Imagine this: A traveler booked a hotel in Cairo from an online hotel booking platform at a discounted deal. Upon reaching the hotel destination, he is informed that the hotel he booked is actually in Tanta. The traveler then spends hours trying to get his refund for the wrong hotel booking. Imagine the hassle he had to go through due to inaccurate hotel information.
Do you think the traveler would book again from the same hotel booking website?
This isn’t an uncommon story for travel booking platforms. Along with dissatisfied customers and bad reviews, such scenarios also impact a travel business’s profits. Inaccurate hotel addresses, duplicate hotel listings, and wrong room types are some of the persistent challenges that travel agencies face time and again.
To help online travel businesses avoid these costly challenges, hotel mapping steps in as a crucial solution. But what exactly is hotel mapping, and how does it work? Let’s take a closer look.
What is Hotel Mapping?
Hotel mapping is the process of matching hotel information (like IDs, names, and locations) across multiple booking platforms so that travel agencies, online travel businesses, and other platforms can display accurate data to travelers.
Without hotel mapping, things can get messy- one hotel could be listed under different names or IDs depending on the booking platform which leads to confusion and, more importantly, booking errors.
Why does this happen?
Well, different suppliers tend to assign their own unique IDs and naming conventions for the same hotel. For example, let’s say a customer wants to book a hotel in New York.
Booking platform A lists it as “The Empire Hotel,” while platform B has it as “Empire Hotel, Central Park.” It’s the same hotel, but different data sources treat it like two separate entities.
Hotel mapping ensures the system recognizes them as the same place. It also allows hotel booking platforms to synchronize and standardize data across multiple suppliers to reduce booking errors and make certain that customers see consistent, accurate information.
The key attributes involved in hotel mapping are here:
- Hotel ID: A unique identifier for the hotel in each supplier’s system.
- Address: The actual location of the hotel, including street, city, and country.
- Location: Geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude), which help pinpoint the exact location.
- Document ID: A reference ID that ties the hotel data to specific documentation in the system.
- Scope: Defines the geographical reach or scope of the hotel data (e.g., global).
- Type: The category of the entity being referenced (e.g., “HOTEL” or “ATTRACTION”)
Now, let’s see in what ways does hotel mapping ensure precise bookings.
The Role of Hotel Mapping APIs in Ensuring Booking Accuracy
Hotel mapping ensures that the same hotel is consistently displayed across different platforms which prevents mismatches and booking errors.
Improved Data Standardization
By standardizing hotel data from multiple sources, hotel mapping ensures that the same property appears correctly across platforms to mitigate confusion and errors in search results. For instance, it prevents discrepancies like one hotel being listed under two different names.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Accurate hotel mapping reduces booking errors by preventing false positives (where different hotels are mistakenly treated as the same) and false negatives (where the same hotel is listed under multiple entries). This consistency in data ensures customers can trust the information they see which leads to a smoother booking process and greater overall satisfaction.
Impact on Revenue
Poor mapping leads to unrealized revenue when listings aren’t properly aligned or to financial losses when mismatches occur. Correct mapping helps avoid these issues to protect both customer trust and the business’s bottom line.
Also Read: 5 Signs Your Online Travel Business Needs Accommodation Mapping
How Vervotech’s Hotel Mapping Solution Works
Vervotech’s Hotel Mapping APIs connect a booking platform to a hotel’s database, allowing for accurate representation of the hotel’s offerings, such as room types, pricing, and services.
They automate the process of collecting, standardizing, and categorizing hotel data from various suppliers, ensuring a seamless integration of hotel content across platforms. Hotel Mapping APIs leverage AI to process key attributes like amenities, ratings, and policies, grouping similar hotels for easy access.
In a nutshell, the Hotel Mapping API:
- Links hotel data (like rooms and amenities) with external platforms.
- Syncs information such as price, descriptions, and features.
- Provides data on hotel locations, policies, and amenities.
- Standardizes room categories for easy comparison.
This way, Vervotech’s Hotel Mapping APIs help avoid mismatches between what the customer sees and what’s available by ensuring that your platform has accurate and consistent hotel data.
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