Hilton Family Of Hotels Announces Multiple Website Enhancements With Rollout Of New Portals And Search Specials
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Hilton Family Of Hotels Announces Multiple Website Enhancements With Rollout Of New Portals And Search Specials
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Category: Worldwide
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2006-03-09
Enhancements to Brand Websites Empower Guests To Research and Book Specialized Stays; Shop & Compare Prior to Booking A Reservation
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 7, 2006 - In an effort to provide an easy and uniquely tailored booking experience for guests, the Hilton Family of Hotels, including Hilton, Conrad, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hampton Inn, Hampton Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Hilton Grand Vacations Company, Homewood Suites by Hilton and The Waldorf=Astoria Collection, has launched several new and enhanced online services, including search specials, calendaring, compare functionality, and government and wedding portals. "The Hilton Family of Hotels has made numerous enhancements to its websites that are better tailored to guests' specific needs, making it even more convenient for them to find the right hotel accommodations and services at the best value," said Bala Subramanian, senior vice president - distribution and brand integration for Hilton Hotels Corporation. "From a business standpoint, these enhancements will enable our company to continue increasing the percentage of online net bookings across all of its brands, the average of which was 30 percent higher in 2005 over 2004. The Hilton Family brand websites now receive more than 15 percent of overall reservations contribution via its proprietary websites, while booking from third-party websites remains flat at under 3 percent. The month of January evidenced new records in customer visits, click-to-book and electronic customer engagement, and annual revenues are fast approaching $2 billion, making the Hilton Family of Hotels web-sites among some of the largest commercial sites in the world."
The following new online booking features make the customers' decision process easier (Search Specials, Calendaring, Compare), target unique and specialized customer needs (Government and Weddings Portals and e-Events), and improve customer convenience (eCheck-in and Guest List Manager):
Search Specials
Hilton Family online shoppers have long had the ability to view real-time best available rates and availability before making a hotel selection. The Search Specials feature now enables them to view real-time availability and rates for all special offers available on line on a single page versus having to search hotel by hotel.
The new design improvements to the Web site include an improved navigational style so that guests will find the many fun and relaxing offerings and packages offered by hotels within the Hilton Family, making it easier to view, plan, compare and book the ideal getaway or vacation without having to jump to a variety of different sites.
Calendaring
Calendaring enables members of the Hilton HHonors guest reward program to view redemption availability at a single hotel for their preferred length of stay across a 31-day span and to pick and play with days, rates and combinations of each that work best for their schedule. In April of 2006, all site visitors with flexible travel dates will be able to view at-a-glance a single hotel's availability and rates across a 31-day period.
Compare
The option to compare hotels side by side, without having to jump from one page to the other, offers 'shopping cart' options that are found on more traditional retail sites. The compare and "shopping cart" functionality equips the customer with the appropriate level of information in an easily read format so they can make an informed purchasing decision.
Government Portal
The new Government Portal provides an easy and uniquely tailored booking experience for government and military travelers, including government traveler information, available on each of the Hilton Family of Hotels Websites, including gov.hilton.com, gov.doubletree.com, gov.embassysuites.com, gov.hamptoninn.com, gov.hiltongardeninn.com and gov.homewoodsuites.com. When making reservations for government rates, government and military travelers can search government rates when available at more than 2,300 Hilton Family hotels in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; access Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs); access links for travel resources, such as Federal Travelers Reference Guide, U.S. Per Diem Rates, Foreign Per Diem Rates, among others; and see brand-specific content dedicated to the government traveler.
Weddings Portal
A new Weddings Information and Booking Portal offers an easy and uniquely tailored booking experience for wedding planners and their guests, available on each of the Hilton Family of Hotels Websites, including weddings.hiltonfamily.com, weddings.hilton.com, weddings.doubletree.com, weddings.embassysuites.com, weddings.hamptoninn.com, weddings.hiltongardeninn.com and weddings.homewoodsuites.com. Features of the portal dedicated to wedding planners and their guests include: Rich content and tools, including "Your wedding," "The planning," and "Our hotels;" links to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP); small group bookings capability; ability to link to and utilize Personalized Online Groups and Rooming List Tool (a Guest List Manager)
At the end of 2005, the company also announced three initiatives to enhance the online booking experience for guests:
eCheck-in is available to guests who are Gold and Diamond VIP members of the Hilton HHonors guest reward program. With eCheck-in, Gold and Diamond members can benefit from the convenience of checking in via the Web up to 36 hours and within at least two hours of their arrival. Guests can log onto view e-Events T Small Group Product and Guest List Manager on hiltonmeetings.com, conradhotelsmeetings.com, doubletreemeetings.com, embassysuitesmeetings.com, hamptoninnmeetings.com, StayHGI.com, and homewoodsuitesmeetings.com.
e-EventsT small group product enables meeting planners to go online and book anywhere from five to 25 guest rooms with real-time, instant confirmation on a booking. No RFP (request for proposal) is required for meetings of 25 rooms or less - the entire transaction is on-line.
Guest List Manager is a tool that allows group meeting planners (depending on their level of access) to book multiple reservations online at a time, view and manage guest lists as well as view room count summaries for an established group block at any of the Hilton Family of Hotels.
Enhanced booking tools are available at hiltonfamily.com or any brand specific Web site and offer the flexibility and functionality for travelers to search all hotels and all brands within the Hilton Family and view actual rates and availability for special offerings.
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