In test phase

We're now in the test phase of the SaInfoNow website due to launch in early 2013. I am very excited at the quality of the new site and it is going to be a powerful addition to the web-experience of users in South Africa.

 

 

New Home page

Here's a screen shot of our draft new webpage which is presently with the developers for coding. The bright blue and touch of orange colours are clean and fresh and the layout has been completely revamped.

Transforming the Website

We're well under way for the complete overhaul of the Book Now website. First major task is to separate the booking engine from the site - this is being done by webdevelopers BCom, and Booking Engine Online.com will be the new vehicle for the booking engine and is expected to be up and running in a few weeks.

 

Then the Book Now site itself is changing name and will be known as SA Info Now, a business and accomodation directory, interacting with Booking Engine Online to accept bookings. So watch this space guys.. exciting developments ahead.

Bafana Bafana take on Mexico

One would be mistaken in thinking our SA National Football team, Bafana Bafana, were not the world favourites to win today as they take on Mexico in the opening game of the World Cup.

I have never seen so many yellow shirts in South Africa on one day... everyone - uniting the nation - are showing their colours for Bafana Bafana and South African flags are everywhere.

Fridays have been the days South Africans and schoolchildren have been allowed to show their support by wearing a Bafana shirt to school or work. In the photos from top to bottom are images painted on a garden wall just up the road from my Guesthouse showing Bafana Bafana in action, a handwritten message in wet concrete, my office staff gearing up for the opening game today, and a self-pic of myself in my car on the way to work. GO BAFANA GO!

New King Shaka Airport opens 1 May 2010

Wow, what an exciting weekend for Durban!! We made international aviation history as the only airport to have completed re-located to a brand new airport 35kms north of the city. Both airports were up and running simultaneously, with staff at both ends having to oversee the big switchover.

We were there on Friday 30th April to see the last plane land at the Durban International Airport - open since 1955 and closed for the last time at 10pm.

Then this morning, Sat 1 May heralded the opening of the brand new 3x larger King Shaka International airport designed to cater for the huge A380 Airbus and the droves of international tourists who are discovering the gem of Durban on the sunny east coast of South Africa.

In the photos from top, how the morning paper covered the planeload of dignitaries who were first to land at the new airport. then the pics of the awesome new airport I took today, and in the smaller pics Dave (that's me) hamming it up at the deserted check-in counters and baggage belt at the closing airport after the last flight had departed on Friday night.

And you can book your 2010 World Cup accommodation online with Book Now.biz here.

Founder Dave in Birthday spirit

It seems the year has flashed by again and it is Dave's Birthday again.

Most of the day was spent supervising the Guesthouse building alterations Dave co-owns and then a nice home cooked roast with mom, Llewellyn and the kids.

Do you have a reservation?

Welcoming new restaurants to the Book Now family are from top Matt Penney, BookNow.biz marketing guru with the new menu stickers advertising the online booking facility, Don of So Sushi with the Director of BookNow.biz, Dave Mc Naught, at the online handover ceremony today, pics of So Sushi restaurant, and Matt Penney applying the new frosted window decals at Piatto Mediterranean restaurant in the Hillcrest, Durban Highway area. Welcome to the family all!!

Handover...

Restaurants online for the first time are pictured in the handover ceremony today - from top: Kelly of Piatto Hillcrest with BookNow.biz marketing man Matt Penney, Raynor of Olive and Oil with Matt Penney, Olive and Oil restaurant pics, and Brad of Bangkok Wok Hillcrest with Matt Penney.

New frosted window decals

The first of the new frosted Booking Online window decals is being applied by Dave Mc Naught at the Attorney's offices in Amanzimtoti. These window decals are suitable for businesses with glass doors or windows giving a professional image and conveying the online booking information for clients.

Rolling Out the Restaurants

Marketing man Matt Penney has been rolling out the restaurants in the KZN Highway area linking up to the Book Now online Booking Engine. In the photo are the new in-store posters for Olive and Oil, Jimmy's Killer Prawns, So Sushi, Piatto, Harvey Wallbangerz, and Butcher Block Pinetown and Bluff as well as Spec-Savers Umhlanga, Bluff and La Lucia - the first in our health care professional groups.

Free link up - two great options to get Bookings

There are now two options to get the Book Now module up and running for your business.

The first is FREE setup and NO annual premiums, and a commission charge of 9,5% of the value of the booking received off our site.

The second option is our highly successful small annual setup/subscription service at R350 per annum (Premium listing) or R525 per annum (Premium Plus listing) with a 9,5% or 11,5% booking charge for bookings received.

The Premium and Premium Plus listings appear above the free annual subscription listings.

And if you are likely to get many bookings, or rates drop on a sliding scale to as little as R3,50 per booking!! This is highly competitive and unique in the market place.

50% growth in one month!!

The month of October recorded a phenomenal 50% growth over September's users of the Book Now website, ending with 5300 recorded unique visits by the end of the day and over 110 000 hits on the site. This is amazing results for the few weeks that Book Now has been in existence.

With the website fully functional we are taking on Book Now advertisers on a daily basis all wanting to make sure their services and products are bookable at a click by the thousands of inernet users looking for immediate results and answers to their booking queries. You can upgrade your account to the Booking Module by clicking on the radio button under your business details page. If you are not already an advertiser, click on the Registration button now.

Getting Book Now door-to-door

In addition to our internet advertising, here's Book Now going out door-to-door. We also have a street bin campaign out at the moment - all helping to get us out in the market-place.

We're up in the night lights

Our new Durban Billboard is up and running at the major intersection of Argyle and Umgeni Roads!!! Wow!! We look good in the night lights. Have you Booked? And if your business is not yet listed... go for it now - register here.

Book Now Marketing Manager, Matt Penney, with our Durban billboard by day.

Some Google stats : The number of people who searched in South Africa in the last 4 months for which our Book Now advert appeared-

46 030 guests searched on Google for a hotel, B&B or Guesthouse
21 618 patients searched for a doctor, dentist or optometrist
22 472 patrons searched for a restaurant
11 199 clients searched for an attorney
2 824 clients searched for a hairdresser or hairstylist
6 357 householders searched for a plumber or an electrician
41 245 buyers searched for real estate or property in the last 2 months
40 687 customers searched for a home improvement in the last 3 months
42 039 people searched for an SA business or Business Directory online in the last 4 months

More views of the Durban billboard by day

The interesection of Argyle and Umgeni Roads in Durban sees all of the traffic from Berea, Morningside, Musgrave, Overport and Florida heading towards the city, the beaches or the M4 north to Umhlanga pass by.

Make a Test Booking

If you would like to make a test booking, you can.

We have set up a dummy Guesthouse - Zulu Lodge - which you can find on a search of our website or by clicking on this link : http://booknow.biz/display.php?id=23341

Make a booking and fill in your details - it won't cost you but you will be able to see what is on offer to the public and the process involved in them making a booking - you will also receive an email and an sms confirming your "booking".

Booking module complete

Sjoe, it has been some time coming, but the boyz at Beyond Commerce, our web-developers, have just completed the Booking Module. There are still a few glitches, but it is awesome to see the project coming together and now being able to make a live booking on the internet.

With the launch of the Booking Module, our Billboard advertising is due to be launched too and October will see our huge billboard at the bottom of Argyle Road in Durban up and visible to all of Morningside and Berea drivers. Wow!!

Mad Matt

Here's Mad Matt, the marketing manager for Book Now and SAInfoNow and in the second photo Matt and Rob the new programmer and developer of the two websites, from the company Beyond Commerce, busy on the much-awaited booking module which is due to be released shortly.

SAInfoNow gets off the ground

Thanks to Mike, Rob, Matt and the team at Beyond Commerce, our freelance web developers, the sister site to BookNow.biz being SAInfoNow.com is about ready to launch.

The idea is that both Book Now! and SAInfoNow will be competing SA business Online Directories. Both will have links to advertisers who accept bookings online through the site. Ultimately, SAInfoNow will be a comprehensive business directory for South African businesses, whereas Book Now! will be a site purely of businesses who do accept online bookings - restauants, guesthouses, doctors, optometrists, plumbers etc.

The data base of each website is presently linked so that anyone who registers on the Book Now! site will automatically be listed on the SAInfoNow site. In this way businesses who do want to take advantage of the huge surge in business that is being done online, will be able FREE of charge * though our sites to have their company represented online. * unless a Premium listing is selected which places them ahead of the free listings at a nominal rate of R350 per annum, plus VAT. Wow!! Incredible value.

Here's the law-less Bots!!

The Law-ford family have teamed up with law-yer Dave Mc Naught to put the finishing touches to the Book Now! website as well as create the SAInfoNow site that has just been launched.

Mike Lawford is head of the company

Beyond Commerce and brother Rob Lawford is creator of the bots - SAInfo Bot (right) and Search Bot (left) which can be seen on the new site and pictured here.

Book Now! at East Coast House & Garden Show

The Book Now! advertising campaign is rolling out and will be in evidence at the East Coast Radio House and Garden Show next week. The aim is to ensure the quality of business listings on the Book Now! website so that each search returns useful information.

Already our google ads have been displayed over 120 000 times in the first month and these figures are spiralling.

Meet the Programmer

Here's Shvek Singh - Book Now's web programmer. Shvek is busy putting the finishing touches to the Book Now booking module which is due to go live within days. We were anxious to go live and get our listings up and running with the booking module to follow and this is thankfully imminent. Well done Shvek on an outstanding job so far.

Book Now biz buzzing

Meet Matt Penney, Marketing guru for Book Now! who has been handling the Durban Highway area meeting biznesses and helping get the online directory flying since it's launch 2 weeks ago.