RateTiger has found that hoteliers are processing twice as many updates compared to 2007.

The provider of channel management and online distribution technologies for the hospitality industry compared channel activity during the period January – October 2007 and 2008 finding that updates had increased 151%.

Hoteliers made an average of 5,833 updates during the month of October 2008 compared to 3,724 a year ago, an increase of ca. 57%. In London this number was much higher. The capital’s hoteliers were by far the most fanatic when updating online channels, showing an increase of 159%, from 2,721 to 7,038.

RateTiger further found that five star and one star properties, compared to others, were spending more time managing their online channels. Five star properties increased activities by 76% and one star made three times as many updates compared to 2007.

Trends collated from revenue manager’s online channel management activity also show that hoteliers are spending more time benchmarking rates. In the past year comparing competitor prices has increased nearly four-fold.

”These trends show revenue managers are keen to understand the online market and make the most of rates across multiple channels,” said Sascha Hausmann, COO. ”With a rapidly expanding online hospitality industry and a growing online travel market hoteliers need to ensure they are making the most of the internet where over a third of bookings were made in 2007. We understand the frequency with which hoteliers need to assess competition and update channels in order to maximise revenue. With such an increase in activity it shows that the hospitality market needs these solutions to remain competitive and resilient to the current economic changes.”

RateTiger has also updated its leading product RTShopper with further features. Revenue managers can now compare rates by room type (like e.g. single room or double room) allowing for a better and more detailed overview. By being able to differentiate between highest and lowest room prices, hoteliers can now quickly assess with accuracy, which prices they are comparing against in any room segment.

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About RateTiger:
RateTiger has been a leader in online distribution management tools since 2001 and continues to pioneer new technologies for the hospitality industry. RateTiger, by eRevMax, now operates in 60 countries and 415 cities across the world and has become the industry-wide benchmark for managing online distribution. The RateTiger product portfolio enables hoteliers to switch from a time-consuming and complicated multi-channel process to a single point of entry to the market, hence allowing for easy update of distribution channels and travel portals, and rate comparison with competitors, in real-time.

Features and Functionality:
RateTiger is known for its innovative product offering that allows hoteliers to:
•  View current inventory allocation and rates at multiple Web sites on one screen
•  Allocate rates and inventory to maximum gain
•  Maintain rate/room type plans to reduce manual interference during updates
•  Update revised allocation and rates in real-time
•  Maintain an updated log of competitor updates
•  Access summarized reports to view entire inventory positions
•  Access built-in extranet rules, allowing users to adhere to each site’s capabilities and restrictions

RateTiger is headquartered in the U.S., with an office in London and technical development center in India. eRevMax employs more than 170 people across the globe. RateTiger is rapidly expanding across the European and American markets. For more information please visit http://www.ratetiger.com.

For further information, please contact:
Kate Cowling,
RateTiger,
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7422 7528 / + (0) 7725 843 083
Email: katec@erevmax.com