RatesToGo Celebrates Four Successful Years
A No-fuss System that Does Away with Invoicing, Credit Set-up and Accounting Issues
SYDNEY, Australia, October 25, 2006. RatesToGo (www.RatesToGo.com), one of the leading providers of genuine last minute accommodation, has been expanding US inventory this year. RatesToGo has experienced an average of 507%* growth in visitors to the site year on year, offering consumers a low rates guarantee^ for global accommodation bookings up to 21 days in advance.
Key achievements for RatesToGo over the past four years include:
---|Pioneering global last-minute website to offer bookings up to 21 days in advance in 1500 cities worldwide
---|Leading last minute provider to cover all key countries in Europe and Asia Pacific.
---|Broke new ground with self maintained last minute sites in the United States
---|Led the way launching onsite consumer ratings and reviews on a last minute website
---|Multiple language service including Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Thai. Portuguese and Spanish
---|A unique Membership Loyalty program that lets Members earn up to 2% of their booking back in Member Dollars
---|RatesToGo Membership has experienced average growth of 114% year on year since its inception in 2003.*
---|Growth in destinations and hotels available: 86% growth in number of hotels and 150% in destinations available.*
---|RatesToGo pioneered the B2B affiliate solution for last minute hotel booking services to other companies and websites.
Recent trends in the travel market and especially the 'last minute' niche have lead to the continued success of RatesToGo. Chloe Lim, Director of Global Marketing, RatesToGo says "With increased demands on work and family commitments today, we see trends towards shorter and more frequent holidays or breaks. Contributing to this, the increase in discount airline fares has also seen the booking lead time decrease significantly as people snap up deals."
On average, each booking made with RatesToGo is for a short break with a duration of 2 nights and the booking is usually made within 14 days of the check-in date#. Worldwide statistics show that holidays have become shorter and more frequent with seven out of ten online travel buyers taking some form of holiday over a 12 month period. % 82% of online travel buyers took short breaks of 2-7 days, with a further 80% opting to also take long weekend breaks.% With increased internet travel sales and buying behaviour in consumers, perceptive consumers are taking advantage of last minute deals and discount airfares creating their own budget packages.
RatesToGo appeals to business travellers, young travellers, couples and families with a variety of accommodation types including apartments, luxury resorts and motels. RatesToGo prides itself on offering accommodation at up to 70% off normal rack rates and the provision of a low rate guarantee^.
RatesToGo's Membership Program also provides extra savings for all members allowing them to earn Members Dollars on already discounted bookings. These can then be used towards their next booking or a future booking.
RatesToGo's transaction process is easy. For each booking made, the customer pays a deposit to RatesToGo, receives an electronic voucher and can then check in at their selected hotel paying the balance on arrival. A no-fuss system that does away with invoicing, credit set-up and accounting issues. RatesToGo will even take care of cancellations & no-show charges.