The Week, That Was – January 2018- Week 1

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry partnerships, perspectives, and some general updates. Read on!!

Agoda certifies eRevMax as their Innovative Supplier delivering best-in-class connectivity solutions to hotels

Certification received for producing outstanding business exceeding expectations.

https://goo.gl/3VZ6Sn

TripAdvisor to roll out Sponsored Positions for hotels

TripAdvisor has rolled  their Sponsored Placements program which allows any hotel to bid to be at the top of the listings for any given destination. Previously, users could view the results by ranking, best value, lowest price, or distance, but if a hotel didn’t have the rankings to appear at the top of any of those criteria, they were all but invisible to the TripAdvisor customer.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/TripAdvisorInsights/n2796/drive-traffic-tripadvisor-sponsored-placements-accommodations

Google now lets travelers message hotels

Sending a “Message” is the newest call-to-action in Google’s My Business listing on mobile. Not only is this a free opportunity for hotels to connect with potential guests, but it is a more important new and direct channel for conversion from Google.

http://www.trustyou.com/blog/industry-news/google-listings-now-feature-messaging

2018’s top priorities for limited service hotels

It’s a well-known fact that today’s travelers are tech savvy, cost conscious, and come with high expectations compared to previous generations. In a rapidly changing industry that is increasingly focused on personalization, hoteliers are looking to stand out. Where there was once a very clear distinction between limited service and full service hotels, today we see the lines starting to blur. Many limited service hotels are offering more amenities, outlets and conveniences at a budget-friendly price point to satisfy today’s travelers.

https://www.tnooz.com/article/download-2018s-top-priorities-for-limited-service-hotels/

A revenue management perspective on 2017 and the coming year

Revenue management businesses are on the front line of many issues facing hoteliers today. As the hotel industry becomes subsumed into the wider “accommodation” industry, the demands on revenue management specialists widen accordingly. Here’s a perspective on 2017 and some thoughts on 2018 from Klaus Kohlmayr, chief evangelist for IDeaS Revenue Solutions.

https://www.tnooz.com/article/a-revenue-management-perspective-on-2017-and-the-coming-year/

Fornova Highlights Three Trends in Hotel Distribution to Watch

Fornova closed 2017 with year-over-year revenue growth in excess of 50%, and it raised a Series B financing to spur expansion in the year ahead, according to the company.

https://www.hotelbusiness.com/fornova-highlights-three-trends-in-hotel-distribution-to-watch/

Connect with us for your connectivity needs in this new year to make the most of online revenue. https://goo.gl/3gKUJZ

Thanks and have a good day!

eRevMax wins Mixed Doubles Category in Eco Park Corporate Golf Championship

The city’s newest golf destination at Eco Park witnessed more than 200 amateurs from 150 corporates houses and a number of professional golfers on Saturday, 25th November. Be it beginners or professionals, schools students or senior private company executives or retired personnels, everyone made a day out of playing at the 12-bay golf driving range inaugurated by NKDA in June this year.

The event was the Eco Park Corporate Golf Championship and leading corporates including the likes of Cognizant, TCS, IBM, Tata Steel, Yes Bank, Mahindra, IXIA, Infinity, SREI, Accenture, HSBC, SIDDHA, Atos, ONGC, Deloitte, Web Spiders, Tractors India, Godrej, Mjunction and Capgemini participated. eRevMax was represented by a 4-member team of Udai Singh Solanki, Anupama DasGupta, Rajib Roy and Neha Ginoria.
Mayukh Ray, Hotel General Manager, Ganga Kutir, Bengal Ambuja and Nikita Biswas of Tollygunge Club won the Men’s and Women’s Singles category with a mammoth drive of  296 yards and 207 yards respectively. The pair of Rajib Roy and Anupama DasGupta representing eRevMax won the Mixed Doubles category, with a combined drive of 232 yards, while the Veterans(above 50) category was won by the former IG of the Coast Guard, KS Sheoran with a 244 yard drive. It was a very positive ambience and good competitive spirit among all participants.
Among key dignitaries present were Mr. Debasis Sen, Chairman, HIDCO. Speaking on behalf of the tournament hosts, Mr. Sen said, “The state government is committed to make the city and New Town in particular, the most business friendly destination in the country. The Eco Park Golf Arena, with future plans of making it the regions best Golfing resort, is a step in that direction. We thank all the tournament sponsors and participants for making this tournament such a resounding success and hope to hold more such initiatives throughout the year.”

The Week That Was – November 2017 – Week 4

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry partnerships, market performance and some general updates. Read on!!

Booking.com’s Genius rates land on metasearch

With barely any opposition from hotels, Booking.com is taking big steps to continue growing and capturing sales for your hotel which are currently coming in through other channels, including your own website.
https://www.mirai.com/blog/booking-genius-rates-published-on-metasearch-engines-what-next/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=genius_metasearch

Google Hotels Revamps Mobile Features as Its Ambitions Expand

Google has been rolling out changes to its hotel search on mobile and desktop platforms as part of a broader, year-long realignment of its travel strategy. Google wants consumers to buy more travel on it. That may prompt industry players to closely patrol the gray line between the search giant referring more customers to them and Google becoming customers’ first choice for booking trips.
https://skift.com/2017/11/29/google-hotels-revamps-mobile-features-as-its-ambitions-expand/

The hidden factors affecting your hotel forecast

Forecasting has been synonymous with hotel revenue management since its inception. From operational forecasts to demand forecasts, different hotel teams use and share these business projections to help establish ideal rates, allocate appropriate staff, and support property maintenance and operations.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/the-hidden-factors-affecting-your-hotel-forecast/

Hotel Yearbook: Saving the environment, one ‘thing’at a time: The Internet of Things and sustainable hospitality

The Hotel Yearbook is a family of publications that call upon a wide-ranging group of senior executives, analysts, consultants and opinion leaders from all over the world to ask, “What lies ahead for the global hotel industry?”
https://www.hospitalitynet.org/opinion/4085431.html

f you are looking to increase online visibility and booking revenue, please contact us for a free demo – write to marketing@erevmax.com and we can discuss how we can help expand your online connectivity.

The Week That Was – November 2017 – Week 3

In five minutes or less, keep track of the most important news of the week, curated just for you. We present to you hand – picked news on latest industry partnerships, market performance and some general updates. Read on!!

Expedia Axes Its Price-Matching Guarantee in a Sharp Break From the Past

For years, Expedia.com, the flagship brand of online booking conglomerate Expedia Inc., joined the industry wide practice of claiming that consumers would always get the best prices for travel on its websites and apps. But on October 18, Expedia-branded websites worldwide dropped that long-standing offer.
https://skift.com/2017/10/24/expedia-axes-its-price-matching-guarantee-in-a-sharp-break-from-the-past/


How Booking.com taps AI for hotel bookings

Booking.com’s CEO Gillian Tans shares some insights on how the company meets the personalization trend in online commerce with its hotel booking assistance technology.
http://hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/how_booking_taps_ai_for_hotel_bookings
 
METASEARCH IN 2018: 10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

A new Koddi survey gathered opinions from across the industry, collaborating with digital marketers at online travel agencies, digital marketing agencies, hotel suppliers, tech brands and others. The respondents represent many of the largest global brands in the industry, with 65% managing metasearch campaigns for 500 or more hotel properties, with key regional focuses in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
https://www.koddi.com/metasearch-in-2018-infographic/


OTA big guns on what the future holds for their businesses

Priceline’s Glenn Fogel and Expedia’s Mark Okerstrom each took a turn on the center stage at Phocuswright to discuss what the future holds for their businesses.
https://www.tnooz.com/article/ota-ceos-on-the-future-for-their-business

Impulse buying an untapped travel market with major potential for

Travel-related impulse buying is an untapped market with major potential for growth, per research revealed in a new Google blog post. More than 60% of U.S. travelers would consider an impulse trip based on a good hotel or flight deal, according to the study that Google conducted with Phocuswright.
https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/google-60-of-travelers-would-impulse-book-a-trip/510697/

HotelTonight partners with eRevMax to integrate RateTiger into its platform


HotelTonight, the leading mobile app for last-minute hotel bookings, today announced a new partnership with travel technology leader eRevMax, which assists hotels to maximise online revenue opportunities through real-time distribution, market intelligence and connectivity solutions.
Today’s new partnership gives the 9,000 hotels currently using eRevMax’s industry leading RateTiger channel manager the ability to seamlessly send inventory directly to HotelTonight as a new distribution channel. HotelTonight is focused on selling hotel inventory up until the last minute, generating revenue for hotels from rooms that otherwise might not be sold. For HotelTonight, this partnership gives its customers access to inventory from eRevMax hotel partners globally, including large hotel chains, mid-market segment and boutique hotels.
We are excited to connect our customers to RateTiger’s outstanding hotels while offering them a powerful new distribution channel — one that has an engaged consumer audience looking for great hotels, right up until the last minute,” said Amir Segall, HotelTonight VP of International. “HotelTonight wants to help all partner hotels reach maximum occupancy on any given night.”
Ashis Saha, SVP, Project Management at eRevMax comments, “We’re thrilled to connect to the industry’s leading last-minute booking app, providing our partner hotels a seamless way to move last-minute inventory. The key to success here is our ability to deliver reservations immediately so the hotel front desk has the booking details ready when the guest checks in, which could be any time
after they book a room via the HotelTonight app.”
As the entire travel space moves increasingly mobile and last minute – more than two-thirds of U.S. domestic hotel bookings and half of E.U. hotel bookings are within one week of arrival.*
HotelTonight has established itself as the leading last-minute booking app. With an average of one-third of hotel rooms unoccupied on any given day, HotelTonight enables its hotel partners to move last minute inventory while bringing incremental revenue and a new audience: 76% of HotelTonight users are first-time customers of the hotel.

Hotelaria Brasil recommends RateTiger ahead of WTM Latin America 2017

Hotel connectivity expert eRevMax has consistently been recommended by its hotel clients globally. Hotelaria Brasil has been using RateTigersolutions across all its 14 properties for the past few years. The team has immensely benefited in their overall implementation of pricing and revenue strategies. 

Raffaela Gambarini, Revenue Management Coordinator at Hotelaria Brasil said “RateTiger comes to meet our Revenue Management strategy facilitating the daily tasks of a hotel Ecommerce department. We are very satisfied with all the features of RateTiger platform that allow us to save time and increase revenue results.” 
Alex Moura, Regional Sales Director at eRevMax commented, “We believe in long term partnership with our clients and treat them as business advisors. Over time, we have developed various new features within our Shopper and Channel Manager products providing more options and a wider network. We are glad to see how Hotelaria Brasil has leveraged RateTiger in achieving their revenue goals through effective pricing decisions.”
“We are excited to be presenting LIVE OS at WTM Latin America in Sao Paulo next week. LIVE OS is the first hospitality operating system that offers hoteliers with relevant business intelligence components along with access to various service providers from a single sign-on platform. We will be showcasing this fantastic platform to hoteliers and partners during the event,” concluded Alex. 
eRevMax is known for its stable solutions with 99% product uptime. The company has invested in building a robust infrastructure to provide hoteliers with uninterrupted service offering 2-way XML connectivity with over 300 online channels and provides 24×7 customer support. It is the connectivity partner of choice for large hotel groups, mid-scale chains as well as small properties in both luxury and budget segment worldwide. 
Alex Moura and Julian Lindt from eRevMax will be present at WTM Latin America in Sao Paulo from 4 – 6 April 2017. Book a meeting with them today on marketing@erevmax.com

Five Things for Hotel Revenue Managers’ Checklist in 2017

2017 is going to be the year when online finally overtakes offline in Europe. We all have been listening to online becoming big, and getting bigger but the reality was that offline travel bookings continued to get the lions share. All that is set for change though, as digital travel penetration in the continent finally crosses the halfway mark to reach close to 52% of all bookings by end of 2017, per PhoCusWright. With North America, also closing in to the tipping point, and Asia Pacific catching up faster than the average with 23% growth in digital sales, its time for hotels to take corrective actions.
In this article, we share what we think hotels need to capitalize on for stronger performance in the coming months.
1.       Do warm up to Demand Analytics

Rate intelligence for years have focussed on shopping rates for competitor set selected by the hotel. While monitoring rate of local competitors is vital, focussing on a small subset of the overall market, hotels often overlook the larger picture, missing out the demand data on most productive sources of business in their market. Advanced demand analytics solutions, like Demand Central, helps hotels measure their performance relative to their market performance from vital sources, like channels and regions and suggest situation-specific and channel-specific actions and alerts to increase business.
2.       Do make friends with OTAs
For long, hotels and OTAs have been in a tumultuous frenemy relationship. For hotels, OTAs were a disruption which they had to accept, however reluctantly. With the newest disruption looming over hotel industry in the form of Airbnb, hotels need more than ever to improve their presence in OTAs. With more people preferring experience over everything when it comes to travel, and Airbnb slowly consolidating its presence even on the luxury market, no hotel is in safe zone now. OTAs with their reach and marketing power can help hotels to increase exposure and improve online business.

In 2017, about 52% online hotel bookings in USA and 71%% of all online bookings for independent European hotels will be made on OTAs. Most often they are the first point of call for potential guests. Studies suggest, OTAs spend an average of USD 300 per hotel on promotions and marketing. For hotels to compete with OTAs on their own in digital marketing, the cost can go up to USD 7,000 to USD 10,000.  The trade-off between OTA commissions and direct customer acquisition cost remains a paradox for many hotels. While larger brands with a substantial marketing budget can compete with OTAs on visibility and presence, independent properties have to depend on OTAs for brand awareness, given their budget constraint.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which will be posted in next week.

The Changing Dynamics of Serviced Apartment Segment in Asia Pacific

First things first! Let’s have a quick look at some statistics from the 5th Global Serviced Apartment Industry Report 2015 – 2016 which shows 14% growth in serviced apartment supply chain globally, exponential corporate, relocation and online demand and increasing investor interest in the sector.
·         748,437 serviced apartments worldwide operating in 9,875 locations
·         Inventory up 14% year-on-year and 80.1% since 2008
·         Apartment usage for assignment/project work growing in 72.73% of companies
·         Distribution widening – 75% of operators now receive bookings from OTAs
 
Asia Pacific contributes to these global figures in its own way. With strong economic growth in China, India and South-east Asia, improved infrastructure, high use of smartphones and increasing internet penetration, business and leisure travel has seen a huge growth. As business opportunities have increased rapidly in last couple of years, demand for serviced apartments have also doubled. One may ask why? While hotels provide comfortable rooms and good service, the benefits of serviced apartments include the comfort of more space, privacy, option to cook, flexibility, cost of stay as well as the overall environment which is more like a ‘home away from home’.
Outlook for 2016
 
The business travel market in Asia is growing at a fast pace. According to Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), Asia Pacific gets the largest share of the business travel spend followed by North America and Western Europe. This business travel boom, combined with Asia being a hub of skilled human resource and rapid economic growth is driving demand for serviced apartments across the region. With over 20% on-site assignments now lasting less than 12 months, serviced apartments have emerged as the preferred model due to value and flexibility. Global economic recession notwithstanding, demand for serviced apartments in South East Asia grew by over 25% over the past decade. Global players have taken note of that, and today Oakwood, BridgeSteet and Ascott are growing at the fastest pace in this region.
With economic slowdown in South Asia, the austerity measures will be advantageous for the sector as middle management business professionals, the primary target market, make arrangements for shorter assignments.
A changing landscape
 
A demographic change is happening across South East Asia – silently, but rapidly. The rising quality of living and increase in volume of foreign talent and tourists has created demand for quality serviced residences. Expats are coming back to their own countries and relocating from within Asia-Pacific. In China, for example, there is a strong demand for serviced apartments amongst the double income families with higher spending power.
With channels like Airbnb and HomeAway catering to demand specifically for serviced apartments, it shows the potential this segment holds. Various operators including BridgeStreet Global Hospitality Group are tapping Airbnb to widen their distribution network. Further, Ascott will have 2,000 units under its new Tujia Somerset brand of serviced residences in China by the end of this year. Tujia.com is China’s largest online apartment sharing platform equivalent to Airbnb and Tujia Somerset is a jointventure between Ascott and Tujia.
Industry experts believe that the serviced apartment industry in Asia is all set to grow in the coming months as the region continues to drive global growth with increased overseas assignments and projects.
Surge of tech-savvy travellers
 
 
Over half of the 3.4 billion internet users worldwide are from Asia-Pacific. This is due to the widespread adoption of smartphones in the region. An eMarketerreport shows that in 2015, total smartphone users in APAC was over 1 billion and by the end of 2019 it is expected to be nearly 1.5 billion or 51.5% of total mobile phone users. These new age travellers prefer to choose cost effective accommodation when they are travelling for business or study purposes and many of them prefer serviced apartments for long stays.
Shift from Offline to Online Bookings
 
Due to the positive economic growth and business prospects, countries like China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam and Thailand have become transit hubs leading to a surge in demand for serviced apartments. Research studies show that almost 80% of corporate bookings are made online and around 27% of these bookings are made directly on the brand.com through the in-built booking option.
Interestingly, a TIN report on Global Serviced Apartment shows that 68% of serviced apartment operators are not represented on online platforms and most of these are unaware of internet booking engine. With more focus on this segment, it is important for serviced apartment providers to be visible on online channels and provide direct booking options for improved business and revenues.

 

This sector is already witnessing growth and expansion and attracting more operators, thereby increasing competition. Existing providers need to adapt to customer requirements and cater to market needs to stay ahead in the game. They need to install correct technology solutions in order to expand their visibility and market share.
Ram Mohan Dubey is the Regional Sales Manager for APAC at eRevMax. Please contact us at marketing@erevmax.com for any enquiries.

Rio 2016: DOs and DON’Ts list for Brazil Hoteliers – Part I

In exactly 50 days from now, the Olympic Games will begin at the summer playground of Rio de Janeiro. However, unlike the soccer world cup two years ago, the mood seems to be far from upbeat. With the country in political turmoil, economy into severe recession along with global public health emergency due to Zika virus, the time does not look right for Brazil to host the Olympics party.

However, amidst the dark shadow casting over the country, there is something positive for the hospitality industry. The weakened currency has made travelling to Brazil a bargain for international visitors. According to data released by the Ministry of Tourism, spending by international visitors grew by 11.47 % in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year. Weakened Real has also forced Brazilians to focus more on domestic travel, boosting the country’s hospitality sector.
2016 organizers are expecting expect half a million visitors for the 2016 Olympic Games, which take place from August 5-21. The recent measure by the government to allow visa free entry for tourist from Australia, Canada, USA and Japan between June to September will also help the hoteliers to balance the shoulder periods before and after the games. 
Brazilian Hotel Association reports that occupancy level at five star hotels during the games in almost 98%. This is 200% increase from 2014, however, hotel rates, which saw 5 fold jump during the soccer world cup seems to have increased by 122%. However, it’s also a matter of simple economics of supply and demand: more fans attended the World Cup, and more hotel rooms are available now. The past two decades of economic boom, along with two mega sporting events, namely FIFA World Cup 2014 and Summer Olympics 2016 has resulted in a substantial investment in the lodging industry with more than 15,000 rooms being added to the inventories.
With hotel industry is moving towards dynamic pricing as hoteliers can now access online rate performance and see how they can change their prices more frequently to increase revenue, all thanks to the competitive benchmarking tools available in the marketplace, the question that requires more discussion though is how should a hotel respond to unusual events in town?
The dynamics of hotel pricing has always been a classic case of cat & mouse game – where the hoteliers have to balance the see-saw every minute on several factors. How do you balance the see-saw of high season vs. low season, an exorbitant rate vs. customer loyalty, price optimization vs. revenue optimization, inventories vs. competitive pricing?  Hotel pricing has always been a never ending roulette for an hotelier.
Experience from past events suggest there needs to be more strategy behind these rates to better align them with customer expectations as this will help build better relationships with potential customers. A classic case study how prices can fall dramatically after a major sports event is South Africa, which hosted the last FIFA World Cup in 2010. The country saw its average room rate tumble by 17%, with host cities Cape Town down by 20% and Johannesburg by 13% according to Hotel Price Index by Hotels.com. Even in the case of Brazil, while the Cup generated lot of attention, the tourist inflow remained flat.
Unlike Barcelona  or Salt Lake City, where the legacy effect of a mega event like Olympics have been positive, lack of competitive pricing or infrastructure has not helped Brazil tourism sector to perform up to the expectation. Will the devaluation of currency and improved infrastructure would finally change the scenario? Only time will tell, but here are a few Dos and Dont’s for the Brazilian hotel industry.
DO 1# Use rate date to optimize your pricing strategy:
Brazil Hotel industry has been struggling in recent years with occupancy falling to 56.7% in 2015 according to STR. Hotels in Rio experienced a 26.7% drop in RevPAR in 2015. Making it more challenging is Airbnb, an official partner of the Olympics, which saw a sudden surge of listings in Rio. With 86% Brazilians intent to travel domestic, recession has helped Airbnb to grow manifold. The home-sharing company has over 25000 listings in Rio alone, making it Airbnb’s largest market after Paris, New York and London.

With the online travel industry still growing at over 13%, hotel industry needs to compete and grow their market by reaching out to the online buyers. Historical and current rate data will play a crucial role to identify the most profitable channels and customize strategies according to market dynamics.
By all means, utilize the high demand to raise profitability, but give attention to the shoulder seasons either side of this mega event as they are expected to be leaner periods than in normal times. Analyze current occupancy, bookings and revenue against data to make the rate level decisions to secure additional reservations. Use Rate Shopping reports to see rates, room categories, and restrictions that provide the details.  Review price analytics to develop a strategy for a lean season and identify the correct channels to promote that plan.
DO 2# Create a balanced distribution mix with regional and global sales channels:
With business travel down due to economic turmoil, leisure travel is going to be the saviour for the hotel industry. About 6.3 million foreigners visited Brazil in 2015, more than half of them from South America, with Argentina alone accounting for one third of all visitors.
With 3 out of 3 online bookings being made in OTA, it’s important for hotels to revisit their distribution mix. While wooing the international traveller is perfectly alright, don’t ignore the all-powerful domestic travellers. It’s vital to add a balanced mix of global and regional channels in your distribution portfolio. Adapt a more flexible sales strategy. Each customer is different, and cannot be handled with a uniform approach. That does not mean throwing strategies & positioning out of the window, but customize them according to market dynamics. Plan for each target segment. Hotels who have applied a more dynamic and flexible approach are the ones that are the most successful.
DO 3# Power your hotel systems with right technology:
Hoteliers in Brazil need to understand the need for multiple technologies to handle third party sales due to the limitations available in existing systems. By utilizing technologies for rate calculations, rate shopping, updating rates and inventory, they can react to market dynamics in real-time. Channel managers are required to efficiently and accurately manage the OTAs. This will allow the revenue management team to focus more on strategy.
DO 4# Integrate mobile channel in your marketing strategy:
Brazil leads the mobile revolution in South America, both by its sheer size and penetration. With bookings from mobile accounting from 23% of total online bookings, this is one channel which no hotels can afford to ignore anymore. OTA with their superior technology prowess is quite ahead, but hotels now need to develop a mobile strategy for promotions and outreach.

Evaluate carefully and create a customized campaign for mobile users. Remember, most global OTAs have a mobile application or mobile optimized website. Not having a mobile presence would mean losing traffic to your brand.com site, thereby losing the chance to get more direct bookings at better margins.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which will be posted in next week.
Image Credit: CC

 Alex Moura is the Regional Sales Director Latin America and Portugal at eRevMax. He can be reached at alexm@erevmax.com

5 travel sites UK Hotels Can’t Miss – Part II

In the first part of article (see here) we mentioned two top performing online travel sites in UK. In this part we’ve discussed three other channels that come in top five lists and shaping the travel industry in UK.

Skyscanner

Primarily a flight comparison site, Skyscanner has forayed into hotel industry recently, but already making significant moves. The site has been one of the top travel search sites in Europe with 35 million unique visitors, and now with separate mobile app for flight, hotel and car hire the travel major is in a unique position offering complete package to potential travellers. According to Deloitte, Skyscanner, the hotel and flight comparison site has grown by over 42% from last year, a transformational phase which saw non-flight booking contributing to 47% of its revenue.

TravelRepublic

TravelRepublic is one of the largest and most well-established online travel agents in Europe, with over 2 million holidaymakers booking annually through their websites in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Germany. The OTA major has access to approximately 300,000 hotels, apartments and villas and receives over 1,000,000 visitors a week making it one of the most sought after online travel channels in UK.                                                                                                                                      
Start-up Pitch

NuStay

Some of you are already aware about NuStay. It is a travel start-up launched in July 2015 with investors from London, Copenhagen, Oslo and Dubai aimed to provide travelers better booking rates and at the same time offering the hotels a way to submit unique offers to each individual guest, either manually or automatically, at a discounted rate. A PhoCusWright report shows that, 70% travellers prefers their suitable rooms at a discounted price and they wait for the right moment to book that accommodation. Accommodation providers consider luxury travel is their major source of revenue – around 77% accommodation providers sell luxury trips, making luxury travel one of the top revenue generating segment in online travel. This trend is the USP of NuStay- the company provides luxury rooms in budgeted price with its unique algorithm that finds best matched luxury hotels for their consumers. An interesting thing about this company is they negotiate discounted rates for its guests with their hotel partners which no other company has done yet.

NuStay Banner

You might have a team of revenue managers continuously updating your inventory on major online travel channels you are connected to but if you don’t keep an eye on these channels then for sure a large number of your rooms will remain vacant for the day- losing handsome revenue. As a major share of all hotel bookings are shifting from desktop to mobile this new types of channels are becoming a key distribution medium for your hotel distribution. Make sure your revenue managers are taking right decision and promotional tactics which is compatible to fulfil increasing demand of your potential guests.

Image Credit: NuStay