The survival and development of the Middle and Small reservation center from the point of view of competition and cooperation

With the opening of the Hotel Reservation network (E-hotel), the hotel reservation industry in China, the rise of its size is 350 member hotels, members 400,000. In a short span of 6 years, E-hotel or Webhotel has been rapid development, "hotel reservation" has become an industry, the country has at least 3,000 booking companies.

However, the "reservation" market has also begun to enter the "meager profit era", the competition is extremely fierce, basically formed Ctrip, elong two overseas listed companies (hereinafter referred to as "two major companies") dominate the world competition, small and medium-sized booking center has obviously been in a competitive disadvantage.

Operating mode

Many small and medium-sized booking centres rely on "two major companies", control of the local booking market: Because the "two big companies" customer service staff is difficult to the customer needs of very specific information to give a satisfactory answer, they often need local booking center support and assistance, in order to better provide customers with information, consulting and booking services.

There are also a number of booking centers to develop their own customer groups. Some booking center is in such an environment: already have a loyal ticket booking customer groups, should they travel requirements set up a reservation center, the old customers of the ticket booking service extended to the booking business area.

Independent development of the local booking market, but also part of the small and medium-sized booking Center market Choice, they are for the hotel marketing, use "sweeping building" and other ways to achieve contract with the hotel cooperation, this way the cost is higher, but the hotel will have a more in-depth understanding of the situation. Foreign countries already have similar business model, such as www.quikbook.com, his staff will visit every member of the hotel, evaluation of it, so that can master enough information to eliminate many of the customer's doubts, so that customers can obtain more accurate and reliable hotel evaluation information.

Profit model

Revenue from the customer only, such as selling to the customer membership card, and the hotel does not have frequent business contacts, only from the hotel return commission income, and the hotel has more frequent business contacts;

Marketing methods

No Deposit Booking Mode: The provision of online direct booking ——— online confirmation ——— online payment, the provision of online booking ——— network Confirmation ——— Hotel reception, the provision of internet booking (free telephone, or not free telephone) ——— Fax Confirmation ——— the front desk payment.

Deposit Booking Mode: Customers need to pay a certain deposit when booking a hotel room, so that the interests of customers, hotels, reservations Center have better protection, reduce the "noshow" rate. More foreign use of this way, the development of China's immature market, the need for such constraints to increase customer integrity, but also to make the hotel more specific needs, but the booking center and hotel should also ensure that the right and accurate information for the customer decision-making.

Development status

At present, the National Reservation Center 99% is small and medium scale, relying on a little commission to survive, fierce competition has made every night a very small profit, while the customer has become more mature and picky, and the daily operating costs of the booking center is still high, and sometimes the booking center one months only dozens of yuan income, Therefore, their living environment is deteriorating, it is urgent to strengthen the cooperation with the small and medium hotels, with the booking counterparts. China's booking alliance is in this context, they are trying to create a network booking platform, charging service fees, to attract small and medium-sized booking center and hotels to join, but at the same time the small and medium-sized booking center is also worried that the alliance eventually abandoned. This trend has occurred abroad, in the next few years, perhaps only one booking center to continue to survive, and the hotel began to strengthen its reservation system and marketing efforts.

Competitive relationships

The competition between the reservation center for the tourists, especially with the two large reservation centres, resulting in a reduction in the commission of reservations: for example, some large booking centres each night the commission from 40-70 Yuan, the small may only be 10-40 yuan (some people in the industry approximate estimates, without detailed verification,), Therefore, only by maintaining a certain size of customers in order to ensure survival and development, and the market is a relatively limited and determined market size, booking center in every possible attempt to win customers at the same time, customers also in the booking center price and service comparisons, from the objective to aggravate the competition between the center.

Booking center and hotel for the source of contention, hotel for the reservation center transport customers "two development" to the booking center sent to the source of tourists for their customers (by providing a cheaper price than the booking center) led to the loss of some of the source from the reservation center, the cooperation between the two sides has a greater impact.

Partnership

Many small and medium-sized hotels are single operation, even the chain operation, scale is also relatively small, their own sales channels are limited, it is difficult to become positioned in the "Samsung" above the "two major companies" partners, they hope that through the realization of cooperation with small and medium-sized booking center, expand sales channels, increase customer sources, improve the "occupancy rate", Reduce marketing costs.

From the customer's point of view, the same hotel prices they received from different booking centres should be similar so that they would not lead to a vicious price competition between the booking centres, as the result of price competition is often "contagion" and ultimately damaging the interests of customers and hotels. Therefore, in principle, the hotel and the reservation center once the partnership, we should ensure that the price of the external consistency: to the booking center requirements of the same price, so that each customer enjoy the same prices and services. Of course, the hotel can be based on the number of booking center sales to determine the number of concessions can be given, or even cancel a booking center of the agent sales qualifications. Such an approach also requires the tacit understanding and cooperation between the centres, in order to form a "homogeneous price" 23451.html "> Hotel products to provide customers, because the end only to provide customers with satisfactory prices and services, the parties can seek the benefit of the due, otherwise can only be" lost.

If the formation of loose alliances between different regions, can meet the needs of customers to different areas to ensure the inheritance and extension of the service.

Future picture

The impact and opportunity of comparison search: Comparative search is to provide professional travel information comparison search, through the targeted collection of artificial screening of the target travel site product data, the rules set by the program to classify the information collected, and then according to the user specified search conditions and arrangements for the relevant information presented to the search user, and provide links to these specific information pages. The price is more transparent to the booking center and hotel, increased customer bargaining power, so objectively exacerbated the reservation between the center of the customer's contention, but, if the reservation center and the hotel can well locate their own client groups, this new search method is also a new marketing channel, will also be provided to the reservation center and the hotel more customer support.

Network booking Platform Alliance: Through the establishment of a certain franchise rules to restrict the booking center and hotel, set up a relatively standardized price and service mechanism, the background by the user's own maintenance of the operating system. But the key to the success of such a platform is the ability to assemble a sufficient number of booking centers and hotels on the network, "distribution for the whole", whether the reservation center and the hotel's separation of support, forming a brand effect. Once this kind of network platform develops maturely, will have the big impact to "two big companies", this network platform is bringing the customer and the profit to the small and medium-sized booking center, also exists "to mediate" the question, namely is abandoned by the hotel and the Alliance platform.

The development of some new technologies, such as electronic maps or location-based booking services, can provide support for spatial information such as hotel locations. With the wide application of these technologies, there will be new competition and opportunities, which need to be determined according to their own resource conditions and development needs.

The hotel as the business entity and subject which the reservation industry relies on, in the future competition plays a key role, need to do a good job and divide the "cake"; customer is the main body and core of consumer hotel products, customer satisfaction and loyalty is the core problem of the reservation market, between booking center, Reservation Center and the hotel only in the competition at the same time to strengthen cooperation in order to better serve customers, retain the old customers, open up new sources, maintain a reasonable profit margins, to achieve a mutual-win.

China's "Hotel reservation" market is a huge market, and the size and level of economic development in different regions, tourism e-commerce development, the hotel and the development of the reservation center imbalance, it is difficult to form one or two companies "control the world" situation. With the "two major companies" business model of the increasingly mature, in the fierce market competition, "stand firm" in the small and medium-sized booking Center unique market positioning, Cendant and other internationally renowned tourism companies and domestic tourism enterprises, foreign "booking" site may intervene, the comparison search, Booking Alliance platform, etc. based on the network marketing model of maturity, and the hotel's own marketing capabilities, will form a relatively stable "multi-party" "booking" market, in this market, "diversity", "symbiotic coexistence" of the relationship will become the main body, the market environment will continue to mature and fair, and eventually form a reservation center, hotel, Customer "win more" pattern.