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focus on
Accommodation finders - call it a night -
accommodation is empowering consumers, but there’s a whole host of trade-friendly providers designed to help agents keep one step ahead, says Samantha Mayling
A
Consumers are now spoilt for choice when it comes to online providers for booking accommodation. Options include peer-to-peer websites such as Airbnb, direct booking incentives and even the chance to book via the hashtag #tweetstay. However, a quick scan
of new exhibitors at World Travel Market last November
revealed a host of suppliers that help
agents compete. Fresh faces this year included Vertical Systems, Multicom,
Acerooms.com and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels. Also at Excel was roomsXML, which launched a mobile interface for agents, giving access to 77,000+ properties.
Hotel chains and marketing groups such as Small Luxury Hotels of the World (slh. com/travel-agents) and Great Hotels of the World (
ghotw.com/travel_agents) offer online information about properties, trips and commission. Sandals runs a training
programme (
sellingsandals.co.uk), along with events and fam trips. Upmarket groups have trade
websites with training and product information, such as Belmond (
belmondpro.com) and Centara (
centaraambassador.com).
16% commission New or revamped trade sites include Starwood (
spg.com/pro), AMResorts (
AMRagents.co.uk) and Meliá Hotels International’s MELIÁ PRO (
meliapro.com).
sellingtravel.co.uk
proliferation of online
tools to book
MELIÁ PRO features a booking engine, e-learning, trade rates and rewards, and up to 16% commission. Rafael Soria, Senior Sales Manager, said agents should capitalise on leisure growth trends, especially in luxury and Asia. “We have more than doubled our portfolio in Asia in the past two years, and continue to expand into new Asia-Pacifi c markets,” he added. “Dynamic packaging is rapidly
growing and we expect MELIA PRO to help agents.” Many agents opt for bedbanks, especially those dedicated to trade sales such as lowcostbeds. com, which works with most UK
agencies and all the consortia.
Paul Riches, Group Director of Sales at lowcosttravelgroup, parent of
lowcostbeds.com, advised agents: “A good accommodation-only provider must provide three main things: competitive pricing, speed to market and last-room availability. Inventory must be live and dynamic. He said the market is split between major global players such as the lowcost group,
Hotelbeds, GTA Travel and ‘local providers’, who are strong in a specifi c market. There are several ‘medium-sized’ players looking to expand into new markets, and here in the UK there are large online travel agencies, call centres and the high street. He added: “As technology develops, more high street agents are using hotel providers, so dynamic packaging is growing in the high street.”
Broad portfolio TUI Travel is a major player with its accommodation wholesaler brands Bedsonline (
bedsonline.com) – which offers
agents 67,000+ hotels and apartments
in 180 countries – and Hotelbeds. Peter Jones, Bedsonline Country Manager,
UK & Ireland, said: “We focus on providing agents with a broad, competitive portfolio. “Technology innovation, continuous updates
to ensure availability, as well as a personalised treatment of clients are key points that allow us to offer a quick, fl exible and effi cient service.” Agency groups offer inhouse systems that
aggregate offerings to make life easier. The Advantage Travel Partnership
(
advantagemember.co.uk) has the Gateway system, which aggregates content from about 15 bedbanks, such as BookaBed and Magic Rooms, plus hotels from Exclusively Hotels. Mark Pullen, Business Development Manager, said: “The system always fi nds the best possible rate. You can’t beat the breadth of content, and agents can book through Gateway too.” The Travel Network Group (thetravelnetworkgroup.
co.uk) has Honeycomb, its in-house dynamic packaging technology, sourcing direct XML feeds from accommodation, fl ight and ancillary partners,
enabling members to search, price, package and book under its ATOL licence. Martin Andrew, Group
Commercial Director, said: “Members have access to more than 20 suppliers providing access to almost one million hotels. “Supply ranges from market- leading providers such as Expedia to more niche suppliers
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