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.