Question

Some Internet booking sites operate by letting guests bid for hotel rooms at whatever price the guest is willing to pay. In such cases, guests may not know the hotel they will be reserving at the time of their bid. If the guest’s bid is successful (i.e., if a hotel is willing to sell a room for the suggested bid price), a nonrefundable reservation is made. If you were managing a front office, would you want your hotel to participate in such an arrangement? Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

Given the features of the arrangement,

1. Customers bid their required price which they are willing to pay for the hotel room stay

2. They are not intimated the hotel room which is reserved for them in advance

3. Upon the successful bid, they are given a non-refundable reservation

NO, as a front office for a hotel, we shall not be working in such an arrangement due to the following reasons:

1. The customers are not given a chance to select their hotel and room, the element of look-&-feel is not included here which has an impact on customer's experience

2. When the bis are successful, the customer is allotted a room with non-refundable booking. If the customer, after checking-in, does not like the room quality, he will be dissatisfied as his money won't e refunded

3. The element of customer judgment is not being included here. The mechanistic process will make the customer's experience dull and he won't repeat purchases with us.