A pet peeve of many holiday makers booking online is clicking through to an advertised deal only to find that it is not longer available.
Two Irish software companies, http://www.avvio.com and Tierney’s Office Automation, have joined forces in a deal that should eliminate this problem for over 1,000 hotels throughout Ireland and the UK by upgrading the booking systems.
Brian Reeves, managing director of Avvio.com said that anyone visiting these upgraded hotel websites using the new technology will be able to see exactly what the hotel reservations staff see in terms of room rates and availability.
“Online reservation systems have been the subject of criticism in the past for advertising accommodation rates and rooms that may no longer exist,” said Reeves.
“The new technology eliminates this problem and enables customers to view real-time rates as and when the hotelier introduces them. The online booking engine incorporates existing hotel booking systems to ensure incidences such as double-booked rooms and out of date accommodation rates are a thing of the past,” he said.
One of the companies in the deal, Avvio.com, is also planning a drive into international markets with the launch next month at the World Travel Market in London of its hotel booking software, Avvio Convert 4.0.
David Collins, the commercial director of Avvio.com, said that Convert 4.0 would gain €45m in accommodation bookings for clients in 2007.
“It can be seamlessly integrated with a client’s website. The advantage of Avvio Convert to hotels is that it sells more, costs less, and sits intimately with a hotel’s long-term internet strategy for developing direct online business,” said Collins.
By Marie Boran
