iHotelier (a division of Webvertising, Inc.) and The Ad Factory, driving forces behind the Galveston CVB tourism web site, recently conducted a post-season performance analysis of the site and have realised record breaking success. 
Galveston.com provides a complete tourism guide, including information about attractions, recreation, restaurants, convention services, and hotels.  The companion site to Galveston.com is Galveston.org, which is home to the iHotelier web-based Central Reservations System, providing online reservations capabilities for 26 local hotels.  Over the 2001 tourist season (April - October), these 26 hotels, collectively realised almost 7,000 reservations, over 14,000 room nights and close to $1.8 million in online revenue; numbers five times as high as those for the same period the prior year.
This success is the result of the right combination of marketing and technology.  Marketing efforts by The Ad Factory, in cooperation with the Galveston CVB, have delivered a very targeted traffic flow to the Galveston.com and Galveston.org sites. Furthermore, the use of iHotelier technology, since March of 2001, has provided the site with a well-organized, user-friendly environment for tourists to book their hotel reservations.  The implementation of iHotelier, just in time for the new season, was a decision made by The Ad Factory.  Their choice to abandon their prior provider of online reservations in favor of the iHotelier CRS has proven to reap benefits above and beyond their expectations.

“We looked at the options like WorldRes and others, but iHotelier was clearly the technology we needed because of its complete CRS functionality”, says Lee Roane, President of The Ad Factory.  “We’ve worked with the CVB for years to promote Galveston.com and Galveston Island.  However, we needed something like the iHotelier CRS to give us the management and accountability necessary that we could not get before.”  He continues, “We can work closely with the hotels by accurately managing inventory.  We notify them when room inventory is sold out so that we can add more, thus sell more.  The reporting capabilities give us a clear picture of trends, possible weaknesses, and advertising performance”.

The Ad Factory launched Galveston.com in 1994 and has steadily expanded the services offered to the Galveston tourism market.  They have established a working relationship with local businesses and the local leadership to help the CVB make Galveston Island a desired tourism destination for travelers hailing from Texas and surrounding regions.  The addition of iHotelier’s technology to the destination marketing services that The Ad Factory provides to the CVB and local hoteliers completes the equation by equipping them with vital tools and delivering site users a more convenient and less intimidating experience.

The two companies are further working on the deployment of new technology developed by iHotelier for the Galveston site in new ways to continue attracting visitors to the site and ultimately to the island. 

About iHotelier:

Since its inception in 1999, iHotelier, a full-service hotel representation company, has developed a suite of web-based reservations solutions for the Hospitality Industry.  From PMS Interfaces to Central Reservations Systems to GDS Connectivity to Online Reservations Management, Marketing & Reporting, iHotelier delivers an array of products & services that meet the needs of the industry and the necessity for innovative technology.  iHotelier’s clientele spans across all lines of the industry; from Independent Hotels (The Broadmoor - Colorado, The Greenbrier - West Virginia, Hotel Pennsylvania - New York)  to Hotel Management Corporations (The Rosen Group - Orlando, FL, The Charles Group Hotels - Miami, FL) to Destination Marketing Companies and CVB’s. As a division of Webvertising, Inc., iHotelier is dedicated to providing the Hospitality Industry with the same commitment to exceptional applications development that Webvertising has established and maintained since 1994.

About The Ad Factory:

The Ad Factory provides website design services, with a focus on the Galveston, Texas tourism market.  Their portal site, Galveston.com, is produced in conjunction with the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Their hotel reservation system, located at Galveston.org, is powered by iHotelier, a division of Webvertising, Inc.

www.Galveston.com

——-