The “By Hoteliers, For Hoteliers” Philosophy
Connectivity refers to the integration between booking engines and hotels’ distribution channels, and how they ensure accurate and real-time communication of hotel rates and availability. In simpler terms, it’s how a booking engine “talks to” hotels’ systems to provide travelers with the most up-to-date information to allow them to book their stay. Ripe’s connectivity strategy is fundamentally different from traditional Online Travel Agencies (OTAs). At its core, Ripe operates on the principle of “by hoteliers, for hoteliers.” This means that our platform is designed and built with the specific needs and challenges of hoteliers in mind. Unlike OTAs that often prioritize their ownership over the booking process, Ripe places the hotelier front and center.
Prioritizing Hoteliers: Key Differentiators
- Hotel as Merchant of Record: Ripe ensures that the hotel remains the merchant of record for all bookings. This means that the hotel is directly responsible for handling payments, cancellations, and guest inquiries, empowering hotels to build stronger relationships with their guests and maintain control over their booking process.
- Guest-Centric Focus: Ripe promotes and uses the hotel’s policies to avoid confusion and ensure a consistent experience for guests. Although Ripe has a dedicated team to help travelers navigate reservation issues, there is no need for intermediaries and the potential for misunderstandings is reduced.
- Facilitating Direct Booking: Ripe facilitates direct booking between hotels and travelers and guest information is directly sent to hotels, not only benefitting the hotel by reducing booking fees but also providing a more seamless experience for guests.
The OTA Challenge: A Complex and Inefficient Process
Traditional OTAs often introduce complexities and inefficiencies into the booking process. Imagine this: You’re on a cross-country road trip and need to book a last-minute hotel with your family. You finally reached what was supposed to be your pit stop that evening and it turned out they had no record of your booking. You’re forced to contact the OTA, who happen to be located in an entirely different country and they’re not open to calls because it’s outside of their working hours. This, unfortunately, was not a hypothetical scenario for me, but a personal anecdote and though I realized this was not the hotel’s fault, they also could not help me. Here are some things I learned about OTA booking the hard way:
- Inherent Lack of Control: Because OTAs often act as the merchant of record, it makes it difficult for travelers to solve their issues. This extends to hotels as well as they do not always have the power to address guest inquiries or resolve issues promptly.
- Enormous Information Gaps: When OTAs are in control, they do not always have the best systems to effectively communicate guest information to hotels, leading to confusion and potential errors.
- Frustrating Customer Experience: The convoluted booking process can be frustrating for travelers, leaving them unsure of who is in charge and who can help them. Although often unfair, this can sometimes lead to a negative perception of the hotel.
Empowering Hotels to Succeed
Ripe’s connectivity strategy is different. By prioritizing hoteliers and facilitating direct booking, Ripe helps hotels with:
- Strengthening Guest Relationships: Direct booking allows hotels to build stronger connections with their guests—they are in charge and can solve issues as they see fit. This ultimately fosters loyalty, repeat business, and a stronger perception of the destination they are visiting.
- Increasing Direct Bookings: Ripe’s tools and resources help increase hotels’ visibility thereby driving more direct bookings and profitability.
- Valuable Data and Insights: Ripe goes beyond simply facilitating direct bookings, they also ensure that hotels receive the relevant first-party data and analytics to help hotels optimize their operations, marketing efforts, and guest experiences.
Conclusion
Ripe’s innovative connectivity strategy offers hoteliers a game-changing solution. By prioritizing direct bookings and placing hotels at the heart of the reservation process, Ripe empowers hoteliers to regain control over their business and deliver personalized guest experiences. This hotelier-centric approach distinguishes Ripe from traditional OTAs, positioning it as a true partner in, not a competitor for, the success of local hotels.
