Hotel organizations today need to handle a gamut of distribution channels that can pave way for bookings. The route to optimising distribution involves several key aspects such as connectivity (configuring transport types for each connection), making the most of brand.com channel, customizing cache services for dynamic hotel data etc. Hotels need to be spot on with their hotel rate data and inventory positions on various sales channels.
For Ted Zhang, CEO, DerbySoft, an experienced professional in this domain, Chinese hotel organizations need to evolve, and keep pace with evolving distribution platforms and channels.
“If customers are willingly buying via WeChat or group buying platforms, hotels need to cater to it. But if we compare the way international hotel entities approach their connectivity with their counterparts in China, Chinese players need to open their data to their partners – the new apps, bucketing platforms like Google, TripAdvisor etc. Hotels here need to reconsider the way the availability, rate and/or inventory (ARI) is to be distributed. Till this isn’t done hotels would end up missing out on revenue opportunity,” says Zhang. His Shanghai-based company is currently enabling and processing about 3,000,000 room night reservations every month.
Zhang says Hotel organizations need to consider several aspects in order to optimize their overall distribution technology initiative. “Connection (integrating a distribution system and a hotel reservation system to facilitate transaction and deliver reservations), caching (quick delivery of hotel data to partners), content (not only ARI but also static (say hotel description), semi-static (such as cancellation policy) and dynamic content), computing (computing power for handling data) and control (being in command of data, just not PMS-oriented work) are key to excel. The world of distribution is dynamic, so hotels need to be spontaneous in their decision-making. And if the system isn’t easy to connect, then the problem would remain.”
Click to read full article: China Travel News
