INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) has begun adding its entire global portfolio of 4,600 properties to China’s largest OTA, Ctrip.com.
Through DerbySoft technology, the XML-based connection between IHG and Ctrip went live this week, directly linking IHG’s central reservations system to Ctrip and allowing Ctrip users to view real time availability and receive instant booking confirmation.
IHG’s entire portfolio will become available for booking by Chinese travellers over the next several weeks as more properties are rolled out on the Chinese OTA, which on its own offers users over 250,000 hotels worldwide and serves 60 million registered users.
Currently, IHG has 160 properties operating and 30 per cent of its global pipeline in China.
According to PhocusWright, China’s online travel bookings are expected to hit close to US$14.4 billion this year.
