Jakarta, 29 July 2010 (ANTARA) - Bali, Indonesia - The world's first 'make an offer' accommodation site, myroombid.com made its debut today on the island of Bali, attracting hundreds of island hoteliers eager to register with the Australian owned and operated website.

     Myroombid.com is a revolutionary concept in the world of accommodation bookings designed to save consumers hundreds of dollars as well as delivering real bookings direct to hoteliers.

     The website allows consumers to negotiate directly and privately with the hotel and make an offer for a room. The hotel then responds either accepting the nominated offer, or coming back with a counter offer. The consumer gets up to three chances to make an offer and the hotel up to two counter offers, if either party agrees anytime during the 72 hours bidding limit, then the room is booked and a 10% deposit is automatically paid.

     Myroombid.com Director of Marketing Gil Avenaim, who launched the site in Bali, says hotels need to know the bids are legitimate before committing time to negotiate with buyers.

     "With myroombid.com the hotels know the bids are genuine because we ask consumers to pre-authorize their credit cards before any negotiations even start. All the hoteliers have to do is accept a bid which guarantees a booking and a 10% deposit is automatically paid," says Avenaim.

     Other travel websites only offer a room rate per night that is non negotiable, or a last minute deal. With myroombid.com consumers can book and deal on multiple night stays up to 18 months in advance of their stay," adds Avenaim.

     "Unlike EBay where consumers bid against others, myroombid allows offers to be negotiated directly between the traveler and the hotel. Guests are not bidding against other holiday makers; just a rate that they and the hotel/resort agree upon. The consumer offers what they are prepared to pay for a room - so we expect this not only to be popular with travelers wanting a deal but also with the hoteliers who will able to fill their rooms when negotiating offers through the myroombid system," concludes Avenaim.

     Myroombid.com founder Luke Veron, who with brother Andrew Veron, operate three hotels in Sydney and a real estate / property company as well as other websites, says that in addition to Bali, there are plans to add properties across Australia and other overseas destinations.

     Before the site launched in Bali, more than 160 properties where already listed, which ranged from guesthouses for $US15 ($17.20) a night to $US2000-a-night four-bedroom beachfront villas - as well as hotels in central Java and a riad (traditional house) in Marrakesh, Morocco.

     "What we recommend to our clients is to view a number of accommodation discount sites before visiting our Myroombid.com site. This way, bidders have a realistic idea of what the actual market price is," says Luke Veron.

     Myroombid.com intends to develop and tailor the site to further accommodate the corporate market. For meeting planners, this offers a new bargaining tool to secure better deals on hotel prices for their groups.

     "Bargaining is now very much a part of a culture internationally as it is in Bali. Bidding for a room on www.myroombid.com offers a great way to negotiate an excellent deal," adds Veron.

     The Australian owned company launched Bali as its first destination because Australians are the largest source of foreign tourists to Bali. The latest statistics show arrivals in January-April 2010 have increased by 61.13% year-on-year, totaling 164,642.

     Even with this popularity, the room rate occupancy in Bali in March was just under 60 percent on average. For five-star hotels the average occupancy was 64.84 percent, four-star hotels 64.51 percent, three-star hotels 50.31 percent, two-star hotels 56.67 percent and one-star hotels 41.36 percent.

     www.myroombid.com is a part of an online trend which is expected to see a growth in leisure bookings by 20 percent this year according to research agency PhoCusWright.

     Online leisure bookings made up 26 percent of the market in 2008 and by next year this is expected to rise to 41 percent.

     Interviews with myroombid.com Marketing Director, Gil Avenaim available
Media contact: Diana Shearin, DiSh Public Relations +62 81 338 715511 or dish@dishpublicity.com


Editor:
COPYRIGHT © 2012

Comment
Send Comment