Buying hotel rooms over the Internet

Buying hotel rooms over the Internet

Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Most Indonesians booking a hotel room for business or pleasure
prefer to do so over the phone. But, in fact, people are now able
to make reservations over the Internet, popularly known as online
booking.

Online booking offers benefits that customers cannot enjoy
when making reservations by other means, such as phone, fax or
email. Apart from enabling customers to view the hotel's
location, its rooms and facilities through what is called a
virtual tour, customers can also at the same time settle booking-
related matters, such as filling in the registry and check-in and
check-out forms, and settling the payment, all in a matter of
minutes.

For those wishing to book hotels in Indonesia over the
Internet, there are numerous companies that act as third parties
to provide online hotel reservation services. These include
Asiatravel.com, Indo.com, Indonesia.hotels-reservation.org,
Jakartahotels.com and Paketrupiah.com. The providers have their
own reservation sites equipped with online hotel booking engines.

Typically, after clicking on the site of the provider,
customers will find information on the availability and rates of
hotels in their selected areas for their travel dates. Most of
the rates are quoted in U.S. dollars.

With a broad selection of hotels available, customers have an
opportunity to quickly compare the prices and facilities of
different hotels and find the best rates.

"It makes the decision-making process a lot easier, with all
the required information readily presented on the screen. Imagine
having to compare the prices of 10 hotels through a traditional
travel agency -- the agency would have to go through hoops to get
availability information for just one hotel, let alone 10," said
Eka N. Ginting, CEO of Indo.com, one of the country's online
hotel reservation providers.

Indo.com has 400 hotels available on its website. Half of the
hotels are in Bali and the other half are located throughout the
country, he said.

The providers can offer competitive rates thanks to their
collaboration with hotels.

"Our hotel partners offer discounted rates of up to 70
percent," Eka said.

Commonly, the providers have a transaction system that enables
customers to pay for a room with credit card. To ensure the
safety of the online reservations, Indo.com uses encrypted secure
layers for all communications, adhering to the standard security
practices on the Internet.

"So when a traveler clicks 'book now' to make an online
booking, our system automatically transfers the guest to our
secure site," he said.

The encryption technology helps prevent credit card
information from falling into the hands of fraudsters.

Like Indo.com, other providers such as Asiatravel.com also
offer competitive rates to customers.

"The percent of the discounts we offer depends on the hotels.
Our rates are 50 percent cheaper than the hotels' published
rates," said Yulia, who is in charge of hotel reservations at
Asiatravel.com's Jakarta office.

Singapore-based Asiatravel.com links travelers with hotels and
resorts in the Pacific, Europe, the U.S. and the Middle East.

Asiatravel.com boasts 5,000 hotels, of which some 400 are in
Indonesia.

Customers wishing to book a hotel in Indonesia should first
click on "Indonesia" in the list of destinations before clicking
on the listing of hotels available here.

Apart from using encryption technology, Asiatravel.com also
uses other means to ensure the security of transactions.

The site also has adopted a billing system that allows
customers to pay for rooms by transferring money to the site's
account.

"The system is especially intended for Indonesian customers
who are more comfortable paying via bank transfer," she said,
adding that for domestic customers, Indonesia's hotels were
offered in rupiah terms.

Aside from hotel reservation services provided by third
parties, customers can also take advantage of online booking
facilities provided by the hotels themselves.

Most international hotel chains are equipped with online
booking facilities. These include the U.S.-based JW Marriott
Jakarta, Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Jakarta, France-based Le
Meridien, Spain-based Gran Melia Jakarta and the UK-based Hilton
International Jakarta.

But even if customers book online with the hotels, it is no
guarantee of a discount rate. "The online booking facility is
part of our service. It is more designed to facilitate the
booking process," said Shangri-La Jakarta's director of
communications, Ratna Sjamsiar.

For those booking a room from outside Jakarta, making online
reservations can save money compared to using the telephone, she
said.

JW Marriott's reservation manager, Rini Anggreini, said
customers who made online hotel reservations with a minimum
length of stay of 14 days could quickly find special rates.

Meanwhile, several five-star hotels, including the Mulia
Senayan Jakarta and Borobudur Hotel Jakarta, are gearing up their
own online booking facilities to keep pace with technological
developments.