Columbia Hotels Germany

First-class hotel group puts trust in first-class solution

Enrico Noack - Director Sales & Marketing: „We did not want to utilize a variety of systems, but were looking for a complete package. hotelwebservice had just the perfect solution ready for us”.

From a consolidated system to the web presentation – a complete re-launch for COLUMBIA Hotels & Resorts. Change of provider and consolidation of GDS providers, a new homepage design, and much, much more. Those were the goals, COLUMBIA hotels had given us. Where other service providers could have tackled only selected items, hotelwebservice convinced with one complete solution, meeting all requirements.

Products: CRS / GDS / IBE / ADM / NL / SEO / SEM

Issue

Four first-class and luxury hotels in Germany, three on Cyprus – and almost the same number of different GDS providers. Our goal was clear: COLUMBIA was in dire need of a consolidated CRS with an efficient booking retrieval, preferably all the way into their PMS. One control center for all distribution channels.
For the web presentation, a SEO-compatible Content Management System needed to be build. A module-based structure enables the company to centrally process the data. Individual hotels can maintain their data independently, and after approval from the “second set of eyes” – the head-office – present theme-relevant content in various formats.
A tight deadline and our commitment to boost occupancy through a more attractive website raised the bar for the overall success of the project – a challenge we were ready to face.

Starting Point

100% transparency during the duration of the entire project and efficient cooperation with agencies and partners of our network – that is how we work. Together with COLUMBIA we diligently planned and coordinated every single step of the process prior to the execution of the work:
Detailed analysis of the Channel Management Systems (CMM) and a recalibration of the IDS distribution process.
Development of an online strategy in conjunction with our network partner “One Internet” in order to accomplish the goals set by the e-distribution team.
A web design, featuring theme-driven navigation provided by our network partner “Salon Digital” means: Special offers and content of the individual hotels were grouped based on themes and consequently sorted by themes, and not by hotels.

Development

A first-class solution:
The hotelwebservice booking engine, the Advanced Distribution Manager featuring booking retrieval and the new GDS integration now enable COLUMBIA to execute a perfectly orchestrated marketing strategy for all hotels from one single platform. Less work – much higher attraction!
Based on our Enterprise Content Management System, the internet presentation clearly conveys the high quality standards of COLUMBIA hotels to every single site visitor. That drives the desire to book a vacation! The theme-based navigation ensures attractive offers are easily found and can be booked on the spot.