Online Travel Agent In A Box - 4oceans launches new hotel booking system with Bedfare

Web distribution specialist, 4oceans has teamed up with BedFare, a leading hotel reservation company, to launch a comprehensive hotel booking service for third party websites.

(PRWEB) July 24, 2003 -- Web distribution specialist, 4oceans has teamed up with BedFare, a leading hotel reservation company, to launch a comprehensive hotel booking service for third party websites.

Hailed by the companies as an 'online travel agent in a box, the partnership enables companies offering hotel bookings on the web to feature an advanced online reservations system via the 4oceans platform, while also having the option to offer a customer service call centre through BedFare.

The move provides customers browsing for accommodation with a more flexible and personal service, a feature traditionally associated with manual enquiries.

Dev Anand, Sales & Marketing Director of BedFare, explained: While the popularity of online reservations is growing, customer service will still form a significant element of the process: not least if there is a specific query or individual requirement from the customer that needs a more personal, hands on service."

In addition, the new service simplifies the booking process further by providing users with immediate confirmation via the hotels customer reservation systems.

4oceans Managing Director, David Yates cites the changes as key to future success and a clear indication to existing clients and partners of what 4oceans technology can deliver.

He said: The partnership tackles the problems that are perceived with both manual and online bookings. It is designed to provide third party websites with an advanced online reservation and information system from 4oceans, combined with the back up and support that BedFare already has in place."

The first client to sign up to the new service is Hotellifestyle.com. The site currently offers over 600 four and five star UK hotels, including Hilton, Thistle and Marriott, with the same number of hotels to be added to the system over the next few months.

Anand added: We are beginning to see hotel booking agents, who have relied on the telephone and central reservation office in the past, switch to automated methods using electronic inventory checking.

The subtle difference is that we already process over 545 bookings a day, which results in 30m annual turnover for our partner hotels."

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About 4oceans
4oceans was created in March 2002 by merging the International Hotel Systems business of TFM plc and the customer reservations systems business of Hotel World.

The company is effectively an Application Service Provider (ASP), operating the platform on behalf of hotels and travel agents connected to it and taking a revenue stream from transaction costs.

About BedFare
BedFare is one of six specialist agency businesses within The Montpelier Collection plc -- the others include Fair's Fare, MeetingsFare, LeisureFare, SportsFare, and CruiseFare - spanning the different specialist activities within travel.