FEXCO AllTravel is enhancing its PlacesToStay private rate
hotel reservation programme to deliver more value to travel agents,
hotel suppliers, airlines, consolidators and technology integrators
servicing the travel trade.At the Travel Technology Show 2006, FEXCO AllTravel
announced that it has begun implementing improvements to the PlacesToStay
programme, following a ‘root and branch’ strategic review of the business
bought from CNG Travel Group in October. PlacesToStay provides real time
online ‘look and book’ services with over 25,000 participating hotel
properties offering competitive rates and attractive commission.

Using its significant online expertise earned from owning and operating
GoIreland.com, Ireland’s leading online consumer travel portal for booking
accommodation, as well as other online tourism products, FEXCO AllTravel
will develop PlacesToStay’s trade appeal through:

 

.      Streamlining and developing hotel inventory to provide greater
choice and quality and so enhance customer satisfaction. This initiative
will focus on offering the optimum mix of two to five star hotels in popular
cities, adding more destinations, assuring quality standards through hotel
inspections, and extending leisure inventory choice with more hotels for sun
and beach holidays in the Mediterranean;

.      Working with hotel suppliers to further maximise PlacesToStay’s
rates and availability;

.      Fine-tuning hotel descriptions by, for example, offering the most
up-to-date content, language options and location images;

.      Enhancing the programme’s technology to boost booking efficiency
and options;

.      Enabling smaller travel businesses to take advantage of
PlacesToStay’s business benefits by offering a web-based version of the
solution.

 

‘More Choice, Value and Service’

Tim Wright, FEXCO AllTravel’s head of distribution and business development,
said: “PlacesToStay is a powerful, value-adding business generator for
traditional agents, online portals, trade consolidators and technology
integrators. It’s also a truly independent hotel solution that doesn’t
compete with agents and airlines in the all-important air segment. FEXCO’s
considerable online resources and expertise will help make PlacesToStay an
even more attractive sales tool. Today’s competitive marketplace means
distributors must make best use of the Internet to give their customers more
choice, value and service.

 

“The phased upgrade to PlacesToStay should help agents and other
distributors drive more bookings and therefore revenue,” he said.” We’re
also introducing variations to our core business model that will make
PlacesToStay more appropriate for different types and sizes of agents and
distributors. And we’ll be meeting the needs of smaller agents with a new
web-based version of PlacesToStay which should provide them with good
opportunities.”

 

Continuing Trade Take-up

Recent PlacesToStay distribution deals in the UK include Dawson and
Sanderson, one of Britain’s biggest regional travel agencies; fares
consolidator and online service provider Farex Systems Ltd; online hotel
distributor HotelStayUK Ltd, operator of the hotelstayuk.com web site; and
reservation application and dynamic packaging specialist HyperTech
Solutions.

 

Inventory is also being supplied to fast-growing online sun and sea
accommodation specialist Alturabeds.com, a member of the Optursa Group, one
of Spain’s leading leisure industry groups. Alturabeds provides online
reservation services for nearly 3,000 hotels, apartments and villas
throughout southern Spain, the Balearics and Canary Islands, and the
Algarve.
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