Ed Brill

�We are thrilled about this achievement,� says Ed Brill, chief manager Americas for FastBooking. �It is important because it is a milestone our company has been able to reach in less than five years. We are excited that Hotel 5A has chosen FastBooking to power its on-line sales and distribution efforts.� Brett Deckard, general manager of Hotel 5A, says he chose FastBooking�s booking engine because of its flexibility, low cost and user-friendliness. He also was impressed by the technology support provided by the company. �Hotel 5A became an independent property in August

Deckard selected FastBooking, in part, because it gives his staff the ability to create and customize their own package, promotion and last-minute offer pages.
 

�We also can provide special access to our corporate accounts so they can book directly through our website,� Deckard says. �Also, we can run promotions on Travelzoo. The link we have there goes directly to our booking engine and the special rate we are offering.� Rate, room types kept to one page Travelers booking reservations at Hotel 5A�s website are presented with all available rate offers and room types on one single page.  �When travelers visit other sites, usually one rate and one room type is shown at any one time, and usually this will result in some lengthy scrolling on that page,�

Brett Deckard

Deckard also selected FastBooking because of its ability to provide reservation information in 26 different languages. When a traveler logs onto Hotel 5A�s website, the FastBooking system detects the language selected in that customer�s browser and provides all information needed for the booking process in that language. Confirmations and booking error messages are all presented in the booker�s own language.

�That is important to us because we do a fair amount of international business,� Deckard says. �Plus, we want to attract even more of this lucrative longer stay business.�

�People who feel comfortable working in their own language are more likely to book a room,� Brill says. �No other company offers the vastness of the language capabilities that FastBooking does.�
 

Deckard says the value his hotel will get from FastBooking�s reservation engine was instrumental in his decision making process.  �We want to drive more bookings through our website,� he says. �The most obvious way to accomplish this is through an effective and efficient booking engine like FastBooking.� FastBooking�s success rate business model enables hotels and hotel groups to avoid significant upfront costs because costs are based on the number of reservations delivered through the FastBooking engine. Jason Price, vice president of New York-based Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, says hoteliers need to use tools like FastBooking�s

Hotel 5A

�When hotels rely too much on intermediaries, the intermediaries end up owning the branding and the customers,� Price says. �Industrywide, hotels give up an average of $50 per room booked to the intermediary. That is a lot of lost revenue potential. When using a tool like FastBooking, you are one step closer to building your own distribution channel and reinforcing your relationship with your customers.�

Richard Zwicky, C.E.O. of Victoria, B.C.-based Metamend Software & Design, Ltd., also says it is critical that hotel properties and hotel groups strive to acquire and book customers through their own websites. That will only happen, he says, if certain conditions are met.

�In any on-line shopping experience, the customer expects to complete the transaction seamlessly and easily without interacting with another human,� Zwicky says. �A hotel or hotel group that does not facilitate that is either losing clients or aggravating them.�

Deckard says he has been impressed by the user-friendliness of the FastBooking system.

�Our guests tell us that it is easier to use than our old system,� he says. �Our process of loading and updating the system is easy. It is all done on menu-driven screens. Anyone can sit down and figure out how to use the system.�

Deckard says he also has been impressed by the level of customer support that FastBooking provides.

�We�ve had excellent customer support,� he says. �I highly recommend FastBooking to any other hotel or group looking to change its booking engine.�

More growth anticipated

Brill says he is optimistic that FastBooking will continue its growth pace.

�We keep making our system better and customers continue to reward us with their loyalty,� he says. �As part of our 2,000 hotels, we also have 28 hotel chains that we power. We have managed to carve a significant niche in the global marketplace.�

About FastBooking:

FastBooking is a global leader in Internet hotel booking engines with closely integrated global distribution services. With 2,000 hotel clients spanning the globe and representing all property sizes and types, FastBooking caters to independent properties, multi-unit owner/operators, franchisees, franchisors, management companies, destination portals and on-line travel companies. For more information and a free demo, go to www.fastbooking.com, or call (212) 752-8500, option 2.