Benedict O’Leary
Former business development manager at Booking.com
Accommodation and travel advisor at WONO
As an advisor at WONO, Benedict shares his broad experience in the industry and explains how our platform and blockchain technology will help hotels and private landlords offer best service at reasonable prices.
Vendors in the industry (hotels/accommodation providers) can set their own price based on market conditions. The WONO platform provides more opportunities for providing offers and incentives, particularly for more loyal users. With the pain-point of higher commissions taken out of the game (I’ve discussed it in one of my previous articles) for properties they will have more freedom to manage their price points to secure business.
Prices displayed in coins will have different associations to those displayed in fiat, and be less susceptible to incorrect currency conversions as happens on OTA sites (i.e. currency conversions fluctuate and can negatively impact the competitiveness of properties across markets).
Also, properties will be more willing to provide add-ons at no extra charge.
During a conversation I had this week a friend related their experience of Booking an accommodation in the Italian mountains. They used Booking.com because they didn’t trust the property website. When they arrived they found that their price was B&B, but if the hotel was displaying a meal included with the same price at the property. When challenged the property advised that the commission cost of being on Booking.com meant that is was unable to offer the same conditions.
So, in the WONO blockchain environment there will be more freedom, and incentive due to reduced distribution cost, for Vendors to provide free add-ons, whether it be meals, transfers, experiences or whatever. This in turn would result in a positive guest experience and higher rating (positive feedback from the consumer) and repeat business (referrals).
Social media influencers could be used to recommend specific properties, or those with a high-rating (i.e. the most sought-after) on OTA sites could be targeted first.
Hotels could also be incentivised and rewarded for providing their inventory (available rooms for sale) on the platform.
As a technological solution Vendors could be rewarded in coins for offering inventory via their Channel Manager / PMS (Property Management System). There is real scope for filling a market gap as favoured distribution system.