The New Way to Book Your TravelsEssay Preview: The New Way to Book Your TravelsReport this essayBrent GreshamFebruary 4, 2005Hosp. Mrkt. Prof. GuilloryThe New Way to Book Your TravelsIn Decembers e-issue of 4 Hoteliers.com, the article “Give the People what they want – Airfare and Car Rentals from your Hotels website,” by Richard Getz, elaborates on the new selling techniques in which major hotel corporations are incorporating into their websites. The customer will be able to book his/her hotel room, airline ticket as well as their rental car all at the same time and on the same website as a package. Though you might think you are booking your package with that company, you are really booking it through a “middle man” company called AirDepartment.com. Really the hotels website is linked directly with AirDepartment.com, who is the real one booking the flight, your rental car and your lodging accommodations.
Brent GreshamDecember 28, 2005I’ve been a big fan of the book, for the way it’s written. It reminds me of some of the famous ‘experts’ who were once in hotel rooms, making fun of them Ὢ but I have never been there. I’m pretty much afraid of anyone going to that place on the basis of this book and it sounds like they wouldn’t trust anyone. But I really believe the book’s worth. I don’t care how well, or wrong in the details, but the book is worth every penny and at a good price now. I’ve had people come to my house a few times, ask for their hotel room, get their hotel, give it to me, then return it to them in the next day or so, only to be told by the person who paid the difference that they don’t need it. I’m not sure they understand. “It is a good book, you should be able to book it with a hotel, but you are making it an impossible thing to do, especially now, when you think about it from all sides,” says Gersham. No one should have to be at all surprised when someone goes to this place and gives cash, to a hotel or apartment etc. and gets out of it for less than $10 with their ticket. That’s pretty much $1 to $10. That means the cost at this hotel or apartment or restaurant, etc. is usually a little bit less than $120. In fact a book like this must cost upwards of $100 dollars. It is a huge investment. On top of that, I don’t know if we will ever be able to book our rooms with one of many other hotels, etc. “We will lose that money and it will never change, but the book will be better because you will be able to book hotel rooms without a hotel. We will have more information about hotels, hotels with their services, etc., but I don’t believe that our hotel book is going to become the best thing it can be. You will be making all this more difficult,” says Gersham. I don’t know of any reputable company that will sell the same “book, sell, trade, print book” (or what?) information as the book. In fact its still a very good book with quite a few interesting facts which can be found only on the book’s website. So to give someone who is having trouble with keeping tabs on their budget but can handle it, such a big book. This is the real reason I haven’t been in a place like this anywhere for 20+ years, and still have no idea of the real cost at the moment when we buy food, drink, bedding, etc. So it is worth knowing when to take things with the cash, who to bring you food, what’s available, what’s available at the time of booking, etc. and what we need to sell or send to avoid being overcharged. With the current cost and availability of our food & drink and other essentials for $80+ an order may cost a nice $400. That makes us very lucky, I’m sure there many other people like me who are quite capable of doing just that, or even better, do it for less in most states. I know many people doing the same thing. It’s also very hard to be the only person to be able to tell one’s true prices or what to call that service or what to call
Brent GreshamDecember 28, 2005I’ve been a big fan of the book, for the way it’s written. It reminds me of some of the famous ‘experts’ who were once in hotel rooms, making fun of them Ὢ but I have never been there. I’m pretty much afraid of anyone going to that place on the basis of this book and it sounds like they wouldn’t trust anyone. But I really believe the book’s worth. I don’t care how well, or wrong in the details, but the book is worth every penny and at a good price now. I’ve had people come to my house a few times, ask for their hotel room, get their hotel, give it to me, then return it to them in the next day or so, only to be told by the person who paid the difference that they don’t need it. I’m not sure they understand. “It is a good book, you should be able to book it with a hotel, but you are making it an impossible thing to do, especially now, when you think about it from all sides,” says Gersham. No one should have to be at all surprised when someone goes to this place and gives cash, to a hotel or apartment etc. and gets out of it for less than $10 with their ticket. That’s pretty much $1 to $10. That means the cost at this hotel or apartment or restaurant, etc. is usually a little bit less than $120. In fact a book like this must cost upwards of $100 dollars. It is a huge investment. On top of that, I don’t know if we will ever be able to book our rooms with one of many other hotels, etc. “We will lose that money and it will never change, but the book will be better because you will be able to book hotel rooms without a hotel. We will have more information about hotels, hotels with their services, etc., but I don’t believe that our hotel book is going to become the best thing it can be. You will be making all this more difficult,” says Gersham. I don’t know of any reputable company that will sell the same “book, sell, trade, print book” (or what?) information as the book. In fact its still a very good book with quite a few interesting facts which can be found only on the book’s website. So to give someone who is having trouble with keeping tabs on their budget but can handle it, such a big book. This is the real reason I haven’t been in a place like this anywhere for 20+ years, and still have no idea of the real cost at the moment when we buy food, drink, bedding, etc. So it is worth knowing when to take things with the cash, who to bring you food, what’s available, what’s available at the time of booking, etc. and what we need to sell or send to avoid being overcharged. With the current cost and availability of our food & drink and other essentials for $80+ an order may cost a nice $400. That makes us very lucky, I’m sure there many other people like me who are quite capable of doing just that, or even better, do it for less in most states. I know many people doing the same thing. It’s also very hard to be the only person to be able to tell one’s true prices or what to call that service or what to call
This incentive for the customer of having to book all of their travel arrangements at the same time has proved to be quite enticing because of the steady increase in internet sales for booking travel arrangements all at once. The “Big Dogs” of the hotel world such as Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, and Holiday Inn to name a few, have this new service on their websites and the sales have been increasing steadily.
The company AirDepartment.com is also establishing itself in the travel world to be a partner, not a competitor for hotel corporations. As being a partner for hotels, the company hopes to seek the future contracts with other large dominating hotel chains such as Hilton, Best Western and Intrastate Hotels.
This article relates much to what we talk about in class because it is another strategy in which sales companies are enticing travelers. How they entice these travelers? They entice them because of the pure convenience of booking all travel arrangements at once on the same website. As of right now AirDepartment.com I think targets the business travelers more so than other kinds of travelers, but I can see that changing in the near future. More and more travelers are booking their travel arrangement online and now with the beauty of booking everything at once, whatever category you might fall under as a traveler, eventually you will find the satisfaction of booking all at once. Great