The five-star Al Diar Siji Hotel in Fujairah managed by Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) has benefited from internet booking - a growing channel of hospitality industry.

For the first two months of 2010, figures show that Al Diar Siji Hotel’s internet booking has more than doubled and remarkably increased by 250% compared to the same period last year.  As online bookings in 2009 showed steady increase month by month, the hotel’s management is expecting the same this year.

“In 2009, we witnessed continuous increase in our room production through internet booking from January to December and we anticipate this trend to be the same for 2010.  We are looking forward to a steady increase in internet booking towards the end of 2010 even in this difficult year,” said Mr. Fouad Melhem, the hotel’s general manager.

With the steady increase in bookings month by month in 2009, not surprisingly, the hotel’s internet bookings for the whole year surged tremendously with figures closing at more than triple compared to internet production in 2008.

The figures cover both direct booking on the hotel’s website and through GDS partners.

"Internet booking is really a growing channel, but aside from this, we attribute the significant increase of our internet bookings to the fact that we have also increased our online marketing budget, and we plan to continue to maximize this channel to bring in more business to the hotel,” explained Mr. Melhem. “This year, we will also be revamping our website, and we will employ other online marketing initiatives including website optimization, email marketing, online display advertising and social media strategies,” he added. 

In this economic environment, it is a relief that at least one channel is witnessing growth which helps in supplementing much needed revenues.