Hotel Booking Engines Need Rich Content

The Hotel industry was an early adopter of the internet as a cost effective way to reach consumers with many hotel companies acting as earlier pioneers of bringing travel online.  As they quickly developed their own online hotel booking engine, many discovered this new channel allowed them to showcase their hotel online with pictures and eventually virtual tours of the property.  For the first time consumers were able to view the different types of rooms available as well as public areas such as the hotel restaurant or Spa and were able to decide for themselves whether a specific hotel was right for them.

The explosion of Online Travel agencies shifted some online consumers away from these individual Hotel websites to large Online Travel Agencies and Hotel aggregators where price & availability rule the display.   Travel technology solutions were quickly developed to provide online consumers a quick and easy way to identify the best hotel for their needs based on price and room availability.  Competing based on price and availability alone presented challenges to hotel companies that were looking to differentiate their product offering from their competitors.

Many began what I refer to as a “brand overall” and started to distinguish their properties with unique features and amenities to set them apart from the mass.  As these brand differences began to take root, some consumers started looking for more than just a hotel room at the lowest price.  Many of today’s consumers look for a custom travel experience that requires personalized attention or specific perks that only travel professionals can provide.  Many larger agencies or consortia groups have embraced this trend and are now using travel technology solutions that provide their customers access to special features and amenities along with their hotel booking.  Many travel agents are able to provide special amenities such as concierge service and complimentary beverages to their most valued customers.

Today’s frequent traveler is on the go and they have become increasingly dependent on their mobile devices to manage their lives as well.  Delivering the content and amenities targeted for a specific group of customers can be complicated for many, but providing it quickly and easily with an online Hotel booking engine is even more challenging.   A good technology partner can help you automate the content as well as any include amenities so you can offer it all online. Planning or changing travel plans is no exception, so travel technology solutions need to support these features during the entire research and booking process online.

To accomplish this requires integration of travel technology solutions that deliver the information to the specific hotel property identifying a particular VIP guests along with details of any special offers included.  For example, as more hotels offer unique amenities for preferred guests such as free internet or access to concierge level lounges, a hotel booking engine needs to make sure this information is sent along with the reservation informing the actual hotel property.

Finding the right hotel content to serve your customer’s needs is important, finding a technology partner with the flexibility to customize that service is even more important.