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
Online Reservation Trends
News from BedandBreakfast.com

Tip of the Month
Consumers consistently say that good photos can differentiate one inn from another. Are your photos giving you an edge? They should be clear, well-lit, and properly balanced--don't show a property that looks tiny because the photo was taken from far away. Upload quality, high resolution photos to your BedandBreakfast.com listing to achieve better results on BedandBreakfast.com, Expedia.com and hotels.com.

To add photos, log in to your Home Base and click on Photos in the table under Free Member Benefits. Follow the instructions to upload images.

Questions? Contact Online Reservations Support at 800-GO-B-AND-B (800-462-2632), 512-322-2710 or Support@BedandBreakfast.com.

Trends in the World of Online Reservations
Forty percent of all European travel to be booked online by 2008: PhoCusWright Inc. found that “almost 40% of all types of travel purchased in Europe will be booked online by the end of 2008.

“Over the next three years, online corporate bookings will grow at twice the rate of online leisure/unmanaged business travel. By 2008, one out of every five euros of corporate travel spent will be transacted online, up from one out of every 20 in 2005. Nevertheless, the percentage of leisure/unmanaged business travel booked online is and will continue to be significantly greater than that of managed corporate travel.”
 
Affluent Americans do more online: “Affluent Americans are reading more consumer magazines and using the Internet for certain business transactions much more in 2006 than they did just a year ago, according to the Mendelsohn Affluent Survey, an annual study investigating the habits of Americans with income exceeding $85,000 a year. Mendelsohn found an increase of more than 7% in the number of respondents using the Internet to do their banking, and an increase of roughly 5% for making transactions including purchases.”
 
Go online: “The Internet has changed forever how people purchase travel, and those who pitch hotels or destinations need to get on board or get left in the low-tech dust. ‘Today’s customers are time-starved, tech-savvy and information-rich,’ Travelocity.com founder Terry Jones said to local tourism leaders at the Scottsdale Convention & Visitors Bureau’s annual meeting recently.”

By 2009, Americans will be spending $100 billion a year on online travel purchases, Jones said. Already, 68% of the U.S. population is online, and 79% of U.S. travelers are. Even more important, Jones said, 98% of college kids have made an online purchase. “And today’s college students are next year’s consumers,” he said.

"Searching is the second most popular Internet activity, after e-mail," Jones said, with 60 million Americans searching daily for something. "If it’s vacation plans, smart hoteliers will be at the start of the list of options returned. Figure out what a customer is thinking and give him what he needs."
 

News from BedandBreakfast.com