Hotelmine Now Offers “Direct Connect” Hotels In Paris

Hotel Sophie Germain and Hotel Etoile Trocadero become Hotelmine Hotel Partners

Hotelmine, the world’s largest “direct connect” hotel site, announced today that they have expanded their presence in Europe to include two new hotel partners, Hotel Sophie Germain Paris and Hotel Etoile Torcadero Paris.

“We are very excited to welcome both of these 3 star hotels to Hotelmine and anticipate that they will be well received in the marketplace,” stated Tom Costello, Partner and Co-Founder of Hotelmine.  “Hotel Sophie Germain and Hotel Etoile Torcadero offer great value and are ideally situated on the left bank in Paris with easy access to some of the most world-renowned landmarks such as fashionable Champs Elysees and the Eiffel Tower,” said Costello.

About Hotel Sophie Germain

The Hotel Sophie Germain is a 3 star hotel located in the 14th district of Paris and owes its charm to the sophisticated and classical decor, which vary from room to room, and to the attention paid to comfort facilities. Each of the 33 guest rooms at Hotel Sophie Germain features free WiFi, television, individual minibar, breakfast in room, individual safe box, and telephone.

Hotel Sophie Germain

12 rue Sophie Germain 75014 Paris

Phone +33 (0) 1 43 21 43 75

Fax +33 (0) 1 43 20 82 89

hotel@hotelsophiegermain.com

About Hotel Etoile Trocadero

Hotel Etoile Trocadero is a 3 star hotel located in the 16th district of Paris and is within walking distance of the Champs Elysées and the Eiffel Tower.  Each of the 23 guest rooms at Hotel Etoile Trocadero features a private bathroom, hairdryer, individual minibar, and satellite TV.  A continental breakfast is provided every morning and can be served in the guest rooms.

Hotel Etoile Trocadero

21 rue Saint-Didier 75016 Paris

Phone +33 (0) 1 45 53 01 82

Fax +33 (0) 1 45 53 59 56

hotel@etoiletrocadero.com

About Hotelmine

Hotelmine, a Groups International brand, is the “new breed” of hotel sites that delivers customers who are ready to travel directly to your hotel.  When a customer sees something that suits his taste or budget he books direct by calling your hotel or through your hotel’s website booking engine.

Tom Costello is the CEO, Partner & Co-Founder of Groups International, a company that provides marketing, consultative services, and technology solutions to the group and leisure travel markets.  Connect with him on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook or contact him by email.

Calculate The Cost Of Using An OTA

Take the first step to breaking your addiction to OTAs – Identify Your Hidden Costs. Use the Madigan Pratt Hidden Cost Calculator by clicking on this link to find out what you’re spending to market through the OTAs.

Just enter in your hotel information. Then, use the calculator to play out several “what if” scenarios to try and reduce costs. What would you save if you could reduce OTAs as a percentage of total revenue – keeping all other factors the same?

After you’ve recovered from the shock register your hotel on Hotelmine.com and begin to book more business direct.  No Commissions or GDS fees.

Check The Buzz About Hotelmine

There’s a lot happening since the recent launch of the Hotelmine.com website this past week.  Thanks to all of the hotels that are participating and we look forward to adding more hotels this week.

Tom Costello is the CEO, Partner & Co-Founder of Groups International, a company that provides marketing, consultative services, and technology solutions to the group and leisure travel markets.  Connect with him on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook or contact him by email.

Hotelmine Goes Live

Hotelmine has announced that it has officially moved into the soft launch stage at www.hotelmine.com.

Hotels can Click Here to register their hotel or to learn more about how Hotelmine works by clicking Here.

See where the worlds largest “Direct Connect” online leisure travel site can take you!

The battle between American Airlines and Online Travel Agencies has hotels cleared for take off

Along with a brighter outlook for the hotel industry comes a new alternative to the high cost of doing business with online travel giants like Expedia and Orbitz.

If you conduct a Google search for “hotels in New York City” the search return will provide more than 84 million results where most feature links to third-party travel sites offering rates for hotels in New York City.

When a consumer elects to book his hotel room through one of these third-party sites it could cost the hotel more than eight times the transaction cost as compared to if the same transaction were to be booked directly with the hotel.

According to a much discussed article released by Hospitality eBusiness Strategies titled “In Hospitality, Not All Internet Bookings are Created Equal” a direct booking through the hotel’s website is approximately $13 per transaction whereas a booking through a third-party site could cost the same hotel nearly $108 per transaction.

“During tough economic times hotels historically relied on the OTA distribution model to help get rooms sold,” said Chris Wenz, Partner & Co-Founder of Hotelmine, “but now that the hospitality industry appears to be in a recovery mode, there’s no better time than now for them to re-think their distribution strategy.”

‘Digging in their heels”

OTAs are not going away and most industry insiders would suggest that they may be digging in their heels with hoteliers much the same way they are with American Airlines in order to control product offerings, pricing, and lucrative contracts that provide abnormally high commissions and wholesale rates.

“A number of hoteliers and hotel management firms that we have known for years are suggesting that they will address their online marketing strategies and ‘best practices’ in order to take back some of the ground that they lost over the past four years,” Wenz said.  “That’s why a direct connect distribution model makes sense for both the hotel and the consumer because the hotel can reduce their distribution and conversion costs and have more of a profit margin to create incentives and value-adds for the consumer.”

Examples of these best practices include;

• Strict rate parity, a best rate guarantee, and don’t allow a third-party to undersell a hotel.
• Hotels will need to expand their social media presence on sites like Facebook and offer special deals or promotions to those who are following them on the site.
• And finally, a hotel needs to begin to analyze options that will move them beyond traditional search methods and engage prospective consumers the very moment they start thinking about travel.

“The Concept”

Wenz, who has a background in developing technology solutions for group and leisure travel, recognized a void in the marketplace and began to design a solution that would directly connect a customer with a hotel.

“I have been following online leisure travel and social media trends for the past five years and came up with the concept that is now Hotelmine,” said Wenz.

Hotelmine may look like any other leisure travel site but that’s where the similarities stop.

The site’s model combines a Business 2 Consumer platform with a Peer 2 Peer social media architecture that allows consumers to book direct with the hotel and to share their research, travel plans, and transactions with family and friends on the top social media sites.

Hoteliers have full control over their offerings and sell products, services, and value-adds the way they want to sell them in a transparent environment where consumers can make an informed decision about which hotel best suits their taste or budget.

When it’s time to book, the consumer books directly by calling the hotel or through the hotel’s website booking engine.

“The countdown’s on”

“We are now tying up some loose ends with the site and should have it ready for the scheduled soft launch on February 14^th,” Wenz stated, “and we are continuing to pre-register new hotels on almost a daily basis.”

“We couldn’t be at a better place and at a better time,” suggested Wenz, “and the feedback and response from the hotel community has been overwhelming and continues to spur us on to the successful launch of Hotelmine.”

Tom Costello is the CEO, Partner & Co-Founder of Groups International, a company that provides marketing, consultative services, and technology solutions to the group and leisure travel markets.  Connect with him on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook or contact him by email.