Metro Hotels has experienced a 70 percent increase in room reservations following a change in providers for its online distribution technology and marketing services.

While the hotel industry experienced bookings growth of just 4.5 percent in the last financial year, Metro Hotels greatly outperformed the industry standard with 70 percent growth following its migration to Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ SynXis Central Reservations Sydney in November 2011. The change enabled the hotel group to seamlessly connect all channels, including distributing rooms and rates, through the four major Global Distribution Systems as well as hundreds of online travel agents.

Using the SynXis Central Reservation Service, Metro Hotels was able to take its turnaround time for rate loading from more than a week to just one day. The enhanced system functionality also allowed it to load a higher volume of information and images for each property, giving the Group the ability to capture a wider audience.

Sabre Hospitality Solutions is the industry's leading global hospitality technology company while Metro Hotels is Australia’s oldest, 100 percent Australian owned and managed hotel chain.

Carlie Tait, Metro Hotels Group Ecommerce coordinator, said the Group had experienced huge improvements across the board since its switch to Sabre Hospitality Solutions last year.

"The high level of support, responsiveness and product knowledge we get from Sabre's Australian-based team, as well as the functionality and efficiencies of the system, have made a noticeable impact on our bookings,” she said. “Overall, it has been a very positive experience."

The change in providers to Sabre Hospitality Solutions’ SynXis and the sharp increase in bookings is a reflection of Metro Hotels commitment to the GDS as a key source of bookings and one of the primary booking channels for its hotels.

According to Ms. Tait, “the largest growth in bookings has been experienced by those properties located in key mining regions such as Perth, Gladstone and Brisbane.”

While Metro Hotels does not envisage such a significant year-on-year growth in the coming twelve months, the company is still extremely positive and excited about the potential to further increase its business from the GDS.