Zhara enables 34% rise in Internet hotel bookings

Accordin to PhoCusWright’s Global Online Travel Overview, one third of travelers in the world will book their accommodation online by the end of 2012. From a hotel industry perspective, the move to on-line is an all-inclusive tool to expose a Hotel’s product and service offering to a worldwide audience; it is a crucial advantage in today’s context. It was also revealed that modern day tech savvy travelers are simply dependent on the Internet to get their holiday planned to perfection, be it a star class hotel or an exciting hideaway; the decision to experience it is always based on “googling it” first.

Zhara HS, the pioneer in introducing the concept of a comprehensive Internet Booking engine to the local hotel industry, is an enterprise class all-in-one hotel management software produced by JKCS. It enables a resort or a hotel chain to run its entire operation by simply logging on to the Internet, and offers a full fledged Central Reservation System and Property Management System along with the Internet Booking Engine for properties of any scale or type.

In an analysis conducted recently by the Zhara team at JKCS on the booking patterns of hotels using the system, it was discovered that a significant growth in reservations from FIT’s (Free Independent Travelers) through the web have occurred in the hotels which have signed up with Zhara HS up to date, further confirming the trend predicted by PhoCusWright.

Rasika Iddamalgoda, BU Head, Hospitality Solutions, JKCS said, “According to the statistics gathered through an analysis of one of our recent clients - Talalla Retreat, we found that there has been a 34% increase in bookings through the IBE (Internet Booking Engine) from November last year to date. This is a significant achievement for us and we are happy to know we have been able to open new avenues of revenue generation for our clients. We are currently working on more ways to enhance the user experience of the IBE by making it more interactive”.

Zhara IBE functions as a round the clock online reservation center for a hotel, making it accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime. With an interface unique to each property, it enables online travel buyers to make room reservations in just a few clicks. The first touch point a guest has with a hotel today is its website. From viewing the pictures of the property to booking, the Internet has lessened the hassle for the common traveler of having to be there to know what he or she is going to get. Since its inception in 2010, Zhara HS has rapidly gained market share by enabling this process to its initial customers through its Internet Booking Engine. (www.zharahs.com)

PhoCusWright estimates that in 2012, Europe will become the largest online travel sector, while Asia-Pacific will account for roughly 20% of the market worldwide. According to one of Trip Advisor’s latest surveys, accommodation owners cited online marketing (63%), social media (39%), mobile (27%), email marketing (22%), and paid listings on user-generated review sites (17%) as the top areas in which they would prefer to increase spending.

Taking into consideration the above forecast and the analysis done by JKCS on the Zhara booking trends, the JKCS team is constantly focused on developing its product offering to ensure hotels are able to gain the maximum advantage from this shift to the Internet.