Meritus Hotels & Resorts has joined forces with travel technology provider Travel Prologue to launch a new technology platform that delivers real-time data on room availability as well as dynamic and static rates to offline contractors including travel agencies, wholesalers and corporate travel intermediaries.
The Travel Prologues’ Trip Affiliates Network (TA Network) hotel platform solutions is expected to enable Meritus to collaborate more effectively with its offline contractors, particularly in the sale of any online tactical or promotional rates that have typically only been made available to OTAs.
The real-time connectivity afforded through the new platform will allow the hotel group to expand and develop a more diverse distribution network with its offline partners, regardless of their location or time zone.
By facilitating direct connectivity and automating the inventory management process, the TA Network platform will allow Meritus and traditional wholesale agents to bypass the manual updating of inventory and confirmation of booking, hence potentially eliminating human errors in manually maintaining hotel contracts and increasing staff productivity.
“The launch of this new wholesale distribution platform… (allows) us greater efficiency in the management of our distribution channels. As a result, we enhance our overall yield, as well as build up a more robust base demand in order to maximise revenue for our hotels,” said Adrian Tan, regional vice president – sales & revenue strategy, Meritus Hotels & Resorts.
Ho Siang Twang, executive director of Travel Prologue, added: “In addition to benefiting from higher yield, greater efficiency and productivity, our hotel clients will also be able to exercise greater control over its distribution channels – thereby reducing the risk of overbooking rooms, particularly during peak travel periods. In the process, they also significantly improve the booking experience for their customers.”
