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PhocusWright's recent statistics on travel trends show that hotels lost substantial ground to On Line Travel Agent (OTAs) in 2010. The study cites OTA pricing as the key reason why hotels are losing Direct business.

In 2010 Cornell University warned that lack of fair rate policies were hurting hotel Direct business. The study shows that if a traveler perceives the hotel rates to be fair they are more likely to return to that site (Cornell Study January 2010).

The study recommended that Hotels should focus on increasing guests understanding of their pricing practices and make alternative rates visible and available. A visitor to a hotel or tourism website feels more secure if the website shows that there are better rates than rack that apply. They also need to know if there are special deals and what they need to do to get them.

Quite often the hotel's own website is simply seen as the most expensive channel in the world (Not so for chains and other hotels that manage rates wisely). Guests like to know that they are being treated fairly - they need to know what rate plans might apply to them.

Travelers should know the rules regarding rates and be given the opportunity to select the best rate that applies.

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Subscribe to the Group option arcRes will display rates that you want travelers to see on your booking engine. Travelers will see a selection of rates that might apply and can choose a rate. The system will default to Best Rates Available (Website). Different plans can be set for different campaigns and units.

- RAC standard rate - WEBSITE (online bookings) - AAA	from $110.00 pp - info >> from $88.00 pp - info >> from 71.55 pp info >>
Bookable Specials that pertain to these rates will be applied automatically

Travelers who visit your arcRes booking pages will see all the special rate plans as well as rack rates. The rate plan rules are displayed by clicking the info >> button. The arcRes booking engine will automatically apply special rates that apply.

The system allows Rate Plans and Specials to be combined if desired. Rooms and channels can be exempted from any plan. Channels can also have their own Rate Plans and Specials.

This approach clearly tells the traveler that your rates are fair. You give them the choice to select the best rate (according to the rules and terms) . You also let them know that specials will be automatically applied.

The Special promotions and Packages that you create in arcRes are distribution to 100's of sites and can be integrated into your own website and booked direct via the arcRes booking engine. arcRes manages distribution in all of our affiliate channels, even if arcRes is not your booking engine. It is in effect a publishing sytem, sending your promotion out to the Internet via our channel, affiliates and 3rd party channels like Facebook, Android, iPhone and many others. More on Specials Marketing.

Affinity Groups
You may offer special rates to airline personnel, travel agents, or companies that you do business with.
You can also offer special rates to AAA members and any affinity group that you may have a marketing initiative with. Affiliates can help market your property by promoting on your hotel on their collateral.

In arcRes it is easy to set up these rates as a % off of your normal rate. They are automatically displayed on the appropriate channels (you set which channels to exempt. The rates can apply to all units or you may exempt units.

Best Rate Guarantee
The "Best Rate Guarantee" (BRG) is now used extensively on chain sites. This does not mean that the Best Rate is always applied, all sorts of fine print apply and you have to read the rules. This means that the Best Rate available for that site (website) will be applied (i.e. if there is a Website rate it is applied, if there is a Special that applies it will be calculated and shown. In Many cases BRG rules will also say that if the traveler finds a better rate they will match it. The fine print is important - exceptions include opaque rates where in some channels the hotel name is not noted. Deep discounts offered by some channels (like Expedia) are also often not included.

Loyalty Programs
Some of the loyalty programs reward loyalty by rewarding a visitor who sends new guests to the hotel. This can be recognized even before the referrer has stayed in the hotel, they are simple invited to stay and receive a free night for every guest week they refer. The loyalty program can be implemented very easily using an honor system. Simply create the rate plan and let the guest choose the one that fits. If they don't qualify they don't get the rate. If you have a complete database of all arrivals you can create more complex automated systems but the honor system works out of the box and can be applied immediately and with least cost.

Availability Calendar
Travelers don't want to waste time looking at rates that are not available. Showing an availability calendar on the rates and bookings page is increasingly important. The arcRes bookings engine allows suppliers to offer a request and a block request system, which means that travelers bookings are not confirmed. This is easy to operate and has the advantage of not managing inventory online. It is however becoming less relevant as travelers demand to know what is available. Hotels say they do not want to manage multiple rates across multiple channels.