Recent Posts
- Thompson Gets Hacked
- Palomar Project On Hold
- Mobile Marketing: Luxor's Twitter Tease
- Marriott Establishes Victims Relief Fund
- Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year
- Links To Marriott Bombing News
- Sweet Tech And Sour Smells
- Twitter To Your Hotel's Advantage
- Twittering The Days Away
- Let's Talk Politics
Recent Comments
- Rishu on Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year
- Allknowing on Control4 The Hot Company At HITEC
- Fortuné & Senay Jaubert on Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year
- mike on Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year
- AALI GHUFRAN on Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year
Most Commented On
- Islamabad Marriott Owner Vows To Reopen This Year (18)
- Wi-Fi: Give It Away Now (13)
- Free Wi-Fi Is A Pandora's Box Already Open (11)
- Paying For Wi-Fi 'Makes Me Angry' (10)
- In Defense Of Free Wi-Fi (9)
Archives
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
Blog
Priceline Not Ceding Group Bookings
August 17, 2007
With hotel companies continuing to embrace online group booking technology—Priceline.com announced this week the launch of a group bookings microsite, FindGroupDeals.com. The site is essentially a glorified third-party version of the old request for proposal architecture, which smart hoteliers have already begun phasing out. Tech-savvy events planners, used to getting real-time room quotes instantaneously when planning personal travel, want to compare group prices and availability on the fly, not have to submit an RFP and then have to negotiate with a live person on the phone.
Still, this new Priceline site figures to be an irritant to group bookings powerhouse Passkey International, which has long been dominant in the RFPs-across-brands market. Priceline probably won’t steal a whole lot of business from corporate events planners, of course, but consumers looking to book one-time events—particularly those on a budget—may be attracted to the Priceline model, if only because of its reputation for offering below-market prices.
As far as hoteliers are concerned, though, the RFP construct ought to be a thing of the past. Hilton Hotels Corp.’s Guest List Manager is a great example of what online group booking should be, allowing the entire booking process to take place online and in real time. That may not seem like a big deal to anyone in my parents’ generation, but believe me, it is extremely appealing to those of us raised in a culture of Internet and instant gratification. Newmarket International offers a version of real-time online group bookings technology through its DirectBook application, but it only has capability for booking meeting space—and on a one-day basis, to boot.
Hoteliers, get your tech people working on a system that lets people book as many guestrooms as they want, plus meeting space, with real-time price quotes and availability status. Some hotel group out there must have such a system … if so, let’s see it.
Booking Upgrades Go For Up-Sell (HOTELS)
Posted by Adam Kirby on August 17, 2007 | Comments (0)