Online Chat For Fast Response And Higher Booking Conversion
Imagine being able to talk to someone online about the best hotels to stay in, the best rates available and recommendations on hotel locations.
No more sleepless nights or worries about whether or not there is a warm, comfortable room waiting for you at the end of a long flight. Immediate and accurate information that is available as soon as you click the button to send your queries.
HolidayCity has reached another milestone in our efforts to make online room reservation an easy and pleasant experience through the introduction of the 'Online Chat' facility. It underwent a test phase from November 2005 until February 2006, where it was only available on small sets of HolidayCity's webpages. Due to positive and encouraging response from our customers, the 'Online Chat' was subsequently launched throughout the entire website in March 2006.
The 'Online Chat' allows HolidayCity's customers to contact our Customer Service Officers (CSOs) in real¬time during operational hours. They can talk about a variety of topics, from information on hotel room rates and availability, requests for cancellation and amendment, to queries on hotel information, booking status, and how to make online reservation.
According to Lee Lai Huat, HolidayCity's chief executive officer, 'We find that most of our customers are appreciative of the 'personal touch' accorded by the 'Online Chat'. They feel more comfortable and assured knowing that they are talking to a real person in real¬time; someone who can give them the information they seek and ease their worries. On average, they spend more than five minutes chatting with our CSOs' .
Type of Query for HolidayCity Online Chat (February 2006)
The 'Online Chat' is now available on each respective hotel information page. This allows our customers to browse for information and chat with our CSOs at the same time for clarification. 'The main goal here is to make it easy for our customers to make bookings with us. And over a period of time, we are confident that the 'Online Chat' would ultimately play an important role in increasing our conversion rates', Lee reiterated.
Privacy is also assured for HolidayCity's customers as they are not required to sign up as members or provide any personal details. The conversation is also recorded to enable our customer service officers to make reference to or confirmation needed to ensure the necessary arrangement is made for our customers.
'The number of users is expected to increase in 2006 when our customers find that it's really easy to communicate with us. We plan to expand this facility by offering a copy of their conversation with CSOs for their own reference. This is all part of our ongoing effort to take our customer service to the next level', said Lee.
About HolidayCity
HolidayCity (www.holidaycity.com) is an Internet¬based accommodation reservation service, serving worldwide customers through its B2C websites. Presently, HolidayCity offers more than 7000 hotels in over 400 destinations worldwide. In 2005, HolidayCity recorded more than 190,000 room nights with a transaction value of USD25 million. HolidayCity receives more than 1 million unique visitors monthly.
HolidayCity aspires to be a world¬class travel reservation service that offers an easy and fast to use system for both the experienced and first¬time users of online room bookings. 'HolidayCity...we make it easy!' is the driving force behind each aspect of our operations, from making it easy for our customers to book their rooms, find additional helpful information about their destination on our websites, and to seek assistance from our Customer Service officers.
