Breaking Down Roomkey.com So You Don’t Have To

There is so much buzz about Room Key, I thought it would be a great time to take a detailed look at the new kid on the block to find out what makes it tick and why consumers should consider using it to book their next guest room. This just in…Best Western has announced that they have signed on to become the first commercial partner to supply hotel inventory to Room Key.  More on that news in another post.

The Homepage - At first glance I like the clean approach to the homepage.  It’s simple and straight forward and leads the visitor to do mainly one thing only…search for a guest room.  Yes the search process is simple and fast but I don’t see where the “fun” comes in.  Their “We Believe” preamble suggests that the consumer should feel “uber-confident” that the rates they are looking for are the best ones out there.  This is going to be a tall order knowing that most of these hotels have contracts with OTAs that may not allow the subject property to provide the best rate possible.

Suggestion – If you’re going to stick your neck out to suggest that the rates are the “best ones out there” then uber-upgrade the comment to include the words “best rates guaranteed”.  If you can’t guarantee the best rate then don’t imply that the rate are the best out there.

Also, there is no social share options/icons anywhere on the homepage.  What is one to do should one like to share the site with family and friends?  Since this is so obvious I’ll write it off as an oversight or TBA.

If you want to be downright picky, I’d move the “Search” button to the right of the “Guests” drop down.

Search – I’m going to conduct a search for Chicago.  Since it’s a new site and not all hotels are participating I’ll choose the third largest city in the country just to be fair.  I like the idea that I can conduct my search by City, Address, ZIP Code, and Airport Code.

Search Return – The search return is fairly complete and manageable and offers some simple sort by features that don’t clutter up the page like the OTAs are so good at doing.  Another thing you will note there are no ads on the sidebar or at the footer of the page.  Job well done.  I’m curious why the Park Hyatt Chicago landed in position one so I started the search over and found that the Park Hyatt Chicago showed up in position one again.  Maybe Hyatt has more skin in the game than does Marriott.

Suggestion – Let’s return to the subject of rates.  If I can’t compare rates from other sites (you know that prospective customers will feel the uber-urge to do so) then what information can you provide that suggests otherwise.  You didn’t convince me, as you suggested on the homepage, that this is the best rate out there.

Hotel Selection – I’m going to walk through the options for The Drake Hotel (Hilton brand) to see what details are provided.  When I click on the hotel link, a separate page appears with the hotel details to include photo, map, price, amenities, etc.  I also discovered that I can email this (email icon in the upper right-hand corner) with family and friends via email.  Good idea but not good enough for what your prospective audience may expect.  When I click on the bed configuration the same screen pops up.

When I click on the rate or the book button (displayed at $139) I am transferred directly to the hotel’s booking engine.  All of my original search perimeters are transferred as supplied previously and I can choose from “Best Available Rate” (this is an unrestricted rate at $159), Advanced Purchase Rate (full payment in advance – non-refundable rate at $139), “Bed & Breakfast Rate” (restrictions at $189), “Drive In Special Rate” (includes overnight valet at $184), “American Grill Package” (breakfast, Internet, American Girl doll at $194), “Senior Rate” (age restricted at $149), and the good ole “Romance Package” (romance not included at $199).

Suggestion – If the search return features a rate at $139 then place that rate category at the top of the booking options return. When your prospective customer sees the rate of $159 in position number one when the previous page suggested it was $139 then it only serves to confuse the customer.

Booking Process – I chose the $139 rate, click to continue, and now have the option to complete the booking process to include guest, contact, and credit card info.  I can sign in using my Hilton HHonors rewards number and pin to bypass the need to enter my personal data manually.  The balance of the page contains all of the legal stuff that one would expect and finally the booking process is complete.

A cross-check on the hotel’s website listed a non-refundable rate for the same set of dates and bed configuration at $134. Can you say busted!!!

Summation – All-in-all Room Key is a welcome addition to the direct connect distribution channel and I am confident that John Davis and staff will include future bells and whistles that the site will need to attract and retain an audience.

Pros

• You’ll be dealing direct with the hotel and not a third-party (should something go sideways with your reservation)
• You will be accruing rewards points with all hotels that offer a program
• Nothing to influence your purchasing decision
• No hidden fees

Cons

• No P2P architecture at this juncture
• Can’t share on social media (just email for now)
• Limited hotel participation (Inventory will grow quickly – Best Western is now #7 to join)
• No rate comparison
• No air options
• No car options

Tom Costello is an entrepreneur, consultant, author, and principle of iGroupsAdvisor Hotel Consultants and has more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality and travel verticals.  Connect with Tom on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter or contact him by email.  Order Tom’s new book “Prepare for Liftoff – How to Launch a Career in Sales”

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