TripAdvisor has reassured Australian hoteliers that its new booking site Tingo will not affect Australian hotels, as it came under fire for its strategy to deliver the lowest possible rate.
The new site, launched on March 21, is part of Smarter Travel Media, a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, and is powered by the Expedia Affiliate Network.
It claims to be the first hotel booking site that automatically rebooks hotel rooms at a lower price if the rate drops, automatically refunding the difference to traveller’s credit cards.
Speaking at a conference in Sydney, Toga Hospitality chief executive Rachel Argaman was outraged that the firm had announced its launch without talking to its suppliers.
“All of our product is there because it’s fuelled by the Expedia network, so if you are giving stock to Expedia, you are on there right now and they’ll be booking,” she warned.
But she stressed that the site took advantage of unrestricted rates, which meant that hoteliers could take action.
“What we can do is manage it well – put fences up and make sure we don’t have unrestricted rates,” she advised, adding that advanced payment could also be enforced.
If Toga brands opted to drop rates close to the booking date as a strategy, the firm would consider only distributing them on its own website, she said.
Meanwhile, IHG director revenue management Australasia Leah Lipman underlined the need for discipline when it came to pricing, urging hoteliers to clamp down on discounting, instead pushing rates up as they approached the booking date.
However, TripAdvisor spokesperson Jean Ow-Yeong explained that only US hotels would be affected with each hotel’s agreement with Expedia allowing for it to be offered on Tingo.
