(Dive Travel Business News - January 12, 2012) -- Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group have started a new hotel website www.Roomkey.com.
Industry pundits believe the new collaboration is a response to the rise of major online travel agencies (OTA's) and the pressure to fill rooms during the recession. Hotels have lost control of their pricing due to the marketing power of major hotel booking sites such as Expedia, Travelocity and Orbitz.. OTA's don't necessarily provide the best price or the most accurate reflection of available inventory. The six founding partners came together to work out how to tackle the problem of growing distribution costs. Hotels increasingly want to “own the booking”, giving them a chance to up-sell ancillaries to travellers and allow guests to manage their bookings in a better way.
Industry Analysts say Roomkey.com is a way for hotels capture more direct bookings and regain control of their own rates, offer a broader range of hotel inventory and give destinations an alternative to using a private label program from online travel agencies. Analysts such as Henry Harteveldt of the Atmosphere Research Group, suggest this is a "shot across the bows" of OTAs, but Roomkey.com CEO John Davis says the door is open for them to participate. According to Roomkey.com, the new site provides an alternative for consumers to comparison shop while still serving brand-loyal customers.
Unlike the Travelweb multi-chain effort of the early-2000s, which featured Pegasus as a provider of accommodation, no GDS or other switch will be participating in Room Key, Davis confirms.
On launch day, Jan 11, 2011, there are 23,000 properties listed on the system, with designs on having close to 80,000 worldwide by the middle of 2012. The 23,000 figure will jump within the next week as another major hotel chain is joining the platform, though not as a founding partner. Eventually Roomkey.com will offer independent reviews and social media capabilities. It will target U.S. travelers first and then expand to English-speaking regions outside the U.S. Insiders estimate Roomkey.com will max out at 120,000 properties.
From a distribution perspective, Room Key will have lower “commission” or referral fees than other platforms. Additionally, the site is currently a metasearch service: the hotel will continue to secure the booking and handle so-called guest management. To see the beta model, visit RoomKey.com.
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