Aussie wholesale hotel booking platform Room-Res.com has flagged plans to ramp up its efforts in this market, including recruiting a local representative.
The hi-tech booking site is built for travel agents and co-founder and co ceo James Mooring says the company is ‘really excited by the progress so far’ in the Kiwi market. “We are exclusively built for travel agents. So that means the tools, the
structure, the support, all of it is based around how do we help travel agents,” he adds.
The company’s chief commercial officer Peter Jones also believes it has a key advantage. “I think being an Australia-based business is hugely different from our competitors who have a head office in Europe or India or Dubai. But we understand the market. New Zealand it is a much more customer-centric environment, and being a true B2B in the region, our head office is in Sydney. I think that makes a big difference.”
Room-Res.com aims to make it easy for agents to identify and book product. Jones says it offers agents a range of perks, rewards and incentive—including its Room-Res Island trip to Phuket at the end of the month, which will include a Kiwi
consultant.
. . . Brokers Too
As the number of Kiwi travel brokers continues to rise, Mooring says the platform is built to help support brokers. “We have a margin slider to kind of hide the rates, but we also have a bunch of tools that are really tuned to agents working at home,
so the quote functionality allows them to send a URL to a customer. They can have their brand on an interactive webpage, which gives the sense of being a big global business.” Mooring says the agent will know when a quote’s been viewed, and the customer can reply, while the agent can amend the quote or itinerary and resend. “One of the things that really came across [at the Envoyage conference] is that sense of relationship, trust, and honesty, so we allow agents to personalise their quotes.”
. . . Kiwi Expansion
Jones says the company is set to recruit for a Kiwi representative to further capitalise on the growing demand. “We’re looking at recruiting for a national role. We see real opportunity and potential for New Zealand,” he adds. See more HERE.
