Over the last few months I did approach several tourists and visitors to Thailand and ask them how they found their accommodation and how they booked the hotel room.
I did chat with people at the airport, in hotels and whenever I had the possibility to approach and talk to tourists.

The result is not a surprise to me, however the results should give hoteliers and hotel sales and marketing people something to think about.

Almost 90% of people I did ask told me that they searched the internet for destination information and hotel or resort information. This is a stunning high figure!

I did ask for more information and the following are the comments:

Main reasons why visitors did choose to book their hotel room online.
• Convenience: I can search for my preferred destination and hotel information from my home or even at my office. I don’t like to wait at a travel agents office.
• Facts: I can get first hand and better information about hotel and destination from other travelers at travel forums, trip-adviser etc.
• Visuals: I can search for pictures taken by other guests! I don’t trust all those Brochure pictures at travel agencies.
• Price: Although the prices on hotel websites are mostly a little higher than at the travel agency, I can get free ad-on such as free internet, free massage, free late checkout, a good dinner etc.

Main reasons why tourists and visitors did choose a particular hotel when online.
• User-friendly Website which visitors don’t need to study on how to navigate.
• Professional online booking engine with INSTANT room availability information.
• Content at the hotel website has been useful and sincere without advertising in mind.
• Blog with hotel and destination information.
• Fast loading website pages without the ‘blinking’ and ‘flashy’ add on’s.

Tags: Asia hotel accomodation, Hotel Directory Asia, Hotel online booking, Mai-BS