Book those Hotel Rooms Early for your Summer Vacation

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/19/business/19hotels.html?_r=1&ref=business

Hotels have begun offering direct bookings through Facebook and smartphone apps, and they hope that the convenience and direct contact will lure back travelers who have been turning to online travel agencies.  


Hotels need to make sure that their booking engines can be found wherever the customer is, rather than asking the customer to search them out, said Glenn Withiam, a spokesman for Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, which recently held a hotel industry conference that examined social media.  Offering reservations directly helps to keep the conversation between the hotel and its guests, Mr. Withiam said.


Hotels make less money for rooms sold through an online travel agency than if customers had booked directly. Those customers may also start to think about meeting their travel needs through the online agency, rather than through the hotel, becoming in essence a customer with a relationship to the booking Web site and not the hotel.


Hotels are trying different ways to use the new media. Hyatt guests with smartphones can check in and check out with them. That means travelers can check in during the taxi ride from the airport and simply pick up keys at the front desk.  Hilton Worldwide estimates that about 615,000 customers have downloaded its mobile apps. Along with the ability to make or modify a reservation, it has offered new services like meals that are ready when guests arrive.


This ability to have your meal ready when you arrive, and have your check in already done, makes a hotel stay worth the time and money.  Who wouldn't want this kind of convenience?  It then makes you just want to blog, tweet, like, message, about the great customer service with such simplicity.  Who wants to wait in the lobby while your spouse checks in at the front desk with screaming babies at the Hilton now anyways?  With this new media access your summer is on its way to fun and relaxation.  


By using Facebook and smartphone apps, hotels hope to deepen or regain the relationships they had with customers and to raise the quality of their experiences when they check in. Attracting guests to book directly in new ways is a win for the hotel, said Mr. Withiam, from a financial, customer relationship and brand perspective.