March 12th, 2014. HotelSwaps, the world’s first hotel room exchange programme, has affiliated over 100 hotel members since its launch in early 2013.
Baglioni Hotels, Corinthia Hotels & Resorts and Sanctuary Retreats are all among the hotel groups which have joined the programme. HotelSwaps also counts a large number of independent hotels, which are members of luxury hotel associations such as The Leading Hotels of the World, Relais & Chateaux and Design Hotels.
HotelSwaps, which operates under www.hotelswaps.com, allows hotel owners and operators of high quality hotels to exchange their unused hotel rooms with one another using a point-based currency.
Hotel members earn HotelSwaps Points by accepting reservations requests from other members or by depositing in advance their unused hotel rooms in the HotelSwaps booking engine. The Points can thereafter be traded for free reservations of hotel rooms deposited by other member properties.
HotelSwaps offers four key benefits to its member hotels:
● Low cost employee incentive programme: Hotel operators can offer HotelSwaps Points to their highest performing staff so they can book free stays at other member hotels.
● Savings on business travel accommodation: Hotel executives can exchange their unused hotel rooms for free hotel accommodation during business travel.
● Additional revenue opportunities: Hotels will experience an increase in food & beverage revenues as well as in leisure services during periods of lower occupancy.
● Friends & family benefits: Hotel owners can offer their friends and family free accommodation at other member properties around the world.
“I am thrilled with the response that we have received from both independent hotel owners and prestigious hotel groups from participating in the HotelSwaps programme,” says Preben Vestdam, Founder & Managing Director of HotelSwaps, “and I am delighted to be offering a tool that allows hoteliers to improve the operating performance of their hotels.”
Vestdam continues: “HotelSwaps has been created to make the most of the huge inventory of unused hotel rooms. In 2012, over 750 million room nights were left unoccupied in the Europe alone. HotelSwaps helps hoteliers creating an alternative value out of this significant un-exploited asset.”
To ensure a consistent network of like-minded hoteliers, HotelSwaps only accepts high quality hotels in desirable destinations as their members. Following a 6 months free trial period, hotels pay an annual membership fee to HotelSwaps, starting at GBP 395 for a hotel with less than 25 rooms and rising to GBP 1,950 for a hotel of over 100 rooms. There is also a reservations fee of GBP 20 per booking charged to the guest regardless of the length of the stay.
HotelSwaps currently offers its members available rooms for immediate online exchange reservations in cities such as New York, London, Paris and Milan as well as many attractive resort destinations almost every day until September 2014.
