SiteMinder partners with HotelSwaps to enable trade of unsold inventory

Hotels that use SiteMinder can now qualify to trade their unsold rooms with other hotels via HotelSwaps, a room exchange program for independently owned and operated boutique and luxury properties.

Founded in 2014, HotelSwaps says it currently has 450 hotel members in 65 countries.

Those members trade their unsold rooms using HotelCoins, HotelSwaps’ proprietary reservation system and digital currency.

Hotel owners earn HotelCoins as payment for reservations made at their property by other members, and they can then spend those HotelCoins on bookings at other member properties, for themselves or by transferring them to others, such as employees, friends and family.

“We are pleased to offer HotelSwaps’ hotel members access to our technology where their entire inventory can be managed within one environment,” says James Bishop, senior director global demand partnerships at SiteMinder.

“Never has the influence of the sharing economy on the world been stronger and the threat of new competition for hotels been greater. With this new capability, independent boutique and luxury hotels are empowered to tap into a new, unique driver of occupancy and revenue, and share their perishable assets with like-minded hoteliers to benefit the industry as a whole.”

The companies say the partnership gives hotels an opportunity to increase their ancillary revenues during periods of lower occupancy, save on their business travel expenses and offer incentive programs to their executive staff.

“Hoteliers are doing a great job in optimizing yields and maximizing utilization of their valuable hotel assets, but still billions of room nights stand empty every year in wonderful hotels around the world,” says Preben Vestdam, co-founder and CEO of HotelSwaps.

“HotelSwaps’ technology and HotelCoins currency allow hoteliers to share such unused capacity within the community of hotel professionals for their mutual benefit.”

Current HotelSwaps member hotels can now use SiteMinder to maintain their live inventory within the HotelSwaps reservation system and to receive reservations in parallel with their other distribution channels.

And SiteMinder’s hotel customers that meet HotelSwaps’ criteria can connect to the exchange as an additional distribution channel.