Agoda.com Launches Express Connect 2.0 for Easy Automatic Hotel Sign-Up

SINGAPORE, April 29, 2011 (Press-News.org) Agoda.com, Asia's global hotel booking site and part of Nasdaq-listed priceline.com Inc., today announced the launch of Express Connect 2.0 - a free hotel sign-up tool that allows hoteliers to quickly and easily start distributing their property's reservations through Agoda.com.

Using Express Connect 2.0, hoteliers who wish to partner with Agoda.com can set up a hotel page in a matter of minutes. Guided through the process step-by-step, hotel owners upload property information, rates, promotions, and photos, with the ability to save their progress at any stage to finish later.

After the content is uploaded and submitted, the page will be live on Agoda within 24-48 hours, with rooms instantly confirmable in 32 languages. Hoteliers then have access to the Yield Control System (YCS) - inventory management software that allows them to seamlessly update rates, availability, and content at their convenience. Hotels can also use the YCS to create tailored promotions according to their property's need periods.

Both the Express Connect 2.0 and YCS systems are free to use, with payment only made upon receipt of confirmed bookings.

On signing up with Agoda.com, hotel partners have access to more than two million members worldwide, with regular targeted emails sent out every week to reach those members. Agoda.com also offers the dedicated support of market professionals to work closely with hotels to maximize yield.

Even hotels who do not have their own booking engine can sign up using Express Connect 2.0 as Agoda also offers a free hotel booking engine called BE3, which can be easily integrated into the hotel's website. Unlike most hotel booking engines which charge a share of revenue or a monthly fee, BE3 enables direct online hotel bookings with no charge to the hotel.

Partners who have recently signed up with Agoda.com through Express Connect at https://ycs.agoda.com had this to say about it:

"The sign-up process of 'Express Connect' was smooth and easy. It is a well-organized form to use and fill." - Marwan El Sheikh, Revenue Manager at Hotel Le Bristol in Beirut, Lebanon

"The Agoda Extranet allows a quick and easy start up for hoteliers. A selection of available promotions such as early bird, stay pay deals etc., allow hotels to instantly react to market trends and market conditions. Rates, restrictions, policies, as well as hotel content can be uploaded easily and are live on agoda.com at the time of changes. Overall Agoda's extranet is an efficient and user friendly tool to apply strategies in order to drive revenue and traffic to the respective hotel." - Katrin Herrle, Revenue Manager at Kempinski Hotel & Residences Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

"I have been working with different booking engines and I love Agoda's extranet simplicity! It's easy to use and very intuitive to manage rates, allotments and availability. What impressed me the most was how easily and fast I was able to create all our hotel promotions. Many extranets don't have this capability!" - Fatima Sousi, Sales Manager at the Pickwick Hotel San Francisco, USA

"I am delighted with the ease with which I was able to enter pertinent information on our hotel via the Agoda website. From a time management standpoint, this seamless process is efficient and most welcome. We look forward to accommodating Agoda's guests from the Asian market in the not too distant future!" - Ms. Lee, Director of Sales and Marketing at the Powell Hotel, San Francisco, USA

"From my experience, this extranet has been greatly developed and improved with the current version of user-friendly functions, even for those newly participating hotels. The system has ready-to-use hotel promotions. The bulk rate update function and the 'Promotions by country or storefronts' are our favorites as they are very easy to use and we can launch our hotel promotion in only a few seconds." - Pawarisa Hirantanes, Director of Revenue, lebua Hotels & Resorts, Thailand

"We regularly receive feedback from our associates that YCS extranet is one of the best to work with & that Agoda is consistently improving it, most importantly the reporting functionalities". - Tej Sidhu, General Manager, Strategic Sales & Marketing, Compass Hospitality

"The YCS tool from Agoda is very easy, reliable, and fast. Whether amending rates, allotments, or close-outs by just a few days or even by several months, it's a breeze!" - Mr. Miguel Jaun, Executive Assistant Manager, Dream Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

Partners who have been using Agoda.com's free booking engine, BE3, had this to say:

"BE3 is an effective way to manage instant bookings through our official website. It is very easy to maintain room availability and rates through the Yield Control System, and BE3 is now considered our 24-hour reservation service." - Mr. Agung Sujana, Owner, Legian Village, Bali, Indonesia.

"Guests trust the secure environment of the booking engine to make the reservation and to provide all the details. The system is also very easy to manage for the reservations team. We are very happy with the growth we have seen so far in our direct bookings." - Ms Oratai Therskijmanuntachai, Reservations and Yield Manager, Atlantis Resort & Spa, Koh Samui Thailand.

To partner with Agoda.com now, go to Express Connect at https://ycs.agoda.com. Contact details for each country can be found on this page.

For more information about Agoda, please contact PR@Agoda.com.

About Agoda Company Pte Ltd:
Agoda Company Pte Ltd (www.agoda.com) is a leading Asia-based, online hotel reservations company, which specializes in securing the lowest discount hotel prices. Agoda.com is part of Priceline.com (Nasdaq:PCLN). Agoda's network includes more than 125,000 hotels worldwide. The multinational staff of more than 500 professionals, located throughout the world, provides a first-rate reservation service that uniquely combines local knowledge and local connections to provide the best hotel deals to both business and leisure travelers.

In addition, Agoda customers participate in the Agoda Rewards Program, earning further discounts and free stays. Unlike programs that limit travelers to a single chain, the Agoda Rewards Program allows customers to redeem Rewards Points at thousands of hotels around the globe, at any time. A member of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Agoda's aim is to promote travel by making it more affordable and more accessible to more people.