NH Hotels in ecommerce drive

NH Hoteles is giving a major boost to its sales platform aimed at multiplying its ability to handle the growing online demand for its services.

The figures for growth in online commerce encouraged this type of innovation. During 2010 NH Hoteles increased its Internet sales by more than 40%. In keeping with demand that is growing exponentially, the hotel chain has opted to integrate its booking systems in RateTiger, a multi-channel management system which removes the need to manage extranets manually. Its association with RateTiger, an outstanding IT firm, means that the hotel chain and its 400 hotels can update prices and availability on a real-time basis, and also record booking information inside the existing CRS system (Central Reservation Systems) automatically in the different online intermediaries and agencies.

This migration allows each hotel greater access and control in the company’s distribution strategy. To do this, NH Hoteles has used the RTConnect channel management technology. More than 200 hotels (now using RTSuite) will migrate their data to the new platform and so enable the hotel chain to have more immediate control over price management, as well as becoming more visible for online travel agents and easier and clearer for managing occupancy and improving the hotel chain’s performance.

In the words of Iñigo Onieva, Corporate Manager for Marketing and Distribution in the hotel chain, “NH Hoteles has joined a new generation as far as inventory and price distribution systems are concerned using the different interfaces (there are currently more than 25) and has significantly changed the direction taken in our online sales and revenue management system by brining in this single, integrated system.” In his opinion, “the new system will allow us to bring all our hotels and spaces into a single, global strategy, ease the manual pressure on hotels and make optimum use of the efficiency of the services we are offering our guests. RateTiger’s technology means a jump forward in our online sales strategy by using system of capillarity and distribution.”

According to Ragnar Strerath, Division President—RTConnect, eRevMax, “Implementing this two-way system using existing infrastructure will make for greater, more flexible and up-to-date control over the requirements of the growing demand online, greater negotiating power with web sales agents and plenty of growth in e-commerce.”