“Robin Hood” of online hotel booking launches in APAC

“Robin Hood” of online hotel booking launches in APAC

An online hotel booking platform that charges zero commission and claims to be cheaper than any known online travel agency has arrived in the Asia-Pacific region.

Launched in 2014 in the Netherlands, Bidroom currently offers 125,000 hotel properties in 128 countries to frequent travellers who benefit from “guaranteed lower room rates compared to other online travel agents”.

The company’s primary mission is “to serve as a fair alternative to the online booking market which is currently defined by excessive OTA commissions that hurt hotel bottom lines”.

Hotels that list on Bidroom aren’t charged any commission. Instead, they pay the platform after a certain threshold of bookings has been reached.

“This substantial saving is shared with the online frequent traveller, who will subsequently be paying a guaranteed lowest-available price,” explained Bidroom co-founder Michael Ros.

“Bidroom is demonstrably cheaper than all known OTAs. The result is also a significant margin of financial improvement for hoteliers.”

Bidroom claims its model works best for frequent travellers, who pay a membership fee to join (€3 per month, €29 per year or €99 for a lifetime) and then have access to the special room rates.

Members receive additional value-added offers such as last-minute deals, premium WiFi, late check-out, welcome drinks, and restaurant discounts.

“Robin Hood took money from the rich to give to the poor,” Ros said.

“Bidroom eliminates commissions and returns value to travellers. The online hotel booking forest is now a better place to take a trip.”

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