|
Online reservations continue to increase in importance as more
and more consumers demand real-time, instant reservations. This
page will keep you up to date on industry trends and online
reservation news; if you'd like us to address a particular
topic, don’t hesitate to
contact us.
Tip of the Month
Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
Online Reservation Trends
Tip of the
Month
Do you currently have a two-night minimum stay
requirement on your weekends? We have noticed that many
properties do. If this is a slower time of the year for you,
consider dropping that requirement from now until the busy
summer season starts. Even when reservations pick up for the
summer travel season, remember to add weekend inventory if you
have a last-minute cancellation or open room.
“Since joining
BedandBreakfast.com, my membership and the online reservations
program have absolutely worked. I had a 91.5% increase in occupancy
and a 66% increase in income over the previous year. In addition, my
membership paid for itself in the first week upon joining.” Nancy
Noll,
The Queen, A Victorian Bed and Breakfast,
Bellefonte, PA
“The BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations program works for us.
One part that is not talked about much and to me has
been the best part are the calls we get from the people that see us
on Expedia and then look at our website and then call us. We get
a lot of business this way. We also had one online booking through
Expedia that resulted in about 20 room nights booked with the same family that month at
the full rate.” Patricia Faser,
Fairfield Place Bed & Breakfast Inn,
Shreveport, LA
"For those of you who want to
'talk' to your guests and approve them before they arrive,
the world of hotels.com, Expedia, etc. via
BedandBreakfast.com is
probably not for you. For the rest of us who have
empty rooms at slow times and are looking to grow our
business, it is a good deal. BedandBreakfast.com has been very
flexible and understanding with us, and we have picked up a
good chunk of revenue that we otherwise would have left on
the table during our slow times. Ask
yourself if there are perhaps times when you would rather
have 70% of your standard rate than 100% of nothing."
William Speakman,
Springfield House,
Boalsburg, PA
Questions? Contact Online Reservations Support at
800-GO-B-AND-B (800-462-2632), extension 4; 512-322-2700,
extension 4 or
Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com.
Announcements from BedandBreakfast.com
Good news! BedandBreakfast.com Online Reservations is now
available to properties worldwide!
How does it work? The function is exactly the same as it is
for U.S. and Canadian properties. All payments are made in U.S.
dollars, and international properties must have a PayPal account
in order to receive payment.
Read more.
More than 1,500
innkeepers in the United States and Canada have signed up for the BedandBreakfast.com Online
Reservations program, which includes placement on industry
leading sites like Expedia, hotels.com, SideStep.com and
Kayak.com. This is a highly effective tool for helping you
increase your occupancy during the times you need it. Call
1-800-462-2632, extension 4, or email
Reservations@BedandBreakfast.com to learn how you can
participate in this program and fill your unsold/empty rooms.
Get started today!
"The program is easy to learn and to use on an everyday basis.
The Online Reservation Manager screen has a lot of
helpful features. We have been very pleased with the amount of
business we've received from BedandBreakfast.com, hotels.com and
Expedia through this program." -- Tangi Pina, The Mary
Prentiss Inn, Cambridge, MA
Trends in Online Reservations
Kayak UK adds hotel search: "Kayak
has added a hotel search to the UK site, following the successful launch
of Kayak.co.uk’s flight search and Buzz product earlier this year. UK
travelers will now have access to online travel’s most comprehensive
database of hotels.
"As with air, Kayak’s MultiBook™ technology allows travelers to choose where
to make their purchase: directly from the hotel, from an online travel
agency or through a consolidator. To enhance the quality of its information,
Kayak offers an ‘accuracy promise’ to ensure that every hotel is presented
on the site with correct and trustworthy information. Kayak.co.uk also uses
a mash-up with Google Earth to integrate search results so consumers can see
the exact location of any hotel. Users can then check the satellite image to
see exactly how close they really are to the beach or airport, or use the
‘custom address’ link to choose a minimal distance from a specific address
or location. B&Bs that participate in the BedandBreakfast.com Online
Reservations program (like the Hillview Country Inn below) are bookable on
Kayak.com.
UK online sales rise, driven by travel: “UK online sales tripled from
2002 to 2006, and grew nearly 13 times faster than the overall retail sector
in 2006. UK online shoppers outspend even American consumers. eMarketer
estimates the average UK spend in 2006 was $2,171, compared with $1,831 in
the United States.
"UK retail e-commerce sales are estimated to reach $51.8 billion (£28.1
billion) in 2011, up from $21.6 billion (£10.9 billion) in 2006, according
to Verdict Research. Looking at B2C e-commerce overall, the firm counted
travel as the biggest online sector, followed by electronic products and
apparel."
Europeans look online for travel: "comScore recently announced the
results of a study of the European online travel industry, revealing that
108.6 million Europeans - or
half of the total European online population aged 15 and older - visited a
travel related site during March 2007, an increase in traffic of 6%
versus March 2006.
"According to comScore, Expedia Inc. led the European travel category
with 18.5 million European unique visitors aged 15 and older during
March. The second most-visited European travel site was ViaMichelin, with
13.5 million European unique visitors, followed by the TUI Group’s 12.5
million European unique visitors.“
European online travel sales on the rise: “Online
travel sales increased by as much as 31% from 2005 to 2006 and reached
EUR 38.3 billion in the European market in 2006 - or 15% of the market (up
from 12% in 2005). A further increase of about 22% during 2007 to about EUR
46.8 billion may be expected (18% of the market).”
Silver surfers close to becoming largest group online: “According to new
research data, UK Internet users aged 55+, the so-called silver surfers, are
set to overtake 35-44 year olds as the demographic age group with the
largest representation online. And travel websites are among the most
popular among this older age group. Those aged 55+ accounted for 22% of UK
visits to all categories of websites in the four weeks to May 12, up 54%
since 2005 and 40% since 2006. This compares to 23.5% of Internet visits
from 35-44 year olds.”
Road Warriors more affluent, spend more online: “Scarborough Research
finds that
people who spend the most time on the road are more tech savvy than the
average consumer, have a wide variety of personal and household
technologies, and value portability. They are 17% more likely than the
average consumer to have a cell phone and 40% more likely to have a PDA in
their household.
“The country's top road travelers are 48% more likely than the average
consumer to have spent $1,000 or more online during the past year. They are
more affluent (35% more likely to have an annual household income of
$100,000+), and more educated (20% more likely to have a college degree or
advanced degree).”
|
|
