Articles tagged “room key”

Roomkey.com's demise (temporary or not) shouldn't be seen as a sign hotel companies can't compete with OTAs. But if revived, the brand will likely need a more in-your-face approach than pop-under ads to drive traffic.

Room Key is a bit like the train in the children's story, "The Little Engine That Could," which kept saying "I think I can, I think I can." While Room Key may never become the next Kayak, it may help hotel chains gain more direct bookings.

You would think hoteliers would have learned a few things from their foray with Travelweb in the early 2000s but, as Room Key shows, they obviously did not.

Room Key, the joint venture by Choice Hotels, Hilton Worldwide, Hyatt, InterContinental Hotels Group, Marriott and Wyndham, hasn't set the world on fire, and doesn't appear to have had much of an impact on the chains' businesses.

Very few consumers have ever said "I'm going to go find a hotel on RoomKey.com," but they have been confused when the webpage pops up after they leave a hotel site. This may make partners happy, but it seems like there are more efficient ways to do this.

There few more consumer-unfriendly sites than Room Key. For proof you don't have to look much further than the use of annoying pop-under ads as if the user made a conscious decision to visit their site.

With Tingo, SniqueAway and hotel metasearch, TripAdvisor is moving closer toward becoming an online travel agency everyday. The smart money says it's only a matter of time.

Room Key is trying to lure nonbookers at hotel chain websites, bring them to Room Key, and then pass them back to hotel websites to make their reservations. It's a very complicated journey, but these hotel-brand founders have considerable clout.