Dallas, USA – Berjaya Hotels & Resorts, a member of the Berjaya Corporation Group of Companies, has engaged SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading guest acquisition platform, to take back control of the increasing disparity between its online room rates. The chain, which offers travelers more than 3,000 rooms across the Asia Pacific and UK, has adopted SiteMinder’s distribution technology to better influence and manage how its inventory is shared.
Today’s move supports Berjaya Hotels & Resort’s marketing strategy to aggressively grow its online presence and achieve rate parity, where possible.
“The disparity issue is getting more and more serious. It’s become a trend,” says Irvine Loo, Director of Digital Marketing at Berjaya Hotels & Resorts. “There will always be loopholes and, while we can’t be across every instance of a third party compromising our distribution platforms, we want to act quickly when it does happen. We want to be able to tackle the issue effectively, at both the group and individual property level.”
For Mr Loo, who oversees the chain-wide online marketing function for Berjaya Hotels & Resorts – which encompasses 18 properties from luxury to mid-scale brands in Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Japan and the UK – the greatest challenge is maintaining a price point that reflects the brands of the hotel group.
He says, “Travelers today are used to getting the best offers and deals online, but it is important that our pricing reflects quality. SiteMinder’s technology has made it easy to achieve exactly this. Bookings for Berjaya Hotels & Resorts are coming in faster than ever before, which means we need to be dynamic to drive revenue. My team could no longer afford to continue managing the extranets of our distribution channel partners separately, or to check the accuracy of our room rates with a credit card. I can now monitor and manage it all through SiteMinder, plus the integration of the platform with our property management system gives me comfort that it will not fail me.”
SiteMinder’s regional vice president – Asia Pacific, Brad Haines, says, “Hoteliers are increasingly challenged with taking control and ownership of their own supply. We are pleased to support Berjaya’s team to regain that control and ownership, and to compete with the superior service that travelers have come to know and love from Berjaya Hotels & Resorts.”
Berjaya Hotels & Resorts this year won the award for Best Luxury Beach Resort (The Taaras Beach & Spa Resort), Best Island Resort (Redang Island Resort), Best Beach Resort in Malaysia (Berjaya Langkawi Resort), Outstanding Beach Resort in Malaysia (Berjaya Tioman Resort), and Best Wellness Resort (The Chateau Spa & Organic Wellness Resort) at the Asia Pacific Tourism & Travel Federation Awards.
