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Below you will find FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) where most of your queries are answered. Shall you not find the answer to your question, please do not hesitate to contact RoomAuction, or call on: 0207 9938201.
Click each topic to read more: TYPICAL QUESTIONS Why should I book my hotel through RoomAuction.com?
Do I get charged a booking fee?
Do I need to leave Credit Card details with you?
How do I book a hotel room?
Is there a difference in booking by telephone?
How much I can bid down?
How to make a hotel accept a lower deal?
When best to book?
When worst to book?
FOR HOTELIERS What is RoomAuction?
Why to use RoomAuction?
What is RoomAuction Offer?
What do you offer that other online services don't?
How do your customers contact my hotel?
How to add my hotel?
Can any hotel be added?
How to subscribe to RoomAuction?
Is there any minimum contract?
Can I see your T&C?
Do you charge commission?
Does it pay back?
How much do I earn?
What about my Return On Investment?
Will RoomAuction compete with my selling methods?
Is RoomAuction booking system trustworthy?
Why don`t you have thousands of hotels on your site?
How many hits do you have?
Can we change our details after sign up?
Do I have to show my email address?
Do we need to update our availability?
Do we need to guarantee you availability?
I only need to fill my Midweek Rooms.
What about room allocation?
What rooms can I offer with my listing?
Do I have to enter low rates to the system?
I don't want to waste my time with replying on bookings offers which are far to low.
Do we have to accept all bookings if we do not want them to stay at the rate that they are offering?
I don't want any discount rates published on the Internet.
Do your subscribers really want to book my hotel, or just a cheap hotel?
Are we able to set a reserve?
Where do you advertise?
Why should I book my hotel through RoomAuction.com?(back)
Should you wish to have a wonderful time especially in the UK region, RoomAuction addresses all your needs: over 200 carefully selected UK hotels, a free booking system (no booking fee!), no necessity to leave your credit card details and, what makes us unique, a bargaining power over standard hotel rates. You can set the price you want to pay for a room with up to 50% discount against a rack rate.
Do I get charged a booking fee?(back)
No, RoomAuction works as an interface between you and a hotel, therefore no booking fee is ever charged.
Do I need to leave Credit Card details with you?(back)
No. RoomAuction works only as an interface between you and a hotel. The transactions are direct with hotels therefore a hotel will get in touch with you and take all relevant details to secure your booking.
How do I book a hotel room?(back)
In order to book a room through RoomAuction go to the Home Page, provide your search criteria, select a hotel, scroll down hotel entry and fulfill the booking form at the end of a hotel listing. The hotel shall contact you back within 24-48 hours to secure your booking.
Is there a difference in booking by telephone?(back)
Yes, booking by telephone makes you loose a chance of decreasing a hotel room price by up to 50% standard rate, in best cases.
How much I can bid down?(back)
You can bid as low as 50% of the rack rate if a hotel hasn't defined it differently, although most savings are between 25% and 35%.
How to make a hotel accept a lower deal?(back)
If you will state in the bidding form at the end of a hotel listing that you will dine at the hotel that may be an additional reason for the hotelier to accept a lower deal.
When best to book? (back)
The shorter the notice the better deal you can get. If hoteliers are sure they will not be able to sell a specific room/night on a higher rate, they will take almost any rate just to get the beds filled.
When worst to book?(back)
Most hotels are full on Saturdays and empty on Sundays, so you have a far bigger chance to get a bargain deal on stays that include Sundays. It will be quite difficult to get a discounted stay on Saturday.
What is RoomAuction?(back)
- a successfull hotel business set up in 2003 by hoteliers like you, with years of Room Sales, Management and Hotel Reception Experience;
- over 200 UK Hotels database;
- a place where you can put on an auction empty rooms and get them filled at a discount rate defined by yourself (up to 50% by default);
- a fully flexible and controlrollable 24/7 system, with no need for frequent updates and close-outs;
- a popular and recommended by The Times system (recent publication: TIMESONLINE 24th Jan 2010).
Why to use RoomAuction?(back)
You became a part of the system totally for free, until the results! (read the RoomAuction Offer for the details)!
Should you join?
Let the numbers speak for themselves:
- 24th Jan 2010: recent publication by TIMESONLINE,
- a growing database of over 200 carefully selected UK hotels,
- 7 years of a successful hotel business in 2010,
- on average 3k GBP per year in Real Bookings,
- up to 25k GBP per year in Real Bookings
- 2M GBP in Booking Offers in 2010,
- 100k web-site hits per month,
- 6k subscribers targeted each month with a newsletter.
What is RoomAuction Offer?(back)
An annual membership on our popular (100k hits per month) and trustworthy (recommended by The Times) web-site.
An up-front fee of:
- 150+VAT GBP for a small hotel (<16 rooms),
- 250+VAT GBP for a big hotel (>16 rooms),
has been replaced by an after effect payment, which means we put your hotel LIVE in the databse immediately and charge you the above mentioned amounts only in the moment when your hotel Booking Offers will reach the value of 150 GBP or 250 GBP accordingly. All that comes after is purely yours additional income.
What do you offer that other online services don't?(back)
Security : you don't pay until the effect
Easiness : no need for frequent updates, room allocation, close outs or phone-calls,
one e-mail does all the thing!
Traceability : a constant access to Online Control Panel (Performance Statistics, Quotes, Hotel Data Details)
Directness : no extra commissions apply, transactions are direct with your hotel
Offer Richness : you can publish up to 3 types of rooms / special offers alike through other booking agents
How do your customers contact my hotel?(back)
The bids get to you by an e-mail sent to your front-line i.e. where you want them (Reception, Front Desk, Manager etc.). You declare the e-mail address in an Online Control Panel, while adding your Hotel Entry. The e-mail address can be changed anytime, as you have a 24hrs access to the panel.
How to add my hotel?(back)
To join on-line go to: www.add.roomauction.com and we will get back to you for further assistance,
or simply e-mail RoomAuction.com at: newhotels /at/ roomauction.com or call on: 44 2079 938201, we will be happy to guide you.
Can any hotel be added?(back)
Yes, however we abide by a golden rule: We will not take more hotels on board then we can satisfactory serve.
How to subscribe to RoomAuction?(back)
It is enough to show your interest by either adding your hotel at www.add.roomauction.com
or e-mailing RoomAuction at info@roomauction.com or calling directly 44 2079 938201.
Is there any minimum contract?(back)
No. After the initial period that you have paid for, the hotel is free to decide if they would like to continue selling their rooms with us. No hassle, but we are sure you would like to stay for another year. We put a lot of the annual fee in direct advertising of your hotel, to bring you good value for money and maintain a long term relationship. To maintain the listing visible at all times we do renew automatically unless cancelled.
Can I see your T&C?(back)
Yes, you can download a PDF version of our Terms and Conditions of trading here
Do you charge commission?(back)
No, we charge no commission therefore you earn the full reservation amount. Transactions are direct with your hotel and it is you, not RoomAuction, to get guest’s Credit Card Details.
Does it pay back?(back)
The average booking value equals to £147 therefore it takes 2 auctions to breakeven, on average. All that comes after, is your additional revenue, up to £25 000 if you follow the best prospering hotels within the system.
How much do I earn?(back)
It depends how you will set the acceptable rate (50% by default).
However, you should be able to earn from £250 per month (£3,000 per year) on average,
up to £2,000 per month (£25,000 per year) following the best prospering hotels.
What about my Return On Investment?(back)
Due to PAY AFTER EFFECT policy, your return on investment is guaranteed.
Will RoomAuction compete with my selling methods?(back)
No, we are not here to compete with any other sales initiatives, only to complete your existing methods.
Is RoomAuction booking system trustworthy?(back)
Well, the system has been designed by hoteliers like you based on years of Room Sales, Management and Hotel Reception experience. The idea is already old but yet new within Hotel Industry. It aims to help you in selling your empty bedrooms at a rate you can accept, and that fits all potential customers. And yes, indeed, it is trustworthy!
Why don`t you have thousands of hotels on your site?(back)
We abide by a rule, that we never add more hotels to our directory than we can satisfactory serve. This is why we only take as many hotels, as we have high value targeted traffic on our website. At RoomAuction we base on long term relationships with hotels, so we need to make sure that all of them benefit in an equal and honest way.
How many hits do you have?(back)
Currently it's over 100,000 hits per month (dated Jan 2010).
Can we change our details after sign up?(back)
Yes. At all times you have full access to Hotel’s Control Panel, where you can change all the details to include: photos, description, room rates, hotel equipment, contact details. This service is provided free of charge and is available to all members.
Do I have to show my email address?(back)
No, your email address is not shown. We do show your Website, Telephone and Fax number, but never your email address. We also include detailed information about your hotel including 5 pictures.
Do we need to update our availability?(back)
No. Our system is based on individual enquiries, so you reply to each potential directly. That is why we are so flexible, there is no availability updates, neither need for close-outs nor room allocation.
Do we need to guarantee you availability?(back)
No. You never have to guarantee availability with Room Auction, though we have ways to direct traffic to the Dates and Days of the week you want to fill by publishing Bidding Tips in your listing.
I only need to fill my Midweek Rooms.(back)
You can direct customers to the days you want to fill. Just Midweek or Weekend. No limits or restrictions with Room Auction.
What about room allocation?(back)
Not required with Room Auction, no need to hold rooms that could be left unsold.
What rooms can I offer with my listing?(back)
Each Hotel has room for 3 room types, so you can offer a Standard Double/Twin, a Premier or Deluxe Double/Twin. A Suite or any Package. Only Room Auction offers you these options.
Do I have to enter low rates to the system?(back)
No low rates. Only your Rack Rates are shown and you never have to accept any bids at rates that are too low. And with Room Auction you can up-sell to a better room or suite.
I don't want to waste my time with replying on bookings offers which are far to low.(back)
Controls are in place to stop any unacceptable bids. So far bids at the rate lower than 50% Standard Price are rejected by default by the system.
Do we have to accept all bookings if we do not want them to stay at the rate that they are offering?(back)
You never have to accept any bids But don't just refuse. 1.If it's because you are full, If you have a sister property you can offer that hotel. 2.If you don't like the rate, PLEASE don't just refuse. Always (if you have room) offer what you want for the room. For example. If a customers offer is for a Standard Room at £109. You could reply that the Standard rooms available are £129 or your Premium Rooms are £149.
I don't want any discount rates published on the Internet.(back)
Bidding is off your Rack Rate. You can fill your excess inventory at rates you wouldn't want your regulars to know about. No Brand or Rate erosion.
Do your subscribers really want to book my hotel, or just a cheap hotel?(back)
We don't hide any details about your hotel. Our subscribers are not just looking for a Post Code. You receive requests from customers that have learned all about your property from your detailed listing, before choosing your hotel
Are we able to set a reserve?(back)
Yes, you choose the discount rate, that way no bids under that rate will be sent to you. To change a default maximum discount rate equal to 50%, send us an email.
Where do you advertise?(back)
We advertise in many ways. Most of our traffic comes from Google and its partners (MSN, AOL, Ask Jeeves, Multimap and many others). Apart from online advertisement we also promote RoomAuction in national and local newspapers (i.e. The Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph, .net Magazine, Webuser) as well as by printed materials delivered directly to homes of our repeat and potential guests and customers. See more about where do we advertise in the Media Centre section.
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