As all of you know, I love the game of golf and one of my favorite movies is of course  �Caddie Shack�. There is a scene in the movie where the snobby country club member gives a toast to celebrate the engagement of his daughter during a dinner scene given in her honor. The toast goes like this�

� You come into this world and you are naked and bare. You go through this world with worry and care. You leave this world you know not where. But if you�re a thoroughbred here, you will be a thoroughbred there�.  �. Author unknown

Growing up in Kentucky and coming from a family that is in the horse racing business I was drawn immediately to this toast. It makes me realize that business is sometimes a race and the winners are determined by their ability to come in first. It is your turn to come in FIRST.

Like you, I have read with great interest the many articles concerning �e-commerce� and the use of the Internet. I also am confused with so many companies that are out there touting their �sites� as the best site to sell hotel rooms. The confusion I see is in the way they merchandise your rooms as well as their direct billing arrangements.

I have also read all of the �expert� opinions on what the future and impact of these sites will have on contemporary rooms revenue management. The fact is that e-commerce is here to stay and every successful hotel that has been fortunate to establish  �Base� business has been profitable. This is the only way to look at �online� booking companies. Realize that they can provide you with that base of business that gives you a consistent revenue stream. 

The need for hotels to be more involved with online booking channels was emphasized by a new report from PhoCusWright ("Hotel & Lodging Commerce 2002-2005: Distribution Strategies And Market Forecasts") which claims that within three years online hotel bookings will increase from 9 percent to 20 percent of total gross bookings.

Online room sales agencies now represent nearly half (49 percent) of online hotel sales (the balance being hotel Web sites).  Three-quarters of these agency sales come via the merchant model, where the agency often takes a 15 percent to 30 percent "margin" on the net rate offered by the hotel.  Hotel chains' efforts to improve their branded Web sites with price guarantees and perks for frequent guests should help them balance the merchant sales. By 2005, PhoCusWright projects that 53 percent of online hotel sales will come from their branded sites.  That is still a long way from the 80 percent of offline sales that come directly to hotels.  But, it is hard for a hotel Web site to counter the online retailers' multiple-property choices that the online bookers find so attractive.

PhoCus Wright, one of the leading Internet tracking companies predicts that as much as 20-25% of all hotel reservations in 2005 will come from the Internet. Why, you ask?  Because it is the best direct distribution medium ever developed. It will surpass your hotel franchiser as the primary provider of room sales for your hotel, if it hasn�t done so already. I think you get the idea, so let us enter our horse in the race.

Contact these sites and start selling more rooms.

I would suggest that you go to the sites first and become familiar with it. Call around and speak with the hotels that are using the site in your market place. You will then get a sense if it is right for you.

Your Franchise. This should be your number one source of information and assistance to enable you to win the race. You can begin driving demand for your hotel by expanding additional marketing channels using their multiple market web sites. Your franchiser should offer targeted online participation with a number of sites already.  Days Inns for example has established a special rate plan (SRP) within their reservation system that will automatically list you with Priceline.com This online booking engine requires that all of the hotels have a high Q/A score.  The SRP code also applies to: Hotwire.com, Neatgroup.com and Worldres.com.  Call your franchiser and use the help that they will provide for you.

This brings me to another interesting fact! Many primary web sites are listed in many different names, but share common ownership. Check with your franchise service person to prevent wasting your time researching sites. 

Coachquote.com This site offers a different twist to the Internet sales game. Group leaders (GLAMER) uses it as well as tour operators to find hotel rates for their groups. You can go directly to the site and register your hotel. You should be ready to consider a low competitive rate because after all, this is the motor coach market! Go directly to their web site and register.
I am waiting for the first hotel company to come up with the same business model using �meetingsquote.com�, �cateringquote.com� etc. 

Hotels.com This site is one of the best and as previously discussed owns multiple sites. You receive extensive global exposure and marketing through the largest online provider of net rate hotel rooms. They have been in business for eleven years. You will need to contact them directly and they will e-mail you all of the forms to get started. They want a net non-commissionable room rate from you and a per-cent or 5 rooms of your inventory. They will ad their profit margins. There is no cost to participate and you do not pay GDS fees and travel agent commissions. This site was formerly Hotel Reservations Network (HRN), and they are prominently featured on travel sites like yahoo, Travelocity, Preview Travel, AOL and others. Make sure that you speak with the sales person working with you to complete the forms properly and position your hotels to maximize sales.

1800usahotels.com At this site, you need to speak to a sales person who will e-mail as well as fax you all the information. They work on a �mark up� and want a minimum of 25% off the lowest rate selling Apollo GDS rates and a minimum of five rooms per night.  Each hotel needs its own agreement and they will require direct bill setup. Once you get their agreement, call them to review it.  All guests will present a pre-paid voucher upon arrival.

Lodging.com This site is owned by Internet Publishing Corporation, a division of Cendant Corporation, and works like the aforementioned sites. They are a multi-site operator and have �Travelbase.com�. What sets this site apart from others is, in addition they will train a member of your staff, so you can access your inventory and change it whenever necessary. Using the Internet, you can raise or lower your rates and allotments. You will control your inventory and can close them out if you need to! Since you control the inventory, they will only sell your surplus rooms.

Hotelaccomodations.com This site is another multi-site operator. They seem to have many of the �city� sites. This company is a major player and has a large marketing budget. They work the same way as the other sites discussed. They ask for inventory and mark it up approximately $20.00. They also require that a direct billing arrangement be established. Remember to ask them to e-mail all the information you need as well as fax it to you. You will have an electronic file to reference. 

Hotelrooms.com This is an interesting site. They do not work in the traditional sense as the other sites. They require a monthly retainer depending on the size of your hotel. They do not take a percentage of the room sale or even sell rooms directly at all. Their business model is advertising. They advertise your hotel and when a customer clicks on the web site, it asks them to fill in the request for a city and the type of accommodations required. The site will then show all of the selections available to book. The site then hyper-links the potential customer to your individual web site or any site you designate. They will negotiate advertising rates and feature your property if you work with them.  I think it would be a great place for a regional alliance or a group of hotels to reduce expenses and maximize their sales efforts.

Local Sites: You should go online to your local sites such as the city you live in, your chamber of commerce and your convention and visitors bureau (CVB). Find out how your hotel can be linked to these sites. Most of the time you are eligible to be listed for free by belonging to the organization. 
Destination Sites: If you are fortunate to live in an area that has a tourism base, major attractions, major sporting events, or other noted specialty promotions (fall festivals, etc.) that brings people to your area, then research those sites and determine if you want your hotel linked to these online booking engines. Most of the time it is free or a nominal expense.

I am not promoting one site over another and I am sure you already have a number of sites that you like. It is only a random sampling.

No, I cannot accurately predict the depth or success of the Internet-induced hotel online booking engines or how permanent it will be. What we do know is that they are producing rooms sales for hotels beyond our wildest dreams especially for hotels in distressed markets. (Call any hotel in Orlando!) Would any of us be wise to think that tomorrow's hotel marketing model will be a continuation of yesterdays? History does have a way of repeating itself. 

Rick Welch is currently President of the Lakeshore Group Professional Hospitality Management, Consulting and Asset Management Company. 
He recently has consulted to many major Law Firms as a Professional Hospitality Consultant.