29 October 2009

What if Wotif isnÃ¢â¬â¢t such a good deal?

Regular TravelMole reader Jon Hewson, managing partner, special projects with VirtuallyThere, responds to this weekÃ¢â¬â¢s newswire item on Wotif.com in which the company announced a 33 percent increase in sales, calling the results Ã¢â¬Åâœexceptional outcomes in the current economic climateÃ¢â¬~.

Robbie Cooke, CEO and managing director of Wotif.com said the acquisition of travel.com.au and Asia Web Direct (HK) in the 2008 financial year had paid off even beyond expectations.

Jon Hewson writes:

I have just checked Wotif.com against my companyÃ¢â¬â¢s Vietnam hotel database which contains almost every room that can be rented in the country from home-stay through 5-star and sadly there are many glaring errors or exaggerations.

Clearly Wotif.com has either not audited the hotels or has relied upon self-description which is an unreliable strategy. It is hardly alone in this as other websites have this weakness, too.

The web site 'double dips' charging customers and hotels transaction fees which makes Wotif significantly more expensive than other reservation web sites.

The question: "How does the hotel get my booking?" on their About Us web page is not answered.

The paragraph following the question includes the statement: "It only takes a few minutes for us to confirm your booking. As soon as you have your confirmation, the hotel has access to your booking details."

This is NOT a confirmation from the hotel rather it depends on the Wotif database being current and updated by hotels.

I know some of their hotel clients do not accept reservations overnight. It means a hotel would not know of a reservation for up to 6-8 hours.

Errors I noticed included non-existent towns, location and spelling errors all of which should not exist and only serve to confuse customers. Their 'low prices' are higher than some current prices - likely because their database needs updating.

Asia Web DIRECT introduces even more risk as it uses two third party web sites to arrange hotel reservations and their inaccuracies are greater than Wotif. Hardly direct, either.

Bottom line: Travel agents should know that Wotif is little better than many other res systems PLUS their combined commissions undoubtedly force total costs higher.

If you must use a res system try Hotels.com, book a single night and when you get the confirmation with an email address contact the hotel directly for the balance of a stay booking. They will appreciate the extra money.

Remember, accommodation in Vietnam is sold by the room, not the number of people.

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Your Comments (5)

Wotif reality check please!

Wotif pre paying for rooms...please pull the other one! After hotels have given their inventory at break even margin, they are lucky to get paid 30 to sixty days AFTER the guests have departed. Another thing, inventory is alloted to Wotif, all the work done electronicaly and all risks taken by the hotel. Yet go cancel a booking with Wotif and pay a $25 cancelation fee...what gives, Wotiff has done nothing for it, the consumer has created and cancelled the booking on line without Wotif's assistance, it's all electronically done and the hotel gets nothing out of the cancelation fee? Sorry but not good PR strategy. Anyway, you can get just as good or better value- added deals on many other On Line booking portals than Wotif if you take the time to look and get off the Wotif addiction...and the one thing that in the end that makes a big difference when things do not to go according to plan: personal service! The latest offer direct from Wotif to hotels goes like this: "... * Ensure availability throughout the three month booking window * Deals must be exclusive to Wotif.com by either rate or value add * Deals must be at least 50% off the rack rate/full rate * We would prefer no minimum night stay (will consider up to a minimum 3 nights depending on your region) * Ensure availability throughout the three month booking window * Deals must be exclusive to Wotif.com by either rate or value add * Deals must be at least 50% off the rack rate/full rate * We would prefer no minimum night stay (will consider up to a minimum 3 nights depending on your region) Hmmm, selling last minute distressed inventory hey?

By john nicholls, Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Discount/Distressed Inventory Websites work well

As a travel agent, I've used websites like WotIf in order to secure discounted hotel rooms for my clients. Obviously you have to be careful which ones you use, especially around countries like India - but sites like www.venuemirror.com have a strong active team behind them, and I've always had great interactions with the staff there. They don't suffer from any of the issues that you've described above - I know they actually inspect sites themselves periodically too - furthermore, they contract directly!

By Richard Dawson, Monday, November 2, 2009
Responding to Gearld Smith

Responding to Gerald Smith who said: "I have used wotif for years and compared it with other websites, wotif always gives best deals." At this time there are simply eye-opening retail discounts that are advertised in both Vietnamese and English language newspapers that range from 2* through 5* properties. Unless the Wotif database is updated daily travel agents will end up with egg on their faces when their clients return complaining the rates they paid were higher than they saw in-country. This is but one complaint, If a web site can't accurately describe and locate a property accurately this will not only mislead guests but also travel agents. These are details that do not change often. Getting place names wrong is inexcusable: it simply highlights absence of knowledge of a property. The biggest weakness is confirming space. Very few of the independent hotel space vendors obtain confirmation from properties **before** confirming reservations with the travel agent/guest. Wotif is not alone in this but only careful reading of the terms and conditions reveal the weaknesses. I still wonder how Wotif fulfills the sentence "Our bookings are all fully pre-paid, so you can rest assured that once you have your booking confirmation, the room is yours." This could be taken to imply that Wotif pays for the room before issuing the confirmation and this payment is assurance the room is guaranteed. The **most** reliable res systems are the in-house types, the Hiltons, Marriotts, etc., as they are the only ones that can enforce compliance. Travel agents should be aware of these shortcomings as their reputations is on the line.

By J Hewson, Thursday, October 29, 2009
Rates are not always lower

A lot of our clients tell me that they charge higher rates for Wotif bookings than direct. Makes sense when you think about it. Wotif is no longer for selling distressed, or overstocked room supply; it's just a regular sales channel and it has costs. Costs measured in both commissions and cash flow. And, when you're selling rooms, why should a third party have a better price that buying direct? Trains guests to behave incorrectly. Also, guests know that if they get a room through Wotif, the property will match prices for direct bookings 9 out of 10 times. Then, they also get a better room because the discounted rooms would normally be the ones with more noise or something that makes them less preferable. But of course, Wotif is a great sales channel - there's no denying it. I just doubt guests get the same experience now compared to years ago when they first started.

By Mark Oliver, Thursday, October 29, 2009
I seriously doubt

I have used wotif for years and compared it with other websites, wotif always gives best deals. I went to Asia sometime back and saw travel portals there following wotif's footsteps. one such website is www.gohoto.in

By Gerald Smith, Thursday, October 29, 2009