Hoteliers - consider this carefully

1. Hitting the opponent under the belt is a foul!

2. Spreading lies to win the duel is disrespectful in a fair competition!

3. Considering the tactics was adopted by a French MNC representative dealing with Internet

Booking Engine (IBE) is even a bigger disgrace!

Do they really need to do this?

Well the fact that they failed to deliver the numbers and service given that they were given the “handicap” of making an early start in the market way before other competitors set foot and failed to make an impression reflects on the company.

The fact that their reservation screens have changed much to ape the better IBE provider tells much about the company claimed to be leaders in this field. A leader sets a benchmark for the industry to follow and achieve but not copycats.

Now that they are coming back strongly after losing ground, it does provide a healthy competition as well as a wake-up call to all other competitors. However, the manner the attempt to regain their position in the market is left much to be desired!

If hotels were to be “bought” by their “pathetic” stories, it would be only be after 2 years that the hotels could escape from their sorry state and making lost grounds on the web is no easy task. A termination before the 2 year period ends could cause the hotel USD6K.

Is 5% commission the only thing?

It’s a wonder hoteliers are good in managing the hotel operations but lagging in terms of technology allowing a 5% service fee to conclude as to which service is better without really understanding the needs and hidden cost associated with improving the official hotel website (OHW) ranking. If 5% can make the OHW visible in the ranking then I would advise all fellow hoteliers to go with this company!

Well the fact that they failed to deliver the numbers and service given that they were given the “handicap” of making an early start in the market way before other competitors set foot and failed to make an impression reflects on the company.

Please read in between the lines and don’t get caught by the 5% and contract period!

Inconsistency in charging a hotel

It’s rather interesting that the charges of commission/service fee as well as set-up fee had been inconsistent among the hotel partners for this French IBE provider which raises questions for hoteliers like me whether there are preferential treatment for some hotels.

Conflict of interest!

Having an IBE on hotel website and at the same time having a reservation portal is truly of competitive nature between the two entity and how can they claim to perform Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the OHW when simple business sense would tell that their real interest lies in fetching a higher 10-15% service fee from the portal instead of a meager 5% from IBE transaction on OHW.

Using the right technology tools in the present market is important

A simple search on any search engines would return a double digit search returns of reservation portals carrying same hotels. Bookers are spoilt with choices and it’s a lottery attempt at generating reservations by the hotels with portals instead of branding themselves through their OHW.

Leveraging and adopting the right technology tools is the keyword in growing an online business with pay-per-click being a fantastic tool in providing the visibility as well constant presence on the return page. Its effectiveness is reflected by the growth over the years as shown in the diagram below.

What makes the French IBE provider so such of success for hotels? A large database of hotels signed-up does not equate to a high conversion of reservation revenue for hoteliers!

Direct marketing with higher yield and control over room inventory

With many bookers preferring (and still growing) to book directly with hotels, hotels prefer still to look into Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and GDS to boost their occupancy. The cost associated with securing bookings from these channels are extremely high compared to generating from OHW but yet the hotels prefer the lower yield over the potential of building a direct marketing channel on a long term basis.

GDS is no different than OTA and rates paid to these agents are equally high with an avenue for the hotels to tap on international corporate clients. Wouldn’t it be better for the hotels to be able to provide corporate clients access to make bookings online as well which effectively overcome the GDS issue?

Where is the guest loyalty, with the hotels or the various OTAs?

Can the portal promote a specific hotel and neglect the other competing hotels?

The answer is NO! Every promotion or marketing push comes with a price and how can the portal promises promoting the hotel with SEO on portal? The portal have to maintain fair competition to all partner hotels which raises the question as to what’s in store for the hotel with regards to long term plans given that the hotel would survive the management team beyond the foreseeable future.

Does the IBE really need to “speak” the many languages?

Any traveler today would be traveling at risk without a credit card and unleashing the credit card or travelers cheque in times of need. Similarly, travelers today can speak or the least smattering English.

I have even seen foreigners speaking in the local language with glee and ease. Many French, Japanese and Chinese still prefer to stick to their mother tongue on travels but the numbers are dwindling as the “world language” i.e. English, is the accepted medium of communication for business worldwide where approximately 375 million people adopt it as the first language.

Simple reservation/booking screens versus crowded unattractive screen

Almost every click opens a new Window and the question is, how many windows does the booker needs to view to make a reservation? This is a case of wanting to provide as much reservation information which backfire and complicate the reservation process.

If the bookers task are not made easy, how sure the bookers will not “revolt” or move to another booking engine or hotel? When the human factor is not taken into account, disaster awaits the hotel adopting a complicated IBE.

Added administrative month-end task

Hotels will always look to an IBE provider with simplified month end processes. If the month-end task requires reconciliation, raising of billing and/or cheque, it’s a definite NO as the Accounting department could dedicate their time on other pressing needs.