Choice Hotels International, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, Marriott International and Wyndham Hotel Group have developed a way to bypass OTA commissions and jointly face the steady expansion of Google Hotel Finder. The six major hotel chains introduced RoomKey.com, an online hotel search platform, which offers the user direct links to the participating hotel websites.
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Image source: http://www.roomkey.com
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Room Key is
structured similarly to other online reservation platforms: The user can choose
city and date of stay (until now solely in the U.S.) and can launch the search
among the six participating hotel chains and their affiliates. Once a
convenient hotel is found, the user is directed to the hotel´s website for
payment. Room Key´s strategy relies on its simplicity and easy usage, as the
slogan “Search. Book. Relax” indicates. Plans for expansion include a launch in
Europe and the adding of reviews and travel plans.
Room Key is
not the first of its kind: in 2001 Hilton, Accor and the Forte Group introduced
AndBook, a similar offer. Due to the 09/11 terrorist attacks and the impacts on
international tourism, the website failed to be successful. A similar faith
occurred for U.S. platform Travelweb from Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental
Hotels Group, Marriott, and Starwood. Unlike its predecessors, Room Key has the
advantages of a good timing, a highly experienced management staff behind, as
well as a powerful search technology and an affiliate platform.
In today’s
fierce competitive market, Room Key does not come as a surprise, considering
the fact that hotels continue to lose direct bookings to intermediaries such as
Expedia, Kayak, Booking etc. Additionally Google is challenging the market with
Hotel Finder, which is characterized by its omnipresence and enormous scope, being
linked to major OTAs. Indeed Room Key is still in its early development stage
and clearly cannot compete in terms of wide offer. However, the market seems to
be changing and consumers start to realize that the lowest prices are not
necessarily to be found on the OTA sites. On the contrary, travelers increasingly
double check between the hotels websites and the OTAs to obtain the best price.
All this hassle seems to be solved with the advent of Room Key, as it promises
the user a transparent and easy search for his/ her favorite brands. The aspect
of brand preference and loyalty prevails. It facilitates the user experience
and gives hotels back their power. However the project is in its early shoes
and a savvy traveler might want to be able to choose from a wider array of
offers in more destinations.
The aspect of
competition is also quite striking when observing the different partners in
this alliance. It is indeed significant to see major competitors join forces
for a common cause. It will be interesting to observe if their concept will
prove itself against powerful OTAs and almighty Google.
Keywords: Room Key,
OTA, Google Hotel Finder, Choice Hotels International, Hilton
Worldwide, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott International, Wyndham,
hotel search
Sources:
May,
K. (2012, January 11). Hotel giants come together to launch Room Key search site. Retrieved
on February 19, 2012 from http://www.tnooz.com/2012/01/11/news/hotel-giants-come-together-to-launch-room-key-search-site/
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