New buuteeq Digital Direct Programme gives Choice Hotels franchisees in Europe a competitive edge in their local markets.
Choice Hotels Europe announced that it has entered into a relationship with buuteeq, a leading cloud-based digital marketing provider for lodging operators thatwill enable Choice Hotels franchisees throughout Europe to create and manage their own property-level websites with direct booking capabilities.
The new platform, called the Digital Direct Programme, which launched in the U.S. in May for Choice Hotels International, features a direct integration between the Choice Hotels central reservation system and the buuteeq Cloud Digital Marketing System (CloudDMS) that provides each property the capability to deploy and manage their own SEO-optimised websites seamlessly across web, mobile, and social channels. As a result, franchisees can gain a competitive edge with industry-leading tools designed to maximise their online marketing efforts and streamline the booking experience for their guests.
Once implemented, guests are able to book directly and book smart from a franchisee’s property-level website using up-to-the-minute information on room availability and rates. Additionally, Choice’s Digital Direct Programme gives franchisees robust digital marketing insights delivered through buuteeq’s 360 Analytics dashboard.
“Our relationship with buuteeq provides our franchisees access to leading-edge tools that can enable them to strengthen their online presence. We can meet a wide range of marketing needs from jumpstarting the online presence for some properties to supporting savvy marketers looking to boost an already robust digital footprint. With the ever-changing landscape of online marketing, booking and property management, it’s crucial for Choice Hotels to stay ahead of the game and meet the needs of our franchisees and their guests,” said Duncan Berry, CEO UK, Choice Hotels Europe.
The Digital Direct Programme that buuteeq has custom-designed for Choice Hotels will be available to all Choice brand hotels in Europe from September 2013. 213 Choice franchisees have launched property-level websites in the U.S. and Canada.
Here in the UK two Choice brand hotel properties have already launched new websites with a further two expected to do so by early October.
Kishor Majithia, Managing Director, Clarion Collection Hotel St Albans, added, “Working with buuteeq to transition from our old website to the new one went very smoothly for us, and the people at buuteeq couldn’t have been more helpful. We are watching our website analytics closely and are already happy to see increased traffic and more direct conversions. We look forward to maintaining our close working relationship with buuteeq as we continue the website development.”
“The Digital Direct Programme provides each Choice Hotels franchisee the opportunity to easily access direct marketing and booking capabilities that meet the needs of their specific property,” said buuteeq CEO Forest Key. “buuteeq is thrilled to extend our relationship with Choice Hotels throughout their U.S. and European properties to help keep their brand at the forefront of technology in the hospitality sector.”
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