How to get around the costly commissions of online distributors? The answer will come as no surprise to hoteliers who have been considering this counterattack for some time now: by grooming their own Internet offer… It will surprise the sector’s leaders even less since for several months now they have been launching revised and updated versions of their websites one after the other. The Web 2.0 phenomenon also had something to do with this and the portals of Marriott, Choice Hotels, Best Western, Sheraton, Kempinski and Accor recently began their metamorphosis. More intuitive surfing, showcased promotions, a wealth of tourist information, sites that are more interactive: by making little touches, hoteliers give themselves the means to impose themselves as the ultimate choice in a universe where clients tend to check out all the sites before making a final choice. In this subtle alchemy to transform hits into reservations, booking engines are coming to the rescue of hoteliers. These functions developed by booking engines support the creation of unique offers that the client will find nowhere else because distributors cannot manage them online. “Hoteliers are able to create promotions by automating -30% discounts for early reservations or proposing packages such as “pay 2 nights get one night free”. Hotel-owned websites are golden,” sustains Jean-Louis Boss, VP marketing at Fastbooking whose portal promotes its direct link to the property’s website.“We give the hotelier the most flexible tools possible, allowing him maximum control,” boasts Xavier Gaucher, sales director of Interfaces Technologies. “It is in the hotelier’s best interest to sell his property as a destination by offering a variety of services: reservations at a restaurant, a bottle of champagne in the room, golf, the spa,” demonstrates Xavier Gaucher. The direct interfacing between the hotel’s different services and online reservations is still rare, but...