In online travel agency (OTA) news, the California Lodging Industry Association (CLIA) and the Independent Lodging Industry Association (ILIA) have added a thousand plus independent hotels to upstart booking platform Global Hotel Exchange (GHX). Even prior to the official launch of GHX, it appears many hotel owners and support organizations are willing to flock to the new channel.
Originally scheduled for launch this month, the initiative announced by Tom Magnuson, CEO of the world’s largest independent hotel chain bearing his name, has been postponed due to massive signups and unexpected scale.
GHX, a new online travel agency model, offers free distribution and marketing for hotels that use the channel. CLIA and ILIA join not only 2000 Magnuson Hotels, but the massive numbers previously announced. Bobbie Singh-Allen, J.D, Executive Vice President / COO of CLIA and Executive Director of the ILIA, had this to say about the announcement:
“We are looking forward to adding over a thousand member hotels to the Global Hotel Exchange inventory. This is an exciting opportunity for small and independent hotels to improve their bottom line with increased hotel revenue and bookings. We will work with Global Hotel Exchange to add several thousand additional hotels in the coming months.”
Tom Magnuson, the hotel man behind this major market engagement added; “The massive number of hotels we are signing daily from dozens of countries clearly indicates a desire to combat a global triple threat of falling demand, lower room rates, and increased OTA fees.” (GHX) will now go live as a new worldwide trading platform, goes live in March 2012 worldwide.
The customer booking platform operates on the premise that hotel owners, forced over the last few years to pay commissions for bookings, can no longer afford to charge guests (in effect) for increasingly costly marketing channels. GHX solves a major economic dilemma for hotels, especially those with limited marketing budgets.
Hotels regain control of their revenues, and in the end guests get more transparency and low rates. Global Hotel Exchange will only charge a one time booking fee of less than $3, as opposed to third parties garnering up to 30% of a rooms gross rate for the overall booking. In other words, the potential for guests to save is extraordinary, at least according to the model shown.
Magnuson pointed out to detractors the $2.99 fees are not the only revenues GHX will earn, but where room bookings are concerned, guests and hotels will know exactly what to expect. The lowest rate in the world for a particular hotel, plus $2.99, no matter how long the stay is for.
To learn more about this news from California, please consult the original press release or visit Global Hotel Exchange. For hotels interested in finding out more, you may also contact GHX by phone at: 1.877.904.4491
