The Research Findings

Purpose of Website

As globalisation and advancements in technology occurs rapidly, the world evolves into a 'world without borders' spiking a tremendous increase in international travel, be it for pleasure or business. WOTIF takes advantage of this phenomenon by providing an easy way to book accommodations of your choice online safely and quickly.

WOTIF differentiates itself from other travel booking sites like AsiaRooms and DirectRooms by pioneering the concept of "last minute accommodation". This is essentially done through a price matrix that shows live hotel allotments and the prices which makes comparison easier compared to the past where consumers have to ring up preferred hotels and make their own price comparisons manually. Consumers can now also enjoy the added benefits of watching video clips of the Hotel, it's services, facilities and other essentials for planning their trip such as the proximity of the chosen hotel to the country's attractions or city area.


Key Characteristics

• Search capabilities by country, region and/or city
• Able to search for properties for weekends or weekdays for business travellers
• "Click on maps" feature shows the map of the area where the hotel is located and the surrounding properties. It also provides a brief description of the property and its rates.
• Search capabilitity is by property/accommodation type. Example, Bed & Breakfast, Motels, Service Apartments etc.
• "Mouse-over" feature for price inclusions (see below) provides a user friendly way of providing more information without cluttering the web page.
  
  
  
  

• "Hot-deals" shows greatly discounted deals and also displays the original rack rates next to the deals for a better comparison of the value savings.
  
• "Mystery-deals" is where one can book a property in the desired location for a discounted price. But the catch is not knowing which property it is although it provides some information about the property such as its ranking and type (hence the mystery). This feature would be ideal for budget concerned travellers who can also afford to be flexible.
  
  
  

• When one checks on "remember my details" while making a booking with WOTIF, the details of the consumer will be displayed the next time he/she logs onto the website. This greatly reduces time to fill in information time and again and also lists down properties booked by the consumer for easier access in future.
  
• They also practice a stringent Privacy Policy which does not allow for the provision or selling of personal information of customers to third parties.
  
• Booking fees are clearly displayed in a tabular form thus eliminating worries of hidden costs.


• Newsletters and information on special promotions are sent to travellers via email at their choice. This keeps them informed and creates a loyal following.


• Customer service is on a 24-7 basis and they can be contacted via email, toll-free numbers or post.
  
  
  
  

Payment Scheme

WOTIF has a digital certificate from "Thawte" an industry leader in the protection and management of data transmission. E-commerce is incomplete without an e-payment scheme. WOTIF accepts all major credit/debit cards as modes of payment. This provides a faster and more convenient alternative for customers. Once all payment details are provided, the room is instantly confirmed through an email confirmation to the customer's email address.

On top of their secured server, all transactions are also protected by a Secure Sockets layer (SSL) encryption technology which encrypts the customer's personal data millions of times before they are transmitted over the Internet.

If customers are still concerned about their bookings online, they still have the option of physically calling WOTIF's call centre to make their bookings.


Business Model

Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, consists of the buying and selling of products and services over mediums such as the Internet and other computer networks. The amount of trade conducted electronically has grown extraordinarily with the widespread of Internet usage. The use of commerce is conducted in this way, spurring and drawing on innovations in electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, Internet marketing, online transaction processing, electronic data interchange (EDI), inventory management systems, and automated data collection systems. Modern electronic commerce typically uses the World Wide Web at some point in the transaction's life cycle, although it can encompass a wider range of technologies such as e-mail as well.

WOTIF's e-business model falls under the Business-to-Customer (B2C) transaction Broker e-commerce category.

It is important to note that WOTIF does not own any of the properties advertised and it merely acts as a broker between the consumers who get the benefits of discounted deals they could not otherwise get on their own (expensive rack rates) and suppliers who can sell their rooms last minute which they would otherwise have to leave empty. So WOTIF profits from the booking fees it charges per successful transaction.


Feedback on WOTIF's Web

Strengths:

• Broad range of choices spanning over 45 countries and different types of properties to choose from depending on the budget of the traveller.
• Availability is guaranteed instantly by the hotel's live allotment system. Therefore once booking and pre-payment is made, the customer can rest assured knowing the room is his/hers.
• Ease of payment via credit cards that is secure.
• Clear links for feedback, FAQs, 24-hours customer support etc.
• No hidden costs as booking fees are clearly shown
• Google search will direct people who spells wotif.com incorrectly. (eg. Whatif, Watif)
• Very flexible search engine
• Ability to view location of property in relation to other properties in the same region as well as pictures of the hotel simply by clicking on the hotel's URL.
• Availability and prices are shown by 'days' for a period of 90 days for all properties all0wing comparison to be made easily.

Weaknesses:

• No multi-language capability provided.
• Could provide a forum for feedbacks from actual customers who had stayed in some of the properties. This bids up the confidence for prospective customer.Could provide a link to 3rd party websites, that provide reviews about the properties listed ( eg Tripadvisor). This is what lastminute.com has done that that works to its advantage.
• Live chat or Skype video messaging options could be introduced in place of Post options provided in the feedbacks section. Budget airlines links to make it a one-stop site for holidays.
  

Design and Layout:

It's colour scheme is in green, blue and white giving it a fun and breezy holiday feel. It is also well organised with neat fonts and well spaced out. WOTIF's website also does not have the cramped feeling of some other websites such as Expedia (see below) which tries to squeeze too much information in a given space which instead turns away potential customer who gets confused with the overload of information. WOTIF cleverly utilises space by mouse-overs and does not have the problem of broken URL links.

Conclusion:

The internet has given the opportunity for new types of business to flourish such as eCommerce business. But this form of business has also become very competitive in this day and age of the Information age where most daily transactions depend on e-business in some way or another. WOTIF has kept itself differentiated above the rest by preserving a good and reliable brand name that sees its loyal customers returning. Hence, WOTIF is able to maintain its business goals.