Tempo Holidays has begun sourcing hotel content through consolidators in a move to provide agents and consumers with a broader range of rooms and prices.
The wholesaler has established XML links with a range of firms that will bolster Tempo’s contracted allocations and enable it to offer “sharper rates”.
Steve Reynolds, chief executive of Cox and Kings Australia which operates the Tempo brand, admitted Tempo’s limited contracted inventory has been “an area of concern”. He said the XML feeds will enable Tempo to “significantly increase our inventory”.
But Reynolds stressed it did not mean Tempo will begin offering rates at hundreds of properties it has not previously sold or recommended.
The technology will ensure that only hotels that have been contracted directly by its management team will be offered.
It will provide agents and consumers with the “best of both worlds”, Reynolds said.
“Tempo has always been about personal recommendations. We know the properties,” he said. “If you go to a large broker site you might get 200 hotels in Paris but there is no real influence or comfort factor. They are just displayed on price or location.
“With this technology, you will still have piece of mind that it is a Tempo recommended property with the advantage of knowing the technology is delivering whatever is the best available rate depending on what your needs are.”
Whereas Tempo might have contracted four or five room types, the 21 consolidators it is working with can return a whole host of room and pricing options previously unavailable, he said.
They include cheaper ‘instant purchase rates’ which must be booked and paid for immediately.
Another benefit is that it will give Tempo access to rooms when it has exhausted its contracted allocation.
Reynolds said many hotels, particularly larger properties, are adopting yield management similar to airlines.
“The days where you would have a static wholesale contract rate valid for 12 months is pretty much over,” he said.
