What is ICT?
ICT is a term that focuses on the role of communications using our modern information technology, or the merging of telephone networks and computer networks through a link system in today concept.
Many organizations make use of ICT to make their business more effective and efficient as compared to the past (prior to the internet in our study). Here, we will look at how a transaction broker affect hotel room reservation services using ICT.
Transaction Broker
A transaction broker is a salesperson that only handles transactions between two parties, but does not represent any of the two parties involved. For example, Ctrip.com is a transaction broker between Hotels in China (eg Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai) and customers that goes through Ctrip.com to make a hotel reservation in China.
Hotel reservations in the past
Prior to the internet, travelers who wished to make hotel reservations would have to call the hotel directly or go through a physical travel agent.
A traveler would have to call or visit the hotel directly for information like prices, promotions, room availability etc. Should he want to compare the different hotel offers, he would have to call or visit several hotels to acquire the necessary information.
A slightly better alternative then would be to visit a physical travel agency as they provide information of several hotels that a traveler might wish to compare with. However, such information might not be as detailed and updated as what it is today through online agencies.
Hotel reservations today (Ctrip.com)
Today, all information a traveler needs to know about hotels can be acquired by a few clicks on the mouse through the internet. Online agencies like Ctrip.com provides the traveler with all the information he needs to make a hotel reservation.
Information customized according to traveler and detailed information on Hotels
Information like prices and promotions are then clearly shown, allowing the traveler to compare between hotels. Also included are the reviews and ratings of each individual hotel, which a traveler would take into considerations before making a reservation. Photos of hotel rooms and amenities in the hotel are also available.
In the past, it would be a hassle to gather all these information through phone calls. Miscommunications might occur and a traveler might not have what he expected in mind.
FAQs available
Frequently asked questions are available to travelers who might have common queries regarding hotel reservations. Such FAQs are presented in a Question and Answer form for better understanding and reading.
Should there be any other queries that the FAQs did not manage to answer, travelers can choose to contact Ctrip.com through email, phone calls, or even Skype.
In the past, travelers might have to call several times to different hotels regarding payment and booking. These FAQs allowed them to obtain such information with ease. Integrating Skype with the website also allow users to have their queries answered without a telephone.
Reward system
Reward systems can be found in online agencies as it offer users rewards when they purchase through the agencies. Ctrip.com for example offers travel coupons for package tours should their users accumulate and redeem with 2,000 Ctrip points. Users have their individual account where they can monitor their Ctrip points and rewards anywhere through their website.
In the past, without such accessibility, monitoring of rewards would be a chore to all the 3 parties involved.
Disadvantages
One of the largest issues online is the trust that users commit to such online agencies. As private information is provided to them, there is a chance that such information would be provided to another party which would result in spam or even scams.
Through the internet, frauds might also happen to users visiting such online agencies. By having a legitimate-looking site, users are tricked into providing their credit card information for what they believe to be the hotel room reservations.
Conclusion
ICT has evolved hotel room reservations from a “problem” to a ”solution”. It provides users today the convenience and ease in making a reservation through accessible information in the internet. Although there are trust issues in transacting through the internet, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages as hotel room reservations were bought to a different level using ICT.
