March, 2004 - More often than not, how one sees the world all comes down to perspective. Usually the people or companies with the better, brighter perspectives occupy the seats with enviable views. 

In the world of online hotel room reservations, FastBooking offers hotel owner/operators and guests alike the very best seats in the house without a doubt. No one can promise and deliver the close-up and complete views of room inventories and rates the way FastBooking can.

The Wave of NOW

According to a recent Forrester Research study, some 30.7 million U.S. households will buy travel online in 2004. That doesn�t factor in the estimated one in five bookings at U.S. properties that are made by overseas travelers.
Lodging will capture an estimated $10.7 billion this year in online leisure bookings alone, and this figure is projected by Forrester research to rise to $50 billion plus within the next five years.

According to PhoCusWright Inc., one in five bookings will be made online and this trend will continue to balloon in the coming years and decades. 

Several other trends are playing into the online room reservations picture as well:

• People who buy online are more likely to stay at hotels than the average traveler;
• Travelers who book online are more affluent and spend more on travel than ever before;
• The size of the online booking pie is expanding exponentially;
• The web has cemented itself in travelers� minds as �the go to channel for information, rates and deals�
• Approximately two-thirds of all travelers believe the �best buy� can be made online;
• Hotel guests vacillate between price and product when purchasing rooms online;
• No booking engine services more upscale hotels and brands than FastBooking. 
• Value oriented travelers ( those who buy solely based on price) can be great sources of incremental traffic and revenues �but related margins often are far too tight to justify paying the 15 to 30 percent commissions typical with the third-party merchant model;
• Many third-party merchants insist that properties and companies contractually agree to offer their lowest room rates on their third-party sites � effectively transforming these third parties into both indirect distributors and direct competitors at the same time; and
• The Internet will generate more than 12 percent of U.S. hotels� room sales in 2004 � and approximately 10 percent of these monies will be handed over directly to third-party merchant sites.

There are those that give horses water and those that lead them to water so they can survive and thrive longer than just another day.

In the booming world of online hotel room bookings, it�s becoming crystal clear which solution providers merely give  properties online clients for today,. and those that truly have the tools and a commitment needed to help hotels help themselves. FastBooking is one of the later� A rare hospitality technology partner truly focused on knowing and growing YOUR business! 

Hotel properties and companies no longer can afford to �outsource� their online reservations and global distribution. The known costs and risks associated in continuing down this path spells virtual extinction for those who ignore all of the aforementioned signs.

To turn today�s challenges into tomorrow�s opportunities hotel owner/operators need only partner with a proven online booking engine such as FastBooking. Sure, there are a few such suppliers out there, but doing your due diligence won�t be difficult.

Only one booking engine, FastBooking, empowers hotel properties and companies of all types and sizes across the globe to �Do It Yourself.� FastBooking is uniquely positioned and proven to deliver the following bottom-line benefits to hotel companies and properties:

• Direct, remote online management for each property�s rack, promotions, packages, long-term stay and last-minute rates � and related single-image real-time views for consumers; 
• An integrated e-mail campaign manager for Customer Relationship Management;
• Customizable real-time market intelligence reports on rates and special packages offered by client hotels� direct competitive sets; and
• Strategic partnerships with more than a dozen leading global distribution channels and online travel companies, including Go-Voyages and First Internet Travel.

It�s clear that FastBooking opens a world of opportunities for hotel owner/operators looking to take back control of their online room inventories and density, while putting more heads in beds and keeping more profits in their pockets.

Another view that�s critical to understand is the �What�s In It For Me?� perspective of the online transient travel booker. In other words, what is it that your guests like about site powered by FastBooking. ?

How�s this for a few consuming appetizers�

• �All CRS� displays of all available rates and all room types of that offer for any given date in one simple window view, giving buyers more options and more reasons to complete the booking  faster than anyone else in the business;
• An HTML, not Flash, based solution that ensures speed in the booking process. 
• An unparalleled ease of navigation, so travelers can make smart buying decisions in record time.
• An ability to reserve a room by the guest in a choice of 22 languages and comparison to all currencies. Only one-third of the world speaks English as their primary language. 

Ed Brill is Chief Operations Manager USA for FastBooking, based in New York. FastBooking is the European leader in Internet hotel booking engine with a portfolio of 1,500 top-quality hotels ranging from 3 to 5 stars, including independent hotels, hotel groups and voluntary hotel chain.