SideStep Inc. is paying more attention to the hotel market these days. Phil Carpenter, vice president of corporate marketing, told TravelMole:
“Our hotel business has grown very fast, and we think we offer a pretty unique solution for both consumers and for travel providers.”
The company, which is a marketing vehicle for travel providers, recently introduced its SideStep Hotels, a web-based version of its hotel search offering.
Mr Carpenter said five million people have already downloaded the SideStep toolbar to find flight, hotel and rental car deals.
“Now, we can offer hotel services via the web with no download,” said Mr Carpenter.
The company also has introduced a free weekly newsletter called TravelFinds that has grown to one million subscribers.
“All the research we’ve done shows that if you swamp consumers with too many choices, they just melt,” said Mr Carpenter.
The newsletter restricts itself to about 21 items, he said. “We work hard to make sure the offers we pull together are really distinctive,” he said. And how do they determine that?
Answered Mr Carpenter:
“One element of a good deal is clearly a brand. There are also time and convenience factors. If a deal requires you to leave Mexico on a Sunday night and come back Wednesday morning, it’s not much of a deal. The timing is off. Pricing also plays an important role.”
Report by David Wilkening
