La booking meetings online is still one of the major developments in the hotel industry that has been awaited, but has yet to come to fruition. However, the sector is getting closer and closer. While a player like Cvent is making moves of its own, four groups - and not the least, since they are Accor, Hilton, IHG and Marriott International - are joining forces to move forward with the digitalisation of their relationships with meeting organisers. Together, they will be investing in 50 million in Groups360GroupSync is one of the leading online meeting marketplaces, with more than 1,000 meetings already listed on its platform. 170,000 establishments in 225 countries.
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This investment, which will provide each of the hoteliers with a seat on the board of directors of the start-up, will give Groups360 to enhance this platform to make it the first online tool for both sourcing and automated booking of simple meetings. Once enhanced, the GroupSync platform should make it possible to book less complex meetings instantly as well as offering more general information on the availability and price of seminar rooms. All with transparent rates and relevant content for organisers.
"We listened to planners and their needssays Kemp Gallineau, Chairman of Group360. They are looking for a simple and seamless experience for booking meeting rooms and ancillary services. We are focused on the continuous improvement of GroupSync as a search and booking application".the most intelligent"It is also able to make recommendations based both on organisers' preferences and on market price forecasts derived from our algorithms."he adds.
This type of association between hotel groups is not not exactly a first. In 2012, a number of big names - Choice, Hilton, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt and Wyndham - joined forces to create the Roomkey consumer booking platform to counter the expansion of Booking and Expedia. It was probably too late for Roomkey to be a great success. But at a time when the digital booking of meetings is still a blank slate, this new joint initiative seems more promising and should enable the leaders in the hotel industry to avoid being left behind by outside competition.
