Travelers today want to book airfare and car rental along with their lodging from one website. If your Hotel only offers accommodations online, visitors to your website are going to look elsewhere to buy their airfare and car rental…and when they do, they’ll be just as likely to buy the whole package from the other website. And that package may…or may not…include your Hotel. Even if it does, you just got a lot less revenue for that reservation. Hotels have been losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the online travel discounters by selling them rooms at a discount and letting them mark them up 25 percent to 40 percent to consumers.
Most of these third party sites add value by offering airfare & car, something most Hotels do not offer online…no wonder travelers book hotel rooms with a full-service travel site. Consumer Behavior Because of this consumer preference, properties that offer airfare and car rentals online to their guests usually book more reservations and have much lower vacancy rates and higher yields. Travelers with an air commitment are also much less likely to cancel a reservation. Properties that don't offer lodging along with airfare and car rental are clearly at a competitive disadvantage to Hotels that do. That’s part of the reason why Marriott, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, W Hotels, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Days Inn, Wingate Inns and others offer airfare to their customers directly from their own websites. And that's also why The Target Companies of Boston created AirDepartment.com. Now any Hotel with a website can instantly become a complete travel planning resource for their customers. This eliminates the competitive disadvantage to those Hotels that already do and gives a competitive advantage over those that don’t. Most importantly, there is no added expense of an in-house travel department or complicated computer programming or development. IT’S A NEW REVENUE SOURCE!
The concept for AirDepartment.com grew out of The Target Companies’ relationship as the air ticketing partner for Whistler/Blackcomb Resort Reservations and Mt. Tremblant Resort Reservations. “This business began as a discount air ticket service between our partners’ reservation agents and us via the telephone. It grew to involve faxes, then e-mails and evolved naturally into our online tool. Today, reservation agents and travelers can access this tool to plan their vacations conveniently and enjoy the same great fares” said Target Companies CEO, Brian Lash.
How does AirDepartment.com work? When you add a simple graphic and a link on your website to the AirDepartment.com discount airfare and car rental booking engine, you enable your customers to arrange a complete travel package for themselves. Inventory is pulled from the Amadeus GDS and includes both Public airfares and lower priced private fares, not offered to the general public. AirDepartment.com handles all customer service matters relating to airfare and car rentals and pays you a commission for every airline ticket and rental car sold. AirDepartment.com only offers airfare and car rentals, not hotel rooms or competing travel offers – we are your partners, not your competitors.
AirDepartment.com also helps close the sale! Your telephone reservation agents can access AirDepartment.com via your Hotel’s web site and arrange a complete travel package for your customers, increasing customer satisfaction and offering superior service and added value. By offering "one stop shopping", you can lock in the travel dates for your client and close the sale for your property or destination.
What do Hoteliers have to say about that? This aspect of AirDepartment.com intrigued Jasmine Vallarta, Reservations Manager, Executive Inn at Whistler, Whistler, British Columbia. “My client was impressed how easy it was to book his vacation. He simply gave me all his trip information and I booked it all on AirDepartment.com. My guest was pleased with the flight, the car rental, the room and even the ski conditions. So pleased, that he booked for next year plus 2 more rooms. I am quite happy with the customer service that AirDepartment has given to our property. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this service to other hotel properties.”
Says Nicole Hickman, Office Manager, The West Condominiums, Steamboat Springs, CO: “I wanted to join AirDepartment.com so that we could offer our guests a full package – we wanted to offer lodging, lift tickets and air all in one place. It’s convenient for guests and so far it has been very successful for us and for our guests.”
Who’s doing it Since launching last winter, more than 350 Hotels, Resorts, Vacation Rental Property Management companies, Time Share Management companies, Yacht Charter companies, and other web-based travel services companies have signed on. Another 1200 Hotels offer air & car rental via links to AirDepartment.com within the Secure-Res Online Booking Engine for Hotels.
A new J.D. Power and Associates survey of customer satisfaction shows that travelers who book rooms directly through a hotel's Web site are most satisfied with their experiences. Don’t give them a reason to look or book elsewhere…give the people what they want….Airfare and Car Rentals from your Hotel’s website.
