Hospitality Information Systems: Third Party Reservation Options

Hospitality Information Systems: Third Party Reservation Options

Third party reservations allow businesses to subscribe or contract with other websites to help promote their business. In terms of the hospitality industry, hotels often use these third party websites to sell rooms at a lower rate to avoid a low occupancy, and try to fill the hotel as good as possible, especially during those non-peak season. This paper will research and compare the third party reservations, this research will determine which type of transaction would help the consumer save money, and still contribute to the profits of an organization.

Products and services differ between direct and third party reservation systems websites because of things such as social media and website policies regarding how they monitor and screen feedback and comments made by customers. Many third party websites are connecting with customers about their experiences through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. Many of the third party websites let customers directly share what product or service they just purchased with their friends. The item that the person has just bought will show up with a picture and description on the social media site and act as an advertisement. After posted on the social media site the item can be commented on by anyone who is on the social media site.

With direct reservation sites there are comments and ratings on the websites but not as much of an opportunity to share the purchase of the product or service that was purchased. This is good in that the feedback is more monitored and probably more relevant to the company and product that was purchased. However the opportunity to advertise for free on social media is not there.

The changing role of third-party reservations changes the role of consumers as consumers increase the options available. With the increase in options, consumers gain the ability to work the market to try to obtain the best possible price. Previously, consumers obtained reservations by either contacting the hotel directly via phone or by using the hotel's website. The use of third-party reservation systems has made the reservation system more competitive. Hotels no longer compete with one another for potential business, hotels compete with one another and the third-parties offering rooms at a cheaper price for one of their competitors. This change creates a new realm of competition for the direct reservation system.

The competitiveness of direct reservation systems decreases when the hotel offers its rooms to a third-party reservation system to fill. However, this competitiveness increases when there are no rooms accessible/sold to a third-party reservation. Direct reservation systems must have multiple types of discounts available to compete with what is offered by third-party reservation systems. Direct reservation systems have developed member reward