It’s the biggest gamble of the holiday planning process, what room will I end up with? Traditionally hotels won’t guarantee a room as they’re usually not associated with a booking until the morning ofcheck-in. Until the day of, the hotel is unsure what rooms are available, have they been cleaned, prior guests checked out on-time, does the room require maintenance?
Room77 is a search engine for hotel rooms with over 425,000 hotel rooms in 16 cites in the US and UK. The developer have built profiles of thousands of hotel rooms detailing information on the room location, bed types, size, proximity to the elevator plus other data including a 3-D “Room View” that simulates the view from the room. Combine this with the on-site hotel concierge’s tips for optimum viewing of landmarks and it’s nearly impossible to be disappointed by the room’s aspect.
The site offers useful personalisation tools such as floor preference, distance from elevator, high or low floors views and connecting room options. Once set the sites search engine will adjust search results accordingly. Each room is ranked against your preferences and given a strong to week rating.
An iPhone App has also been launched which the site suggests can be used at check-in to quickly check the room without the need to leave reception. If you’re not happy then this would be the most ideal time to check what other rooms are available and request a change.
What would it mean to offer your guests this level of personalisation? It would go a long way to remove any disappointment associated with the room which is a common problem for resort managers. What do you need to overcome to WOW your guests by offering this functionality?