In the first article of this series, we explored the reasons why pet care businesses start looking for new software. Now, let’s take things a step further and dive into the features that can truly transform your business. We’re not talking about the basics here—these advanced features can help you increase revenue, streamline operations, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. In today’s competitive landscape, the right software shouldn’t just help you get by—it should enable your business to thrive and grow. So, let’s skip the fundamentals and jump into the game-changing tools that can take your business to the next level.
Online Booking
Since I launched one of the first booking engines for pet care, I’ve got a bit of a soapbox here. There’s a lot of confusion around what constitutes “online booking,” with some people mistaking a basic web form for a robust online booking engine.
So let’s break it down further. I like to separate online booking into two types: confirmation-based booking and request-based booking.
To illustrate the difference, think about booking a hotel for your vacation. Hotel One lets you see real-time availability, choose your room, and get immediate confirmation. Hotel Two makes you fill out a request form, then wait for someone to approve it. Which experience feels smoother and more modern? You’d probably go with Hotel One—this is what we call confirmation-based booking.
While this instant, real-time system is standard for hotels and e-commerce, many pet care facilities still rely on request-based booking. Why? It often comes down to wanting control over the process. But here’s the catch: this kind of booking creates friction. It’s not what people are used to, so it can confuse new customers and lead to lower conversion rates on your website—a hidden cost you might not even realize.
There’s another advantage to confirmation-based booking. Once you book with Hotel One, you’re done. Your plans are locked in, and you can relax. But with Hotel Two, you’re left waiting for approval, so you keep looking around at other options. This same scenario plays out in pet care. If a pet owner can book instantly, they feel confident and stop shopping around. But if they have to wait for confirmation, they might keep searching—or worse, find someone else to watch their pet.
Instant booking doesn’t just streamline the process—it stops customers from looking at other options. It locks in their decision when they’re ready to commit.
New Customer Workflows
A common concern with confirmation-based booking is the fear of losing control over who enters your facility. Some operators prefer to speak to every new customer, either in person or over the phone, before accepting a reservation. If this sounds like you, then confirmation-based booking might not be the right fit. That said, most customers today prefer a streamlined reservation process. If you’re anything like me, you probably send an email or text without thinking twice, reserving phone calls or in-person meetings for when you have no other option. When I switched to confirmation-based booking, I saw a 40% increase in customer growth, largely due to the reduced friction in the booking process.
Of course, some level of friction is necessary for specific needs like behavioral evaluations. For instance, at Goose, we build in rules that ensure new customers undergo these evaluations well before their reservation, helping to avoid potential issues.
Upsell Experience
Keeping the entire booking process online also opens the door for upselling. When I transitioned the Kennel at Arbor Lane to confirmation-based booking, I saw a 200% increase in upsells - a 30% increase in my average booking value. Why? Because people love to shop- but they hate being sold to. An online booking system allows customers to explore and opt into premium services at their own pace. Plus, your booking engine can handle the upselling for you, taking the pressure off your staff, who might otherwise miss these opportunities when they’re busy checking in or out customers. Let’s be honest - even if they weren’t busy, they might look for any reason to avoid the awkwardness of trying to pitch or upsell a customer.
Advanced Merchandising
Advanced merchandising is all about flexibility—how easily can you package your services, cross-sell, and introduce add-ons during the booking process? Ideally, your pet care software should automatically adjust availability and update your booking engine in real time. For example, if you sell a package that includes daycare, grooming, and a nature walk, each activity should be automatically added to your dashboard. This allows your staff to focus on delivering the services booked, rather than juggling multiple systems.
Advanced merchandising also includes the ability to apply add-ons at a pet or room level, which is especially useful when boarding multiple pets or offering services that apply once during a stay.
Revenue Management
The goal of revenue management is to sell the right service to the right customer at the right time, and for the right price. This involves adjusting prices based on demand and reserving inventory for high-value customers. A simple example is raising prices when occupancy hits a certain level. However, I believe a robust revenue management strategy goes beyond this.
For instance, you might set higher prices for the July 4th holiday based on the date rather than occupancy alone. Selling 80% of your inventory without price adjustments means missing out on potential revenue! I recommend using a combination of strategies to optimize your pricing. Look for software that helps automate these rules effectively. Some combination of some or all of these rules will get you the most from your inventory.
- Rate Adjustments - adjust your rates up or down based on date or occupancy (or both).
- Minimum Booking Values - reserves precious inventory for high value bookings and increases average order value.
- Offer Blackouts - remove your least expensive offerings in favor of more expensive packages during periods where you are likely to sell out.
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The world of revenue management requires much more exposition than I’m willing to go into here, but fortunately for you, I’ve written a whole book about it!
Marketing Analytics
If you’re spending money on advertising or investing in SEO, you should be able to track your ROI. Unfortunately, the ability to do this is still in its early stages in the pet care software world. At Goose, we’re working hard to solve this problem, and I hope other vendors are too.
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Integrations and API Access
Lastly, take stock of the tools you need your software to integrate with. Whether it’s accounting software, payment gateways, or marketing platforms, make sure your pet care software offers the necessary integrations or API access to meet your needs.
Conclusion
These advanced features—like online booking, upselling, and revenue management—are powerful tools that can help your pet care business stand out and grow. But in addition to these sophisticated capabilities, there’s foundational functionality that every software in this category should provide. In the next article, we’ll cover these essential, "table stakes" features that are expected from any pet care software. These basics ensure your system runs smoothly day-to-day, allowing you to fully leverage the advanced tools for long-term success.
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