November 29, 2007

Bookassist directors address the annual conference of the Association of Hotels & Restaurants (AHR) in the Czech Republic on the Future of Internet Distribution

At the recent annual conference of the Association of Hotels & Restaurants of the Czech Republic, Bookassist was invited to present their view of the future of internet distribution over the next quarter century.

Operating in the internet environment since 1994, Bookassist Managing Director and Co-founder Dr Des O'Mahony has seen the development of the internet first hand and has closely followed the research and trends in the accommodation sector online in particular for over a decade. "Our experience in Bookassist of what has and hasn't worked, what technology has taken off and what technology has died, is invaluable in predicting the shape of the internet in the future for the accommodation sector and for our clients in particular", according to Dr O'Mahony.

The conference was also addressed by Bookassist Director and Co-founder Kieran Fives who provided an overview of the company and its products to the delegates. The conference was attended by over 300 delegates over a two day period in the picturesque town of Tábor, south of Prague and included the annual awards ceremony of the AHR.

Jitka Krizova heads Bookassist's office in the Czech Republic.

November 2007

Bookassist integrates its Travel2 technology
into the Booking Engine Suite

Booking Engines are no longer enough - Bookassist is integrating its Travel2 technology such as interactive maps and live customer reviews into the Booking Engine suite offering hotel groups the possibility of a much richer online experience for their customers and a virtual marketing group capability.

Bookassist.com already offers thousands of hotel reviews and a comrpehensive interactive mapping service. These capabilities will now be made available to hotel groups wishing to make their websites more interactive and Travel2 friendly. Coupled with instant SMS reservation confirmation, the suite of services significantly enhances Bookassist's product portfolio.

November 20, 2007

Bookassist to roll out Booking Engine and Trafficbuilder services in Italy, launches Bookassist Italy office

Bookassist has this month launched its award-winning services on the ground in Italy with an initial base in Perugia, Umbria. The Italian office will be responsible for the roll-out of the Bookassist Engine incorporating new Travel2.0 technology being pioneered by Bookassist as part of the booking engine suite, as well as Bookassist Trafficbuilder marketing services.

The in initial Bookassist team in Italy is Marco Buitoni, Sonia Marsella, Francesca Frizzoni and Mauro Camiglia who between them have many years experience in the travel trade and in the hospitality sector in particular in Italy.

"We are excited to be moving in such a dynamic marketplace with such strong potential, and we have exciting plans for 2008 and beyond for Italy", said Yahya Fetchati, Head of Business & Operations at Bookassist. "The potential for Bookassist's very effective and personalised approach is enormous in Italy and the combination of our local knowledge and Bookassist's award-winning services will lead to a considerable success", predicts Buitoni.

October 2007

Bookassist client Cork International Airport Hotel wins Best Website at the annual HSMAI Awards - Multiple Bookassist clients nominated

The travel and hospitality industry honoured its best and brightest at the 11th Annual Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Awards at a Gala Dinner at the Burlington Hotel in Dublin.

Bookassist online marketing (Trafficbuilder) and web reservations (Booking Engine) client Cork International Aiport Hotel won the award for "Best Website for an Individual Operator". The Hotel leverages Bookassist expertise for online marketing and has driven subsantial business through its website by capitalising on Bookassist's state of the art Booking Engine and administration system.

Apart from the winner in the Best Website category, Bookassist clients were nominated in categories:

Best Customer Retention Strategy - Portlaoise Heritage Hotel

Best Hotel Brochure Business & Leisure Market - Cork International Airport Hotel

Best Hotel Brochure Luxury Hotel - Osprey Hotel & Spa, Portlaoise Heritage Hotel

October 2007

Bookassist opens a local office in Buenos Aires for its ever-increasing South American business

Business Development Manager Marilyn Geraghty, formerly based in Bookassist's Dublin headquarters, has taken over the setting up and operation of a South American hub for Bookassist based out of Buenos Aires. The operation, initially employing 3 people in sales and support, has already had considerable success and represents a significant growth opportunity for Bookassist.

Geraghty has considerable experience of the South American market having worked for Amadeus there and having lived in Buenos Aires in particular for many years.

September 2007

Cristina Arano joins Bookassist Spain office
as Head of Operations in Spain

Bookassist has announced that Cristina Arano has joined the company as Operations Manager for Spain. Cristina Arano has over 12 years experience in the travel industry, working in the UK and Spain, occupying various positions in intermediary companies such as hotel Contracting Manager for international markets and Director of Sales.

Cristina Arano is based in Bookassist's office in Madrid and oversees the development and growth of the company in Spain.

September 2007

Bookassist appoints Sarah Collins
to head Sales in Ireland

Sarah Collins has joined Bookassist as Sales Manager (Ireland). Sarah will obtain new business to partner with Bookassist, who provide an award-winning booking engine and proven online marketing expertise.  Bookassist are at the forefront of online reservations technology with offices in Dublin, Madrid, Prague and Buenos Aires.  Prior to this Sarah held the position of Sales and Marketing Executive with the Irish Hospitality Institute. She is delighted to continue working within the Hospitality Industry, where she can maintain the relationships she made during her time with the Irish Hospitality Institute.

A native of Co. Limerick, Sarah spent 4 years in Cardiff where she obtained a Degree in Marketing.

August 2007

Bookassist appoints Yahya Fetchati as
Head of Business and Operations

Bookassist has announced that Mr Yahya Fetchati has joined the company as Head of Business & Operations. Yahya Fetchati brings considerable industry experience to the management team at Bookassist and is a former Director of Hotel Partner Marketing at Lastminute.com and former Managing Director of Hotels for Europe at Hotels.com.

Yahya Fetchati has worked in the online hospitality industry for well over a decade. He is based in the Dublin office and will oversee all strategy and sales operations at Bookassist in all marketplaces, reporting directly to the Board.

March 2007

Bookassist "add-ons" allowing accommodation providers to package additional room-specific or hotel-specific services with bookings

Fancy a bottle of chilled champagne in your room on arrival? Want to avail of special spa treatments as part of your booking? The Bookassist system now allows the hotelier to offer optional services in virtually any configuration to the online customer as part of the booking process.

Many hotels are now founded on the upsurge in the leisure market, with weekend breaks and spa treatments going hand in hand. At the same time, the downward pressure on accommodation prices means that spa treatment packages are not for everyone and the room only price band is a must for the online booker. Allowing a menu of optional add-ons to the basic room-only package is the best approach to tackling both markets in the one system. With Bookassist, the hotelier can offer room-specific services for each room booked and can simultaneously offer hotel-specific services for the whole booking party in one easy to use booking interface.

As always with Bookassist system enhancements, the upgrade is completely free for users of the Bookassist system.

January 2007

Bookassist launches flexible "variations" configuration of room packages for accommodation providers

A significant new release of the Bookassist online reservations system now allows accommodation providers greater flexibility in packaging their rooms in multiple configurations simplifying the choice for the online customer.

An individual room ("single", "double" etc) can now be configured to be sold in may different variations, such as with or without breakfast, at a special advance purchase rate, as a weekend break etc,. rather than having to define all those variations as separate room types as is necessary in many online systems. With Bookassist it is now simple for the hotelier to offer an unlimited range of services and far easier for the online customer to make a choice.

As always with Bookassist system enhancements, the upgrade is completely free for users of the Bookassist system.