Online hotel bookings provider secures wireless partnerships

Hotelguide.com has partnered with wireless phone manufacturers and numerous mobile network and content providers including Zed, Swisscom, and France Telecom, to deliver the Hotelguide.com database of 60,000 hotels in 200 countries over WAP-enabled mobile phones. The Hotelguide.com WAP directory can be accessed through any Ericsson or Nokia WAP phone via http://wap.hotelguide.com. The comprehensive hotel WAP site is available in seven languages including English, German, and Swedish.

There are two ways consumers access Hotelguide.com's wireless directory through partner providers. As a customer of a partner network operator such as Sweden's Telia, or Hong Kong's Smartone, users visit their phone's main travel directory to gain access. As a WAP portal subscriber to Spain's VTV International or Hong Kong's WAPHead, for instance, visiting the portal's travel guide and selecting "hotels" will allow the user to choose Hotelguide.com's wireless directory. A complete list of partnerships can be viewed at http://www.hotelguide.com/wapPage.cfm.

After accessing Hotelguide.com's WAP site, visitors select one of seven languages. The next step is a prompt to search by city or by inputting a specific hotel name. Once a hotel is selected, the window displays basic data including price range and contact information. To make a reservation, hit the "Call Now" button, which connects the user to the hotel reservation desk. Instant booking capabilities are expected by the end of summer.

Edited by Ellen Jensen