Online Travel Growth Drives WRI Expansion

(PRWEB) September 7, 2002

Sales triple over 2001. Expansion will increase product by 100%

Dublin, Ireland - September 9 , 2002 - Web Reservations International (WRI), the leading provider of on-line bookings for the Budget, Independent and Youth Travel (BIYT) market, today announced a significant increase in revenue and a major expansion plan for its hostelworld.com travel system.

In the first six months of this year, WRI has seen its business increase significantly over the corresponding period last year. Sales have increased by over 200% and the number of products available for sale over its booking system has increased by over 300%.

“We have seen phenomenal growth in bookings this year and we are now expanding our operations to contract with more hostels, tour operators and other products to fulfill demand” said Tom Kennedy, President & Founder of WRI. “It is estimated that the Budget, Independent and Youth Travel market will represent more than 25% of all travel by 2005 and it is the most web-friendly segment of the market. Web Reservations International is already the leader in technology and booking revenue in this market and we intend to grow even faster in the future.”

Web Reservations International has already embarked on an expansion plan that includes increasing product availability and marketing support for its hostelworld.com booking system and website. Hostelworld.com, a business division of WRI, focuses on offering worldwide hostel and budget hotel reservations. Through http://www.hostelworld.com it now books more than 6,000 beds per day in over 90 countries.

Expansion plans include:

•          The recruitment of over 200 hostels and budget hotels each month to the hostelworld.com system, increasing the number of beds available for booking by 14,000 per month.
•          Increased focus on adding activity and tour products for the BIYT market. These include bungee jumping and bus tours. These products will be offered through http://www.hostelworld.com and new websites.
•          Sponsorship of a US College tour to promote its online booking sites for students.
•          Development of myhostelworld.com system, which provides travelers with full itinerary booking and management.

BIYT sector and the Internet

The BIYT sector has been neglected by online travel companies because of the low prices, low margins and the high cost of traditional booking systems. These traditional booking systems, called Global Distribution Systems (GDS), provide pre-Internet travel booking systems. However, the high cost of installing and using GDS systems makes them unsuitable for both BIYT product providers and travel companies.

In comparison, WRI’s Internet booking system provides a web only, low cost booking system, effectively becoming the GDS of the BIYT sector.

The BIYT market is one of the fastest growing online segments. It comprises students, youths, backpackers and independent travelers. They typically are web-savvy, value conscious and tend to take extended vacations and set the travel trends for the business travelers of the future.

About Web Reservations International

WRI is the leading provider of online reservations to the BIYT market (Budget, Independent and Youth Travel). Through its hostelworld.com division, WRI offers confirmed online reservations for hostels and budget hotels. Additionally, through a range of web sites, it offers reservations for adventure holidays, activities and tours for the BIYT market. WRI enables over two thousand companies to sell their tourism products online. WRI also licenses its reservations technology to a wide range of affiliate travel websites including http://www.studentuniverse.com , http://www.lastminute.com http://www.travelocity.com.

Web Reservations International was founded in 1999, is privately held and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

For further information

visit: http://www.webreservationsinternational.com

or contact

Niamh Ni Mhir

Director of Marketing

Web Reservations International

Email: niamh@webresint.com

Tel: +353-1-4980711