Hotel distribution technology provider STAAH has announced new enhancements to its SwiftBook Booking Engine, aiming to simplify the hotel booking journey for users.

The updated Datepicker design now offers a “clutter-free” interface, removing the overload of information, promotional texts, rates, and restrictions that previously crowded the booking calendar.

This redesign is said to be particularly beneficial for mobile users, where screen space is at a premium.

By stripping away non-essential information and only marking sold-out dates with a simple "x", the new Datepicker design in SwiftBook Booking Engine now supports a wider range of booking behaviours.

This includes guests who are browsing for general availability rather than searching for specific rates.

Hotels can easily adopt the new Datepicker design through the BE Themes module in SwiftBook, selecting the updated interface from a dropdown menu.

Another enhancement in the booking engine is the introduction of a new visual indicator for sold-out dates.

Previously, dates without availability were labelled as "SOLD", leading to confusion among the platform users.

Numerous individuals construed the date as being entirely unavailable, encompassing departures as well.

The updated design replaces this with a clear "x", and partially shades dates that are unavailable for arrival but open for departures, lessening misinterpretation and improving the user experience.

By making the availability status more intuitive, SwiftBook's latest updates aim to reduce user frustration and prevent potential guests from abandoning the booking process.

These enhancements follow STAAH's alliance with hospitality management software platform Cloudbeds earlier in May, which seeks to provide hotel operators with tools to streamline channel management processes.