In todays tough economy, hotels are experiencing that today’s travelers, whether it business or leisure, are becoming more and more savvy with technology and how to find a great hotel deal. In today’s world, we hear a lot of talk about Opaque Pricing and Opaque Travel Websites, but what is it really? It is in short a non-transparent value offer.
A non-transparent value offer, or pricing opacity, basically means that you can’t see the brand of the product type you are buying. It allows hotels to offer deep discounts, varying with great range from their public prices, without affecting their price positioning and rate integrity. Wikipedia defines Opaque Inventory as follows: a term used to describe the market of selling unsold travel inventory at a discounted price.
It is called ‘opaque’ because the suppliers, in this case the hotel, remains hidden until after the reservation is completed. It allows hotels to reach more price conscious consumers apart from their direct target markets. This type of hotel guest is less concerned with the specifics of the hotels facilities and services. Instead he is driven mainly by price. The best known Opaque Travel Websites are Priceline and Hotwire.
Priceline.com currently offers a “Name Your Own Price” strategy, which allows for consumers to tell them the price they are willing to pay for a hotel room. If they choose the Name Your Own Price option, first they will need to choose the area they would like to stay in. Next, the consumer selects the Hotel Star Level they are interested in. Lastly, simply select the price you are willing to pay. Once this information has been entered, in most cases the consumer will have an answer in 60 seconds or less and once the price is accepted, they will know which hotel they will be staying at for their trip.
Just as consumers have become savvier with this type of booking method to save money, the Wingate by Wyndham Orlando Airport has also picked up on this strategy and took the initiative to offer a similar strategy. The Wingate by Wyndham Orlando Airport has introduced a Name Your Own Price strategy at the property level.
Simply visit Wingate Orlando Airport and enter general information such as Name, Address, Phone and Email. Then enter the requested check-in and check-out dates and supply the hotel with the price you are willing to pay. The hotel will reply back within 24 hours of receiving the request with acceptance or a counter-offer.
According to Spencer Tarplee, General Manager of the Wingate by Wyndham Orlando International Airport, by utilizing this method our potential guest not only receive the perks of being able to meet their travel budget by the Name Your Own Price model, but also by booking directly with the hotel, the guest is able to guarantee room type and smoking preference and submit any special request.” The Wingate by Wyndham Orlando Airport is excited to offer it’s guests in a bad economy not only a tool to use to be able to budget their trip better, but to also guarantee their reservation and have peace of mind before beginning their travels
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