AlicanteTransfers.com

Based on the eastern coast of Spain, Benidorm Holidays ltd is a family owned business that offers a wide range of services along the Mediterranean coastline. One of the services on offer is AlicanteTransfers.com, a subsidiary company that prides itself on being innovators in visitor transportation.

Due to the time sensitive nature of travelling, it is important for Alicante Transfers to communicate quickly and directly with their passengers in order to manage expectations. Dave McQueen, CEO at Alicante Transfers, decided that the best way to do this was to use SMS. “We recognised that the most reliable way of getting messages to our customers was through SMS, as text messages are seldom left unread,” says McQueen.

Alicante integrated the SMS API into their online reservation platform towards the end of 2017 to streamline the booking process. They set it up so that when a customer books their transfer, a confirmation SMS is sent automatically from the online platform to the customer’s mobile phone. This SMS includes the customer’s name, their booking information and the price they have paid for the transfer. The platform automatically schedules a reminder SMS to go out four hours prior to collection.

“The use of the SMS API has made it possible to stop all the calls to the Customer Service team which has saved the company up to 40 working hours a week! The use of the BulkSMS API was so successful that we decided to integrate it into our jobs portal site as well,” says McQueen.

He goes on to say that with over 50 job applications received every week, the process of sifting through the paperwork was incredibly time consuming. To make the process easier, job seekers are asked a series of questions via SMS when they start their application. If they fail to answer the questions correctly, their application is deemed unsuccessful and not forwarded to the recruitment team.

​”Our use of the BulkSMS API is still in its early stages but the benefits so far have been amazing! Not only have we cut down on admin intensive duties when handling bookings but the inclusion of SMS in our recruitment process has ensured that only qualified applicants are put forward to interview,” says McQueen.

“It is great to see how the simple integration of our SMS API has improved the way Benidorm manages its booking and employment processes. It has enabled the company to streamline their communications and ultimately operate more efficiently,” says Dr Pieter Streicher, managing director of BulkSMS.com.