations due to COVID. To preserve cash flow many of you simply offered a credit to the guest to be used against a future stay. However there really isn’t any way of doing that in Lodgix. This new feature will allow for the issuance of a guest credit at the time of cancellation, email it to the guest (optionally), report on all credits (issued, outstanding, redeemed) and allow the guest to use the credit within the online booking process, much like a coupon code.
