Latest news with #Bookingcom
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wimbledon hotel prices surges 300 per cent during Championship season
Hotel prices around Wimbledon have surged by as much as 300 per cent during the Championship season in late June and early July, according to a study. The study by researchers at BetUK analysed live hotel prices in Wimbledon, Richmond upon Thames, Putney, Kingston upon Thames, and Central London using and found startling price changes. In the week prior to the Championships, hotels in Wimbledon were priced at £101 per night on average. However, during the tournament, they shot up 82 per cent in the first week to around £184, and then soared 310 per cent to an average of £313 over the final weekend of Wimbledon. The research discovered that some of the most expensive hotels in Wimbledon during the championships can cost upwards of a £871 per night towards the end of the tournament. However, it is possible to find cheaper alternatives as there are rooms available during the first week of Wimbledon at just £68 per night. READ MORE: Shoreditch greengrocer and café launches petition against '300 per cent rent increase' READ MORE: Amazon sells £35 diffuser that shoppers say 'rivals' The White Company Spectators who wish to stay further afield and travel in for the event may be interested in Kingston upon Thames, Putney, Richmond upon Thames, and Central London are viable alternatives. However, the hotel prices in these alternatives have also increased a staggering amount for Wimbledon. Hotel prices in Central London are £93 per night on average, the week leading up to Wimbledon. However, the prices rise by 144 per cent in week one to £227 per night, and they increase even further during week two to £249 per night, which is a 168 per cent premium. Richmond upon Thames is the cheapest place to stay for the Championships. Hotel prices only increase by 49 per cent in week one and 43 per cent in week two, up from an average of £182 per night the week prior to Wimbledon to £272 and £260 respectively. Increasing prices seem to be a trend at Wimbledon in 2025 as strawberries and cream rise in price for the first time since 2010, from £2.50 to £2.70 a portion, an 8 per cent increase. Standard Centre Court seats also rose in price from £90 to £105 from day one of the Grand Slam, an increase of 17 per cent. Despite these changes, Wimbledon is more popular than ever. They received a record number of ballot applications for tickets to this year's competition, and over half a million people attended last year's Championships over the two weeks. Stay up to date about London's hottest events, latest restaurant openings, and best deals with our Going Out Out newsletter. Sign up HERE!
Hospitality Net
10-07-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Booking.Yeehaw! Riding the Booking.com Ranking Reshuffle Rodeo
The guest review score is a critical KPI for accommodation providers, influencing everything from OTA visibility to guest trust. So when announced a major update to how these scores are calculated, the hospitality industry understandably had questions. On the latest episode of Back of House Banter, GuestRevu's Amy Branford sat down with Rodica Buzescu, Group Product Marketing Manager at and Lee-Anne Singer, Marketing Director of the Singer Group and Chairperson of FEDHASA Western Cape, to unpack what's changed, why it matters, and how hoteliers can adapt. A More Dynamic Review Score updated guest review score went live at the end of January. The key change? The score is now weighted more heavily towards recent reviews, rather than being a simple average over time. We're changing the maths, the logic, behind how we compute your overall property level score, and making it a bit more dynamic, weighing it by recency, so counting those most recent reviews a bit more. While around 50% of properties saw no change at all, others experienced small shifts of 0.1 or 0.2 points. Only a small percentage (about 4–5%) saw more dramatic movement. We've also analysed how your Tripadvisor score is calculated and how to improve it Why the Change? Feedback from partners played a pivotal role in the decision to update the system. Many long-time partners felt their scores were static and unresponsive to recent improvements or declines in guest experience. Over the years, we evolved from serving only hotels to serving home-stay properties and multi-national chains, so the system has to also change to adapt to how the market is today, and it needs to behave in a fair way both for the accommodation and the traveller. What Hoteliers Need to Know For hoteliers, adapting to the new system means embracing agility and focusing more intently on real-time guest satisfaction. Lee-Anne Singer captured the sentiment perfectly: What I want is a handbook – a best practice guide – so I can go back to my team and help them understand how to benefit from these changes. Rodica offered three core takeaways for hotel teams: Prioritise guest experience from beginning to end. Actively prevent negative reviews by checking in with guests during their stay (but don't try to block negative reviews with underhanded practices!) Be a great host – think of each guest as a visitor in your own home. Capturing Feedback Before It's Too Late One of the most valuable tactics discussed was gathering feedback before guests leave the property—and before they get that automated review request from Lee-Anne shared how the Singer Group blends old-school hospitality with modern tools to connect with guests at every stage of their journey: As [Rodica] correctly pointed out, we need to be able to give people access to speaking to us in the way that they prefer. Rodica noted that many negative reviews can be avoided if guests have a way to share frustrations discreetly and in the moment. One example she shared was a hotel using technology to collect mid-stay feedback without putting guests in uncomfortable face-to-face confrontations. Should You Respond to Reviews? Yes! Even if it doesn't impact your score (yet), both Rodica and Amy stressed the value of responses for future bookers. Rodica noted that some guests look for the bad reviews, and what matters most is seeing that the property acknowledges and tries to resolve problems. With the integration between GuestRevu and responding to reviews has become significantly easier, as Lee-Anne highlighted: It's just bad manners not to respond. My managers can do it all in one place – it's life-changing in terms of productivity. Find out how to respond to reviews even faster with GuestRevu's built-in AI assistant Reputation as a Revenue Tool Towards the end of the discussion, the conversation turned to how review scores can and should feed into broader revenue and operational strategies. Lee-Anne reflected on the evolution of the role online reviews have played for hoteliers. Initially, reviews were just something you responded to, then we learned to take advantage of review insights for operations, and now they even have the potential to be a revenue management tool. Rodica echoed that view, emphasising that reviews reveal invaluable insights about operations, guest preferences, and even staff performance. Amy summed it up: Your reviews are your story. Make sure it's the one you want potential guests to hear. Frequently Asked Questions Can higher commissions influence review scores? No. scores are based solely on guest reviews and cannot be influenced by commission levels. Do stricter cancellation policies impact revenue? It depends. Rodica advised discussing this with your account manager for tailored data and insights. Will hoteliers ever be able to review their guests? Not currently. While this is a popular request, especially from home and short-term rental providers, there are no immediate plans to introduce it. The bottom line? From grading systems to guest expectations, the role of online reviews is evolving, and so is the technology that powers them. But, at the heart of all the technology is the guest experience. As Rodica reminded us: If a general manager is focused on that experience, the guest reviews will follow, I can assure you, almost 100%. Back of House Banter will continue to explore these industry shifts with the people shaping them. If you're a hospitality professional looking to stay ahead of the curve, be sure to join the mailing list for upcoming episodes. GuestRevu helps hoteliers worldwide to listen to, learn and earn from their guests by enabling them to leverage the power of guest intelligence to build lasting loyalty and drive revenue. GuestRevu's mission is to give hoteliers tools they can use every day to develop a guest-centric culture in their hotels, enhance guest experience, optimise operations, and ultimately, to drive revenue using online surveys and reputation management. With their headquarters in the UK, GuestRevu is a TripAdvisor Platinum Review Collection Partner. For more information please visit View source
Hospitality Net
02-07-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
Decoding Guest Feedback: Insights on AI and Review Trends for Hoteliers
The world of guest reviews is constantly moving. New technologies are changing how guests share feedback. They also change how hotels manage their online reputation. It is a critical part of hotel management. For hoteliers, staying ahead of these trends is not just an option. It is essential for success. A recent Shiji Buzz Webinar brought together leading industry leaders to discuss the future of guest reviews and what hoteliers need to know in 2025. Hosted by Andre Baljeu from the webinar included Rodica Buzescu, Group Product Marketing Manager at Diana Villanueva, Online Reputation Specialist at HM Hotels, and Jessica Kurtz, Global Product Ambassador with Reviewpro Reputation. They covered everything from updated scoring systems to the rise of Artificial Intelligence. Takeaways Embrace recency. New weighted scores mean recent reviews matter most. Your current efforts to improve are rewarded much faster. Integrated platforms are a necessity. Replace patchwork systems with integrated platforms. A 'one-stop shop' for reviews improves efficiency and data insights. API-First is fundamental. APIs are essential for connecting your hotel software. They ensure seamless data flow for better operational efficiency. Use AI as a Co-Pilot. Use AI to draft review responses for efficiency. But always maintain human oversight to protect your brand voice. Turn complaints into clarity. Use negative feedback as a free marketing audit. Clarify your offerings and solve issues in-house first. Why new reviews matter most A major topic was the changing value of reviews over time. has recently updated its system, shifting from a simple three-year average to a new model that places greater weight on the most recent reviews. This change was a direct response to feedback from hoteliers who felt that old reviews unfairly impacted their current reputation. This new, dynamic score more accurately reflects a hotel's current reality. It rewards properties for their current efforts and improvements. Diana shared her initial reaction, noting that her team quickly saw the benefits. The new system provides a more accurate representation of a hotel's current state, particularly for properties that have undergone recent renovations. Their hard work is no longer held back by outdated feedback. This approach aligns with other platforms, such as Google, and is becoming an industry standard. This sentiment was echoed by Jessica, who explained that Reviewpro Reputation's own Global Review Index (GRI) has always prioritized recency to show a potential guest what a stay would be like today, not years ago. The anatomy of a modern review The way guests write reviews is also evolving. People are moving away from long, wordy essays. Instead, feedback is becoming more concise. Platforms are innovating to capture this by asking for 'tidbits of information' and using multiple-choice questions. This makes leaving feedback quicker and less overwhelming for the guest. Despite this brevity, data presented by Reviewpro Reputation shows that text comments remain vital. In the first quarter of 2025, over 66% of reviews still included text, an increase from the previous year. This text is crucial because it provides the context behind a score, which hoteliers need to make meaningful improvements. In response, hotels are getting faster. The average time to respond to a review has been cut in half, from six days to just three in the last two years. This speed is critical. A fast reply is not just for the guest who wrote the review; it is for all potential guests who will read it. Harnessing technology Managing reviews across many platforms is complex. Technology integrations offer a powerful solution. When an OTA like connects directly with a reputation management platform like Reviewpro Reputation, the benefits are immediate. Using guest reviews API, it creates a central hub for hotel teams to respond to all reviews without needing to log into multiple systems. This integration greatly improves efficiency and security. More importantly, it provides deeper insights by pulling in detailed departmental scores for things like service and cleanliness. This granular data helps managers pinpoint exact areas needing attention. One analysis showed that after integration, the average response time for hotels dropped from two weeks to just five days. Make AI your ally, not your replacement, right? We're not replacing your responses with AI. We want to be your co-pilot. We want to work hand in hand, but the end decision of that response is still the hotelier. Jessica Kurtz AI as a Co-Pilot Artificial Intelligence is the next major force shaping review management. Recognizing that hotels were already using tools like ChatGPT, technology providers like Reviewpro Reputation have integrated this power directly into their platforms. The conversation stressed a key point: this technology should be seen as an ally, not a replacement. The AI acts as a co-pilot, reading a guest's review and suggesting a draft response to save teams time. The hotelier can customize the tone, length, and signature to ensure the reply aligns with the hotel's brand. As an early adopter of Reviewpro's AI tool, Diana emphasized that the human touch remains essential. An employee must always review, edit, and personalize the text to ensure the hotel is truly listening. If review management is only about replying, then in my opinion, we are losing the most important part of guest feedback, which is to listen and to improve. And for that, you need real people behind it. Diana Villanueva Turning negative feedback into a positive strategy Negative reviews are an unavoidable part of the business. The panel offered clear advice: treat these reviews as a learning opportunity. If a guest complains about a missing amenity, the first step is to ask why they expected it and audit your marketing on and other channels for clarity. This prevents future disappointment. When responding, turn the negative into a marketing moment. Acknowledge the issue, then highlight another great feature. The best strategy, however, is to solve problems before they become negative reviews. Anything that you can fix earlier during their stay is gold. Anything you do with responding to guest reviews afterward, it's great and it impacts your future guests. But it feels to me like it's a place where we should all invest a bit more time. Rodica Buzescu The future is responsive The landscape of guest feedback is more dynamic than ever. The conversation made it clear that a passive approach is no longer viable. Hotels must be proactive and technologically adept. They need to understand the new rules of recency. They should embrace tools like integration and AI to become more efficient. Ultimately, managing guest reviews is about more than just a score. It is a continuous cycle of listening, responding, and improving. It is a core function of modern hotel operations and marketing. By embracing these changes, hoteliers can build a stronger reputation. They can also foster deeper loyalty with their guests. The future of guest feedback is here, and it is time to engage. Watch the full webinar here: About Shiji Group Shiji is a global technology company dedicated to providing innovative solutions for the hospitality industry, ensuring seamless operations for hoteliers day and night. Built on the Shiji Platform—the only truly global hotel technology platform—Shiji's cloud-based solutions include property management system, point-of-sale, guest engagement, distribution, payments, and data intelligence for over 91,000 hotels worldwide, including the largest hotel chains. With more than 5,000 employees across the world, Shiji is a trusted partner for the world's leading hoteliers, delivering technology that works as continuously as the industry itself. That's why the best hotels run on Shiji—day and night. While its primary focus is on hospitality, Shiji also serves select customers in food service, retail, and entertainment in certain regions. For more information, visit View source
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Yahoo
Mistakes People Make When Booking Travel Through Third-Party Websites
Expedia. Skyscanner. Priceline. These days there are countless third-party platforms for booking flights, hotels, rental cars and other aspects of the travel experience. While these websites can make the planning process feel more seamless and convenient, there are some potential drawbacks that are important to understand before you make any reservations. Below, travel experts share the common mistakes people make when booking trips through a third-party service ― and their advice for avoiding these errors during your travels. Travel booking websites can be great for comparing prices across different providers and potentially finding exclusive deals. But you're often going to see the same costs across platforms ― including the travel vendor's direct website. 'You should not assume online travel agencies have the lowest prices,' said Phil Dengler, co-founder of The Vacationer. 'While coupons and other promotions can make it appear that you are saving a lot of money, you should always check directly with the airline or hotel.' When booking a flight, you should check the prices on the airline websites, as well as results on search engines like Google Flights. As you look for accommodations, compare rates on hotel websites and third-party booking systems. 'In many cases, hotels will guarantee the cheapest rate when booking directly with them. In certain situations, third-party booking sites will hide resort fees until the very last moment or put them in an easy-to-miss spot.' 'You should not book airfare with an online travel agency if there is a chance you may take advantage of the federal 24-hour cancellation rule,' Dengler said. The U.S. Department of Transportation has mandated that air carriers allow customers who purchased tickets at least seven days before a flight's scheduled departure to cancel their reservation and receive a full refund without penalty within 24 hours of booking. 'Unfortunately, the flight must be booked directly with the airline,' Dengler noted. 'That means third-party booking sites do not have to honor the rule, which means you could be out of luck if you are looking to cancel within 24 hours. If there is any chance you may need to cancel your flight, check with the third-party booking site before you book to see if they honor the 24-hour cancellation rule.' 'Always read the fine print so that you know their return or refund policy,' said Ciara Johnson, a travel blogger at Hey Ciara. 'For added protection, book with a travel credit card that has insurance in case something goes wrong. If you're not booking for a deal, it's always best to book direct on the company website. It's likely cheaper to book direct anyhow!' Ravi Roth, a queer travel expert and host of 'The Gaycation Travel Show,' echoed this advice. He emphasized being aware of any extra fees or troublesome policies regarding cancellations, itinerary changes and refunds, so you should make sure to read and save your confirmation email with the details. 'I recommend using trusted sites like Orbitz for hotels and Airbnb to book experiences. As for flights, I would try Skyscanner, but while booking, make sure to stick to the major airlines,' Roth noted. 'Sometimes folks can find a super cheap flight, but in the fine print, there is a charge for overhead and checked luggage. I cannot stress enough to read the fine print.' If hotel or airline loyalty points and status are important to you, using a third-party booking site might not be the best move. 'Many online travel agencies let you insert your frequent flyer number or hotel rewards number, but that does not mean you will earn status credit and points,' Dengler explained. 'Some airlines and hotels will allow you to earn status when booking with online travel agencies, but you should make sure first.' 'Third-party booking sites like Expedia, Priceline and Travelocity are also known as online travel agencies, and they are essentially middlemen between you and the airline or hotel,' Dengler explained. 'In other words, your reservation is with them and not the airline or hotel. That means you contact them for customer service instead of the airline or hotel.' So if access to direct customer service with the travel provider is a big deal to you, avoid these third-party platforms when making your reservations and use them as search engines for comparisons instead. 'While the larger online travel agencies have better customer service than the smaller ones, it is still better to talk to the source directly,' Dengler said. 'That is important for both reservation modifications and cancellations. If there is a possibility that there will be severe weather during your trip, I recommend booking directly since there is a real chance you will have to modify or cancel your itinerary.' Because canceling or making an itinerary change can be a bigger hassle through third-party platforms, make sure to pay close attention when you're making your reservation. 'Travelers should just ensure to double-check all of their information, such as travel dates, name and contact information when booking via third-parties,' said Casey Brogan, a consumer travel expert at Tripadvisor. 'Be aware that several budget carriers, most notably Ryanair in Europe, technically don't allow third-party sales of their tickets,' said Marek Bron, a travel blogger at Indie Traveller. 'If you book their flights through a third-party anyway, then this is done through a work-around way that's not supported by Ryanair.' As a result, making cancellations or changes through the third-party site might be more expensive or challenging than it would have been if you booked directly through the airline. Ensure you can actually get an official confirmation with your chosen air carrier or other travel provider when you book through an external system. Not all third-party booking sites and travel agents are created equal. As such, it's important to read the reviews of these services before making your reservations through them. 'Check reviews of these third-party sites, such as on TrustPilot, before booking as some of them are to be avoided,' Bron said. He advised paying extra close attention to mentions of customer service, as you might need this to handle changes or cancellations down the road. 'If working with a travel agent, ensure they have the right qualifications and double-check your reservations with the airlines and hotels,' echoed Jessica van Dop DeJesus, a travel media specialist and blogger at The Dining Traveler. 'Also, look into travel insurance and check with your credit card to see if they provide any travel insurance services.' The Flight Essential Not Enough People Bring On A Plane How To Salvage Your Vacation If It Rains Most Of The Time 10 Mistakes At The Airport That Are Costing You Money
Al Arabiya
27-06-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Spain makes Booking.com scrap 4,000 short-term tourist rentals
Online hotel booking giant on Friday said it had taken down thousands of advertisements in Spain in the leftist government's latest crackdown on illegal short-term tourist rentals. A tourism boom has driven the buoyant Spanish economy but fueled local concern about increasingly scarce and unaffordable housing, a top priority for the minority coalition government. 'We have deleted a very small number of adverts in Spain at the request of the consumer ministry for supplying valid licenses,' said in a statement. The Amsterdam-based platform said the non-compliant adverts represented 'less than two percent' of its 200,000 properties in Spain and that it had always collaborated with the authorities to regulate the short-term rental sector. The consumer rights ministry on Thursday announced had scrapped 4,093 illegal ads, most of them located in the Atlantic Ocean's Canary Islands, a top tourist destination. Spain has also ordered online tourist accommodation giant Airbnb to take down more than 65,000 adverts for violating license rules and has been in a legal battle with the US-based company. The world's second most-visited country hosted a record 94 million foreign tourists in 2024, but residents of hotspots such as Barcelona blame short-term rentals for the housing crisis and changing their neighborhoods. 'We're making progress in the fight against a speculative model that expels people from their neighborhoods and violates the right to a home,' far-left consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy wrote on social network Bluesky.
