Technology, like the needs of hotels, is in a process of permanent change. Commercial, revenue and marketing strategies are based almost exclusively on data, and these, at the same time, are like an entity with a life of its own that is constantly integrating new kpis, formulas, visualization formats and analytical variants, in response to the constant proliferation of the most varied requirements requested by proffesionals.
What could once have been an “A+” may today be barely just an average, and the only valid path for tool developers is to adapt their speed to this wheel that does not stop turning. More than that, overcome it to be able to anticipate and jump unexpected obstacles or sudden changes.
Spoiler alert! We are going to reveal some details of the most recent episode in the history of Price Seeker, the rate shopper developed by Paraty Tech, and its mutation into a Price Intelligence Platform.
We like to define the upcoming and imminent launch of Price Seeker v4, and that everyone understands it as such, more than an evolution, as a real revolution of this product, flagship of our brand. This version, the most ambitious to date, has led us to rethink its categorization. Perhaps the concepts of rate shopper and rate checker are no longer sufficient.
A little background
Before getting into the subject, let’s take a look back. It is important to know that Price Seeker emerged from the concerns of our own colleagues, revenue and account managers who felt the need to automate certain processes in order to keep a more exhaustive track of the growing number of hotels they managed.
In other words, like so many other solutions that we have developed in-house, Price Seeker was originally conceived as a tool for internal use, an ally that would allow us to continue increasing our clients’ direct sales by controlling their prices, and those of their competitive set, in their distribution channels. It didn’t take us long to notice its potential… The rest came on its own, backed by an unwavering argument: if it is useful for us, it will also be useful for any hotel establishment, regardless of its degree of involvement in direct sales. A star had been born and its role was none other than to monitor, generate and drive sales in the channels of greatest interest, whatever they were, according to the commercial strategy of each accommodation.
Over the course of almost a decade, Price Seeker has passed through the hands of the revenue managers of leading hotel chains and groups, such as Meliá, Barceló, Blue Bay, Eurostars, Iberostar, RIU, Fuerte and Best Hotels, which is undoubtedly a guarantee of its reliability.
But it has been by identifying actions or discount programs implemented by the major OTAs, to the detriment of the interests of the hotels, that it has really hit the nail on the head. For example, the detection of Booking’s Early Payment Benefit comes to mind, even before its arrival in Spain. Expedia would later follow in its footsteps and, once again, our tool took full responsibility in detecting it.
Price Seeker v4, what’s new, my friend?
Now we leave the past behind and look to the future. As we have already mentioned, Price Seeker v4 is the definitive twist of this revenue tool. A (r)evolution from any possible angle. From the redesign of the UX, to the implementation of a wide range of brand-new functionalities, the inclusion of new kpis, a more “hotel friendly” vocabulary and nomenclature, up to three different packages and the possibility of contracting and implementing it directly online. All of this, putting the focus on the management of the establishment, but, above all, on its profitability. Let’s look at it in detail.
- User Experience: We won’t dwell too much on this point. Just say that we have listened to you and will continue to do so. We are taking note and the new look & feel will reflect that. In any case, the best thing you can do is try it out. By the way, we are launching a Price Seeker Beta Testers campaign. Do you want to be part of “The Chosen Ones”? Stay tuned.
- Holiday package / flight + hotel monitoring: One of our main focus is to grow hand in hand with projects where flight + hotel is of vital importance. Price Seeker v4 monitors the competitiveness of hotels in more than 200 distribution points, including tour operators and major platforms such as Jet2Holidays or TUI. Remember that we work with hotels in multiple destinations, so we can apply this criteria on to any channel you may be interested in benchmarking.
- Disparity control taken to the highest level:
- You will receive real-time alerts of disparities on direct channel, identifying as a priority those with a high probability of abandonment.
- Price Seeker v4 calculates the Cost of Opportunity, because it is not the same to know that you have disparities as it is to know the real cost of these disparities in each channel.
- Specific dashboards for hotel chains.
- Competition: detection of functionalities and promotions, including aspects such as “last rooms available”.
- Market data: online reputation and prices of the destination, tour operators, flights…
- And also: all the advantages of a pricing tool aimed at providing information in an agile and reliable way, but with a level of detail prepared to satisfy the highest levels of demand:
- Competition Monitoring
- Parity monitoring
- Maximum reliability and robustness of the data, supported by screenshots
- Personalized alert system
- Competition and parity reports generator
- Events and notes
- Daily updates
- Selection of your competitive set
- Free configuration
- Free personalized training
- Online support
That’s as far as we can read… Follow us on our usual communication channels to stay up to date with new steps. Price Seeker v4 is coming soon.
Paraty Tech & Tour Blog 
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