Common wisdom among savvy travelers has been that consumers need to call their destination hotel directly in order to get the cheapest room rate, better than what could be obtained through other channels. But with the advent of single image inventory, travelers can now be assured that no matter how they make their Hyatt hotel reservations- through a travel agent, a toll-free number, an on-line service, the Internet, or by calling the hotel directly, they'll get credible and consistent information about hotels' rooms availability and rates.

"The adaptation of single image inventory marks an important milestone for Hyatt and the hotel industry," said Norm Canfield, vice president of rooms. "Rate disparity long has been a bone of contention among hotel customers, and rightfully so. But Hyatt has dedicated a tremendous amount of time, money and technology to ensure rate integrity by developing single image inventory."

In the past, each Hyatt hotel operated its own reservations system. Additionally, Hyatt's central toll-free reservations system in Omaha had its own reservations system. These multiple systems could display disparate inventories and inconsistent rates. As a result, a consumer might get quoted one rate from the toll-free 1-800 number for instance and another when they called the hotel directly.

Hyatt's single image inventory system, however, eradicates the problem by consolidating its property and central reservations systems into one system. The result is a "single image" of inventory and rates, which ensures that the exact same rate and availability information will be posted on all distribution channels, be it Hyatt's centralized toll-free number, the reservations department of any of Hyatt's properties, one of the electronic global distribution systems (GDS), or the Internet.

Every Hyatt hotel and resort in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico has been converted to the single image inventory system.

Another advantage of the single image inventory system is that it facilitates more complete and accessible guest history systemwide. This feature will provide a range of information about a guest's history of Hyatt stays and most importantly, his or her preferences, such as room location, bed size, pillow type, smoking and other special requests. In the future, the system will be enhanced to include a comment section where other special needs and preferences -- such as food allergies -- can be noted.

"The obvious and tangible benefit of knowing our guest's likes and dislikes and their previous experience with our hotels is that it helps us better cater to individual needs," Canfield said. "But perhaps less obvious is the feeling of comfort, familiarity and satisfaction guests feel when they meet a front desk clerk who is able to easily access and acknowledge their individual hospitality needs."