Hotel FaceBooker is here - a new hotel booking interface for Facebook Pages

e-conceptory introduces a new hotel booking interface for Facebook Pages, allowing fans and other visitors to check availability and book hotel rooms directly through Facebook. The new product is called Hotel FaceBooker.

After entering travel dates, number of guests and rooms, users will be directed to a hotel's own booking engine and given a selection of room types and prices. Users can so check availability with just one click and don't have to go to a hotel's website first.

Hotel FaceBooker does not need access to a user's Facebook account, no credit card details are taken on Facebook.

Detailed information at:

www.hotel-facebooker.com

More advantages:

1. Hotel FaceBooker connects Facebook with a hotel's own booking engine
2. hotel bookings are trackable via the hotel's booking engine
3. no additional admin of room rates
4. bespoke design according to the hotel's corporate identity
5. save to use for the booker as no access to Facebook details is needed

Corinna Witt, founder of e-conceptory, says: 'Hotels have invested resources in running social media campaigns and Facebook has become the most important social media platform with more than 400 mio active users world-wide. Connecting Facebook fans and other visitors of Facebook Pages to a hotel's actual product instead of just running an image campaign on the site is just the next logical step. Finally, hotels should see a direct return on investment of their social media efforts which is even trackable through their own booking engine."

e-conceptory is offering Hotel FaceBooker on a no commission basis and only charges a small, one-off set-up fee.

Hotel FaceBooker Examples:

Both hotels enable their Facebook Fans and other visitors to check availability and book a room directly from the hotel's Facebook Page. Hotel FaceBooker features as tab 'Online-Reservation' and box on the hotel's Facebook Page Wall.

Hotel AMANO Berlin, Germany

Hotel FaceBooker Tab Format	Hotel FaceBooker Box Format

Hotel Duesseldorf Mitte, Germany

Hotel FaceBooker Tab Format	Hotel FaceBooker Box Format

More information at:

www.hotel-facebooker.com

The Hotel and Travel Week #18

Monday, 12th April

There is currently only one 7-star hotel in the world - Burj al Arab Dubai, although several others are in planning or already being built. If investors follow through, there will be two more in rather unlikely locations: Nairobi and Istanbul. Shangri-La and a Turkish business conglomerate signed an agreement last week to build a 14-storey luxury hotel in Istanbul, with 7 storeys below sea level. The hotel is forecast to open in 2012. International investors are also planning a 7-star hotel in Kenya's capital Nairobi.

What about 6-star hotels, though?

Tuesday, 13th April

Four Points by Sheraton announce an amazing offer on Tuesday - Breakfast for a Buck. Guests who book a participating hotel in the U.S. and Canada can request breakfast for only 1 Dollar from now until 30th September.

Details at: www.fourpoints.com/greatdeals

Wednesday, 14th April

A report by the Future Foundation, commissioned by Lastminute.com predicts a new type of holiday by 2020, a holiday promising complete isolation from the modern world. As people become increasingly well connected, and exhausted by the wealth of technological updates, these breaks will offer tourists ‘the simple life’, allowing them to get back to nature and cut off phone signals and broadband.

Thursday, 15th April

The first Armani Hotel at Burj Dubai / Burj Khalifa is now to open on 21st April. Covering an area of 269,000 sq ft, across the concourse, ground floor, levels 1 to 8 and levels 38 to 39 of Burj Khalifa, Armani Hotel Dubai has 160 rooms as well as 8 restaurants, an upscale lounge and spa. Armani Hotel Dubai's opening will be followed by the launch of Armani Hotel Milano in Italy, Armani Resort in Marrakech, Morocco and Armani Residences villas in Marassi, Egypt.

Friday, 16th April

European flights are being grounded for the 2nd day after the eruption of Iclandic volcano Eyjafjallajoekull. Airlines are losing some USD 200m a day in the biggest airspace shutdown since World War II. Many countries and airlines have grounded their fleets for fears that the ash, a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles, could be catastrophic to aircraft.
About 2/3 of the 28,000 daily flights are cancelled on Friday, while only half the usual number of flights between Europe and North America operate.

The Hotel and Travel Week #17

It's been a relatively quiet Easter holiday week and we hope you've had a good time. Here, as usual, some of the highlights from the hotel and travel sector...

Tuesday, 6th April

Hilton HHonors offers a free night for 4 stays. From 6th April to the 30th of June, members of Hilton's loyalty programme can receive a free night after completing 4 stays or earn double points. Hilton calls its latest promotion Fast Ways to Free Stays. To take advantage of the promotion, members must first register at www.hhonors.com/freestays

Wednesday, 7th April

Mideast hotels will be discussing Social Media at The Seven Star Conference which is running alongside The Hotel Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre from the 18th to the 20th May 2010. As the number of social media users increases in the Middle East, participants will be exploring possibilities of using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube to generate bookings. In the U.S. independent hotels are already beginning to link social media services with their websites or online booking engines. "But simply having a high number of Facebook fans or a lot of people following you on Twitter isn't very useful unless they actually click through and book, said Tinston, Sales Director, The Hotel Show. "The hospitality industry is a business and social media has to be judged by the direct results it brings to the business." www.thehotelshow.com

Thursday, 8th April

Luxury goods brand Louis Vuitton has plans to manage two exclusive hotels in Egypt and Oman. The hotels will be managed by holding company LVMH which entered the hotel sector in 2006 with the 5-star Cheval Blanc hotel in the French alps. LVMH will act as a management company and does not plan to own hotels.

Friday, 9th April

Hilton Worldwide announces that it has completed a restructuring of all of its existing debt. The restructuring extends the maturity of this debt until November 2015 and reduces the company's total debt by nearly $4 billion.

The Hotel and Travel Week #16

Monday, 29th March

Red Roof, a U.S. economy lodging chain with 350 properties nation-wide, announces an April Fools Day promotion: 'No Fooling' 1 Cent Sale. Starting on 1st April through to the 15th guests can book a room for 1 cent a night. 1% of rooms per property will be on sale. Red Roof say they want to give people the opportunity to travel even when economic times are tough. Red Roof

Tuesday, 30th March

Radisson tops Hilton as Europe's largest upscale brand.

Radisson Blu Hotels & Resorts and Radisson Edwardian Hotels, brands of the Rezidor Hotel Group, collectively offer 170 hotels and 38,079 rooms; followed by Hilton with 146 hotels and 37,806 rooms; and Marriott with 86 hotels and 20,806 rooms.

Wednesday, 31st March

The United Arab Emirates saw higher occupancy rates for February 2010.

According to The Global Hotel Survey conducted by STR Global, the overall occupancy rate for U.A.E. hotels rose to 77% in February, up from 67% in January and 75% during the same month in 2009. The occupancy rate in Dubai climbed to 86%, an 14% increase from January, while Abu Dhabi only saw a rise of 2% (with 59% occupancy). U.A.E. hotels witnessed an annual decline of 13% in revenues per available room, to US$183 in February, with lower revenues recorded in both emirates.

Thursday, 1st April

Staycation, the buzz term for spending holidays at home and a trend during the last recession, will still be going strong this Easter, for example in the UK. According to VisitEngland’s Easter Holiday Trip Tracker almost 10.5 million people will holiday in the UK this Easter, with 90% of them taking a break in England. Only six per cent are planning to travel overseas, the study shows. TravelMole

Friday, 2nd April

HAPPY EASTER!!!

Wishing everyone a fantastic Easter break whether you are travelling or staying at home with your dearest. Enjoy!