Another service that will help an elderly’s everyday life is online bookings. Teaching the elderly to make reservations in hotels, public transportations and venues is very helpful, since the majority of them at this stage of life focus on related activities such as tourism, cultural events etc.
Such as with e-banking and e-shopping, service providers related to booking also have their own separate platforms, but the services they offer and the terms they use are very similar.
Before you start the learning process, it is advisable to collect additional information from the internet that may be useful to you regarding both purchases and consumer rights. During the learning process, try to choose electronic platforms from large online booking channels that have a simple and user-friendly environment. Also, recommend to the elderly some web-tools to help them trace online booking channels of their interest.
The most important things the learners should learn in this section are:
- Identify the most reliable online booking channels
- Opening an account at an online booking channels
- What reservation options are available and what should they pay attention to
- How they can pay
- What are the consumer’s basic rights in online shopping; for this part you can use these guides from the EU Justice and Consumers website.
Exercise 5.4: e-booking
Duration: 1 H 30’ (60’ explanatory session + 30’ practical session)
Aims: Not to fear the use of e-booking services, distinguish the safe online booking platforms and make trainees learn to make reservations in hotels, public transportations and venues is very helpful
Contents:
- Intro: E-shopping concept and most popular e-booking platforms (passenger transport, hospitality, etc.)
- Aspects to consider before buying: reliability, payment and cancellation options, etc.
- Other tips: Log Out, privacy, confidentiality, etc.
Activity 5.4:1 DIY Holiday booking
- Purpose of the exercise: Practical approach to organize holidays by themselves, by having into consideration schedules, transportation and accommodation possibilities, destinations and other aspects.
- Duration in minutes: 60 minutes
- Group size: Small group (4-6 persons)
- Instructions for the trainer:
- Propose a model holiday trip.
- Briefly explaining the different booking platforms at the beginning of the session.
- Review sources of information (e.g. Trip Advisor or similar).
- Planning the extra – activities.
- Compare the different options during the booking process.
- Organise and book the different stages of the booking process.
- Equipment: Smartphone and /or Computer, slide projector / videoconference system
- Tips and tricks for the trainer:-
- Focusing on a typical holiday package (possibilities of transportation, attendance to cultural events, meals, leisure activities…).
- Using the most popular booking platforms so that senior students can easily engage with the activity.
