| Certainly, most of us, while planning a trip abroad, have | | | | their clients. |
| been searching for possibilities to book a hotel online. | | | | However, e-mail response time from the booking |
| Also most of us have found two options: (a) to book a | | | | systems is much faster in general, because they have |
| hotel directly on the hotel website or (b) to reserve it | | | | dedicated support teams, while a hotel administration |
| via a booking system that has a certain online hotels | | | | normally checks e-mails once per hour. Second, for the |
| database. The question stands “what option to | | | | English-speaking clients, in case of appearing problems, |
| chose?”. In this article we analyze the pros and | | | | it is sometimes difficult to communicate by phone with |
| cons of the global hotel reservation systems. | | | | hotel officers in France, Spain, Italy or Greece. While |
| Let’s structure the analysis according to some | | | | the support at the reservation systems speaks |
| criteria, like choice range, prices, support level and | | | | always good-English. |
| reliability. | | | | 4. High reliability. The reservation systems normally |
| 1. Advantages of the hotel reservation systems | | | | develop their own software and hardware |
| 1. Extensive choice. If you look not for the particular | | | | infrastructures themselves, so they have high |
| hotel but just for the hotel in city X, than reservation | | | | expertise in the security, reliability and maintenance |
| online systems bring you the bingo. Most of them have | | | | domains. In opposite, hotels do not have that much |
| wide range of the hotels starting from hostels and | | | | expertise and power in developing their own solutions, |
| ending with luxury accommodation. For each city you | | | | so they sometimes have that kind of craft-made |
| can find from 10 to 300 hotel options. Beside this, the | | | | booking system. |
| systems have integrated search forms where you | | | | 2. Disadvantages |
| can specify you particular criteria, like “pets | | | | 1. Absence of hotel chains. Most centralized booking |
| allowed”, “close to airport” and so on. Such | | | | systems lack major hotel-chains (Accor, Formula1, |
| kind of systems like or HotelDiscounts.net have 30000 | | | | Marriott International, Hilton) in their databases. That |
| – 50000 hotels in their database. | | | | happens due to the fact, that these chains normally sell |
| 2. Lower prices. You would be surprised, but the | | | | rooms via their own dedicated booking centers and |
| analysis showed that the hotel rates at the booking | | | | refuse to cooperate with the global reservation |
| systems are lower than at the hotel websites (does | | | | systems. |
| not hold in every case though). For example | | | | 2. Fully booked situations. Sometimes you can ask a |
| directly-booked double room at the Ghent River Hotel ( | | | | hotel for reservation directly in the situation when in all |
| is 30% more expensive comparing to the same double | | | | booking systems this hotel is fully booked. Most of the |
| room at the reservation system from “OrangeSmile | | | | hotels keep a number of rooms for emergency |
| Tours” (bookings.orangesmile.com/hotel/be | | | | situations and might give a room to you if you call |
| ghentriver.html). This comes from the fact that the | | | | them at the reception. |
| reservation systems have higher turnover and they | | | | As we can see from this analysis, the centralized hotel |
| can allow some discounts or direct special agreements | | | | reservation systems have more benefits than |
| with the hotels. | | | | drawbacks. However, as in all aspects of life, it is |
| 3. English online support. Both booking systems and | | | | better to keep both booking options in mind, and use |
| hotels provide online and telephone 24/7 support for | | | | them according to your current situation. |