boo.com, the new travel website from Web Reservations International (WRI), has received considerable interest from hoteliers at the annual HEDNA Conference, which took place in Dublin this week.The website, which aims to change the way travel is bought and sold online, currently features a number of major chains and groups of hotels including Accor, Choice Hotels, Best Western and World Hotels. The boo.com model, which offers hoteliers a unique, cost effective online sales and marketing solution, resonated extremely well with hoteliers.

Boo.com provides hotels with highly targeted traffic already in the mood for travel and allows users to search for hotels, sort and filter hotels online and then, in true search engine fashion, click out and book directly with a hotel’s own website. Combining search functionality, reviews, pricing and social networking all within one site, boo is set to be the first and only port of call for consumers booking travel online.

The advertising model is based on pay per click with advertisers charged for customers who click out to their website. WRI and Boo.com COO, Feargal Mooney, speaking after HEDNA said “Our model offers much more flexibility for hoteliers. We believe they can significantly cut distribution costs by engaging directly with highly qualified customers who are in the purchase path. With boo we expect typical distribution costs to be sub $10 per booking”

Boo.com, the key consumer brand of WRI, launched on May 2nd amid a fanfare of publicity and currently features more than 50,000 places to stay in 165 countries across the globe ranging from hostels and bed and breakfasts right up to 4 and 5 star hotels.

The annual HEDNA conference brings together a number of hotels from around the world enabling them to discuss challenges faced by the industry as a whole. This year’s event was held in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin, Ireland. 
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