LateRooms.com sets its site on Europe and USA
LateRooms.com -- the Internet home for thousands of discount late availability hotel rooms -- translates its website into key European languages to seize on booming online travel market
The website has also established a new European and USA helpdesk, equipped with fluent multi-lingual staff, to help grow the number of overseas hotels using the service.
Since launching only five months ago, the site has already signed a total of 2,000 hotels, outrunning the recently floated
The redesign is a major step in LateRooms' plan to transform into a truly worldwide operation following its unprecedented growth.
The service is now in talks with major cable and mobile networks and has recently completed a WAP (wireless application protocol) version of the website, enabling users to access the site via a mobile phone.
Unlike rival Internet services, bookings are made direct by telephone using the information provided, meaning customers avoid transaction charges and get instant confirmation when on the move.
Hotels simply pay a fee of as little as GBP4 per week to post their reduced room rates on the database as demand dictates.
With the global online travel industry predicted to be worth GBP18.5b by the end of next year, LateRooms' sales director, Chris Allen, says it's an ideal opportunity for UK hotel operators to use the Internet to develop their business and tap into the last minute market.
He said: "There's 15.7m people in UK alone using the Net and that figure is expected to reach 24m by 2002. The hotel industry stands to gain a lot from the Internet boom - whether you're a small, independent bed and breakfast or a major player - but the time to make the leap is now."
"What's more," he added, "it's not about discounting advanced reservations but helping dispose of distressed inventory. It's about filling empty beds and maximising room yield"