TravelCLICK’s iStay web booking engine is delivering a 15 percent higher average daily rate (ADR) than traditional multi-step web booking engines. Based on its advanced hotel merchandising capabilities and ‘enhance your stay’ options, iStay also drives a 27 percent higher ADR for add-on bookings than traditional multi-step web booking engines that separate packages from room-only reservations.

TravelCLICK research reveals that hotels that have migrated to the iStay web booking engine have seen a 14 percent average increase in website reservation conversion rates, which translates into $100,000 or more incremental revenue per year for a typical hotel (based on a 100-room property with 70 percent occupancy, 10 percent overall business via the web, and an average reservation value of $533). Booking data was collected over a six-month period and compared to the hotels’ historical booking trends for previous booking engines.

“Our hotels have seen a dramatic increase in web bookings since switching to iStay,” said Paula Stenzel, Revenue Analyst at CHIP Hospitality. “The ease of booking and the ability for our customers to essentially create their own packages using iStay enhancements, regardless of the rate they are booking, have delivered excellent results. Customer feedback is very positive.”

iStay is a single-screen booking solution for website reservations that is the centerpiece of TravelCLICK’s iHotelier central reservation system. It revolutionizes the online hotel booking process by placing the guest in control of the integrated shopping and booking experience. Using advanced Flash technology, iStay enables hotels to merchandise services and amenities and up-sell rooms as guests shop online. Enhanced navigation and rich digital content keep visitors engaged. Guests move through the booking process dynamically, rather than through a forced-step process.

In a recent Hotel & Motel Management article, Ron Rogowski, Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, was quoted as saying consumers make booking decisions based on visual content, and there are limitations with HTML-based booking engines, which offer only a linear form-based process. Rogowski says an easier booking experience is obtained through a single screen, which allows multiple features and options to be displayed simultaneously in a prospective guest’s web browser.*

“Since its introduction in 2006, iStay has redefined the way hotels drive revenue through their websites,” said Mike Montemurro, Senior Vice President of Product Management at TravelCLICK. “iStay has evolved the web booking engine into a strategic business tool that does more than merely transact online reservations. It builds hotel mindshare and competitive advantage and increases hotel profitability by maximizing revenue per stay.”

TravelCLICK also continues to upgrade its iHotelier central reservation system with new features and key enhancements, including:
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