THA tests booking site

The Thai Hotels Association says its booking site for member hotels will be ready in December. THA marketing chairman, Supawan Tanomkieatipume told TTR Weekly the site is being tested right now. “We cannot give the exact launch date when it will go online as we still need to test the system to ensure there no glitches in how it processes information,” said Ms Supawan. The site will use the same domain name as the association’s website www.thaihotels.org. Around 200 to 300 THA hotels have agreed to join the project, which is restricted to member hotels. “Our strong point is that all of  rooms sold on the site are in legal hotels certified by the association so guests don’t have to worry about  fraud as well as the quality of the hotel,” she said. However, when asked about marketing the site, the response was vague. “We plan to promote the site first through a press conference on the launch day and then focus on the domestic market,” said Ms Supawan. “For international markets, we will work through partners such as the Tourism Authority of Thailand to provide links.” It still needs to discuss the matter with TAT officials. The main attraction for hotels is the reduction in commission fees that will average out at 5% to 10%. Usually booking sites ate charging 25% to 50% depending on which page the hotel chooses to appear, which is far more than the standard commission given to travel agents. The hotels can choose to place discounted rates, or special promotions on the site, depending on their marketing strategy. Initially, there will be just two languages – Thai and English. Currently, THA has 700 members with less than half of them joining the web site.