TravelClick targets mobile hotel reservations with new Booking Engine 4.0

Hotel revenue management firm TravelClick has announced its new Booking Engine 4.0, which is designed to increase conversion rates and reduce guest abandonment. The company claims to offer a new reservation experience via a “user-friendly, responsive platform that drives bookings and incremental spend”. Booking Engine 4.0 is designed to engage a fast-growing mobile audience but … Continue reading TravelClick targets mobile hotel reservations with new Booking Engine 4.0

Hotel revenue management firm TravelClick has announced its new Booking Engine 4.0, which is designed to increase conversion rates and reduce guest abandonment.

The company claims to offer a new reservation experience via a “user-friendly, responsive platform that drives bookings and incremental spend”.

Booking Engine 4.0 is designed to engage a fast-growing mobile audience but work across all platforms.

More than 500 hotels worldwide have tested the new booking engine and TravelClick says they have  increased direct bookings by nearly 23% on average and saw a 155% rise in bookings on mobile devices.

TravelClick also said 44% of traffic to its clients’ booking engines came from mobile devices.

“The new user interface is extremely intuitive and appeals to guests,” said Matt Black, director of brand and guest experience at One King West Hotel & Residence in Toronto. “The user interactions make Booking Engine 4.0 feel more like a mobile app, with instant feedback and lots of visuals.

“Images, icons and videos are prominent and incorporated seamlessly. As a result, instead of merely reading through the material, guests can actually see and feel what the hotel experience would be like. This gives us more opportunities to upsell and upgrade guests than ever before.”

Booking Engine 4.0 introduces the platform’s Room Hold option, which locks inventory and prices for up to 72 hours in a bid to reduce abandonment and continue guest engagement.

The new platform uses high-definition video and aims to simplify the booking process. For example, mobile users can now scan credit cards instead of keying in credit card numbers.

“Direct bookings grew more than any other booking channel in the second quarter of 2016 as hotel websites continue to be critical booking and marketing tools,” said Curtis Brewer, senior vice president, reservations and web solutions at TravelClick.

“While large brands invest millions of dollars into their Book Direct marketing and web strategies, it has been difficult for smaller brands and independent hotels to generate the same kind of results on their own. TravelClick’s Booking Engine 4.0 aims to solve this problem for hoteliers around the globe.”