Boston, MA | Boston based AirDepartment.com (www.airdepartment.com) a division of The Target Companies, has introduced True Dynamic Packaging, a new online booking tool that allows Hoteliers, Tour Operators and Vacation Rental Property Management Companies to offer airfare, car rentals and activities along with lodging at their properties on their own website in real time and in a single transaction charged to the traveler’s credit card.
Powered by EzRez Software (www.ezrez.com), AirDepartment.com has a connection to Pegasus and can instantly display live rates (published or net rates) and availability via the Hotel’s existing CRS without any set-up or on-going maintenance. If a hotel does not have a connection to Pegasus via their CRS or does not want to process the room reservation in this fashion, rates and availability can also be managed via an extranet or via online revenue management tools such as EzYield and RateTiger’s RTAllocator.
According to Richard Getz, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for AirDepartment.com, “Hotels are investing in Search Engine Optimization for the sole purpose of driving bookings directly at the Hotel’s website and away from the third party websites. However, if a Hotel’s website only offers booking of accommodations online, visitors to that 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 that Hotel. Even if it does, the Hotel just got a lot less revenue for that reservation since they probably sold it at a significant discount. Our service, while separate, is a compliment to a property’s existing room only booking engine”, Getz said.
AirDepartment.com instantly turns a Hotel’s website into a complete travel planning resource for its clients without incurring the upfront and ongoing costs required in owning and controlling a customized dynamic packaging solution. Additionally, the high costs of staff for fulfilling and servicing commercial air ticketing and accessing GDS systems to do so are eliminated.
EzRez is also the bridge between AirDepartment.com’s fulfillment operation and their GDS, Amadeus, for airfare and rental cars. In addition to booking published airfare to and from almost anywhere in the world, AirDepartment.com also provides travelers access to lower priced private airfares, not offered to the general public. AirDepartment.com handles the travelers' airfare and rental car questions and any changes after tickets are purchased, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via their toll-free number.
Setting up an account can literally be done in less than ten minutes and adding True Dynamic Packaging to a website is as simple as adding a link. Set-up fees are waived for properties accessing inventory through Pegasus and very low for those that require internally loaded inventory. Also, there are no monthly fees or annual fees to use the service.
Getz continues, “Consumers prefer to book travel online. And when traveling involves flying, consumers often check their preferred hotel or vacation rental property online for rates and availability, but hold-off on booking their accommodations until after they've purchased their airfare. Why? Because they don't know what it will cost them to get there. That's why travel packaging is so popular...consumers have a better idea of the total cost of their trip before they buy it.”
Getz continues, “Dynamic packaging is the key business strategy in today's travel industry. Most major Hotels & Resorts are already doing it, such as Marriott, Westin, Hilton, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, W Hotels, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Holiday Inn, Kimpton Hotels and many more. They’ve turned their websites into full-service online travel agencies. Of course, they only offer accommodations at their own properties. Our True Dynamic Packaging service provides the same value to the independent Hotel and Vacation Rental Property community and helps level the playing field by offering travelers who want to book packages online the ability to do so, thus enhancing the Hotel’s brand awareness and improving customer loyalty.”
“The value of offering packages is clear. Properties that offer airfare and car rentals online to their guests in a single transaction charged to their credit card 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 packages of Room + Air + Car together are clearly at a competitive disadvantage to those that do. Plus, with AirDepartment.com’s True Dynamic Packaging on a Hotel’s website, they'll retain more of the revenue for their products and services than when they're sold in a package via 3rd party travel websites.”
When asked why AirDepartment.com chose EzRez, Getz said, “Behind the scenes, EzRez allows us to offer our clients a choice of how they present their rates and availability, via Pegasus or with rates and availability loaded directly into our system. Having access to the Pegasus connector is a big deal. Hotels can get overwhelmed managing so many different channels. Our system can be an extension of what they’re already doing, so that makes it easier and provides instant access to packaging. The EzRez end-user interface is simple and easy to use and understand. The booking process is fast. There’s no need for the user to create an account or invent user names, passwords or sign-in to plan their travel. Our clients can also sell any activity they want online along with rooms such as spa appointments, lift tickets, airport transfers, etc. Plus, EzRez has a connection to the Viator Activities GDS so traveler’s can really plan their entire vacation from a Hotel! s website. This helps make our client’s sites sticky. Their website visitors have no need to look elsewhere to plan a vacation. EzRez powers Starwood Vacations’ website (www.spgvacations.com) and we really liked that site. EzRez is the perfect solution for our clients and their clients.”
Tina Fitch, CEO of EzRez, says “We are thrilled that Air Department is applying its significant travel industry experience and making best use of EzRez’s dynamic packaging and aggregation system by enabling independent room providers to offer the most sophisticated sites possible. Not only do the suppliers benefit, but the consumers do, as well.”
Companies signed up to use AirDepartment.com’s True Dynamic Packaging so far include: Grand Targhee Resort, Allez Travel, AltaVacations.net, National Lampoon Tours, Snowmass Mountain Chalet, The Limelite Lodge, Kandahar Lodge, Summit Inn, Accra Beach Hotel, Alyeska Prince Hotel & Resort, Aspen Mountain Lodge, Pokolodi Lodge, Village Property Management, Silver Tree Hotel, Wildwood Lodge, Sunflower Resort & Villas and The Alpenhof Lodge.
