We have definitely moved into the cyber-age, and practically all businesses have increased productivity and built profits through information technology. The hospitality industry has finally begun to catch up, through new conduits such as the online reservation system. This not only emerges through a third party website, but hotels’ own websites are now being enriched through their own dedicated online reservation system.Any reservation system, particularly one in a hotel’s own website, should not ‘just’ handle reservations. Ability to recognize the uses of a reservation system imparts tremendous benefits, not only for the hotel itself but also for its clienteles. Beyond the system, the hotel’s approach in positioning itself is actually set in such areas as distribution, pricing and a marketing strategy.

Room allotment management - This hotel industry product is known as a ‘perishable’ one, meaning that if you cannot sell a room today it’s a loss of revenue forever. In addition to the well-known ‘perishable’ product, the hotel industry is unable to be assured of extra inventory, needed to accommodate excess demand.

This means that in case a hotel has 100 rooms and is fully booked, it cannot fulfill any request for additional rooms. Given that fact, how a hotel can manage its distribution becomes a very crucial strategy. A reservation system, with ‘online contracting’, helps a hotel manage rates and allotment distribution for potential customers, while imparting high flexibility in setting allotments for its customers. To learn more about online contracting please click http://www.pelicansystem.com/news/20040323.html

Rate management - Pricing is among the most important strategies that can be set on a system. Many well-managed hotels arrange many of rate category schemes for each market segment. A local travel agent may have a different scheme, compared to an overseas one, or corporate clients who generate more room income will receive a different price as well. In a major property, the room rate fluctuates continuously, even during the same day.

How the price is set determines revenue. Thus, the ability of a reservation system to set numerous price schemes for all affiliated travel agents and corporate clients, updating this from time to time (no modification limit) makes pricing strategy more organized and more easily monitored.

Web promotion - Another strategy is marketing strategy through a web promotion engine. A website is a rich communication mediator with sophisticated features such as pictures, animation, and text; most relevant is that the website is accessible anytime, anywhere (24/7). Having a good product is only the beginning of success. Hoteliers must be able to communicate this to its customers through its online reservation system that allow hotel to announce special packages or promotion news. Web promotion engine and email marketing in a reservation system helps hoteliers markedly in delivering information
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