Middle East four-star and mid-market hotel bookings move online

The hotel business in the Middle East, from the mid-market to four-star hotel, is starting to adopt various online channels to improve their distribution mix, which up until now has relied heavily on traditional offline booking means.

This new trend is exemplified by Rotana Hotel Management Corporation Ltd, a firm that is aggressively developing markets for its brands, and which has recently launched a comprehensive re-branding scheme. The company owns and operates 24 hotels that are scattered across the Middle East and North Africa, and is opening eight new properties this year. Rotana expects to reach 100 hotels within five years.

For Rotana, 80% of its business currently comes from offline channels and 20% from online bookings.

“Our hotels are located across the region so traditional ways of booking are still strong. e-Channels are growing fast across the region. The key objective is to drive more reservations through the Rotana Brand site. Also, the aim is to increase business via the OTA’s throughout the year and during the need periods. We can capitalise on the OTA’s to attract customers in new markets beyond our current reach,” stated Michael Marshall, Corporate VP of Sales and Marketing for Rotana Hotels during the recently held EyeforTravel Travel Distribution Middle East conference held in Dubai.#

www.rotana.com