PARSIPPANY, NJ— The hotel group at Cendant Corp. recently proclaimed that its total number of online bookings is two months ahead of where it was last year, with two million room-nights sold as of late May through Cendant’s various branded websites. Furthermore, according to Paula Drum, vp, reservation sales and revenue management for the hotel group, there has been a 50% increase in Internet bookings at Cendant’s sites over last year. The websites represent the Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, Travelodge, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Villager, Wingate Inn and AmeriHost Inn brands. Behind this sudden rise in Internet activity, Drum noted, is a combination of factors, some of which were fostered by Cendant and some of which are a by-product of the technology-focused world of today. “So many factors go into it, such as consumers migrating to the Internet for research,” she said. “And as far as leisure travel, consumers are first and foremost choosing the Internet to transact their business.” Two Cendant initiatives that help drive traffic to the firm’s sites are its current e-mail marketing campaign and website promotions, which include the “Our Best Rate or It’s Free” guarantee that is offered on each site, Drum said. “We’ve been promoting our websites on other sites such as Yahoo.com and Weather.com and we have a very robust e-mail marketing program that tries to retain and cultivate those who have used our websites before,” Drum said. “And if they do visit the sites, they’ll find there is a very easy booking process,” she continued. “We also have the ‘Best Rate or It’s Free’ guarantee, which provides site visitors the best available room rates and allows you to get a free night if you find a better price for the same hotel on another website.” Guests can obtain the free night by finding a better rate for the same room and hotel on an opaque website within 24 hours of booking through a Cendant site or telephone reservations line. If a guest finds a better rate, he or she can submit a rate claim form on the corresponding Cendant site. Cendant then researches the claim, and if it is found to be valid, the guest’s first night is free, Drum said. She also pointed out that claims turn out to be valid only about 0.2% of the time. Since the incidence of valid claims is so low, one could argue Cendant is winning the battle with the third-party travel sites, or at least with regard to the best rate. The statistics bear this out, as 55% of all Cendant brand Internet bookings are done through the brands’ sites. But despite any potential competition between the brands and the third-party sites, Drum said Cendant does not view them as the enemy. “We realize that while we do want to have consumers booking direct with us because the franchises make more money, third-parties are still important parts to the puzzle,” she said. “So we want to make sure our properties are represented on third-party Websites.” Cendant recently displayed an example of that approach when it reached a multi-year agreement with global tourism firm Gullivers Travel Associates. Through this deal, an alliance was formed between Cendant’s Travel Distribution Services Division and OctopusTravel.com, which will distribute negotiated hotel inventory. Nevertheless, Drum did admit that there are certain advantages available to consumers who book directly through a brand site, such as Cendant’s TripRewards program that provides customers points that can eventually be redeemed for free rooms, airline travel or other products. At the moment, those who book online with a Cendant brand can earn 500 points. Drum also said that unlike many third-party sites, Cendant branded sites have easier cancellation policies and no booking fees or prepaid reservation policies. “We hope to continue to partner with third-party Websites, but the main question is how do we work together?” Drum said. “It’s really a give and take. But overall, I don’t see this being that strong of an issue
