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Robin Bidroom

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Hi there!
My name is Robin and I am currently doing my internship at Bidroom, located in The Netherlands.
In short, Bidroom is a new revolutionary online hotel booking community that charges a 2% commission for every hotel, regardless of size and amenities. In return for our low commission, we ask hotels to give their guests a discount of at least 5% on their online room rates. With Bidroom costs can be as small as 7%, a huge saving compared to the 20 to 30% OTAs typically claim.
What makes us unique is that we work with something we call Bidroom credit. In other words, we ask a hotel to activate themselves on our website by paying a deposit. This amount is then transferred into credit on the hotel’s account. For every hotel booking, the 2% commission will be automatically deducted from that credit balance after the expiration of the cancellation period. It might sound weird because you pay beforehand but the deposit has no time limit so it can stay on your account until it is finished. This way you are not attached to a contract or yearly fee but the money is deducted based on the amount of reservations you make.
My task now is to do research to discover whether there is interest for this type of service among bed & breakfasts? I am eager to hear whether this is something you would be interested in joining as a B&B? If not, what is the reason you wouldn’t want to join?
Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
 
My first thoughts are
  • How can I discount my online room rates for your customers when I've already signed a contract with other companies saying I must never undercut THEIR rate for my rooms.
  • This deposit thing. You mean I give a pile of cash up front to a "new revolutionary online hotel booking community"? How do I know you won't take my money and disappear next week? I think you'd need to build your reputation up a few years before I'd trust you that much.
 
In my opinion there are way too many booking communities already and I would never give anyone a deposit to hold to apply toward future commissions.
 
No.
Not even remotely interested. We are inundated with too many trying to get their hands in our pockets. You will never be able to go up against the giant corps online as it is now. We even want to avoid those as well!
Doing your diligent research however, I applaud you for that. Perhaps there is something else you may be interested in endeavoring. All the best!
Edited to add: BTW in this day and age, you may have to pay US to be on this listing. FWIW.
 
There are a few services for which I pay in advance, in a model similar to what BidRooms is proposing: (1) My EZPass Highway Toll Transponder -- I pay them a deposit in advance and they deduct any highway toll charges I incur from my account balance as I go; (2) A payment plan I have with my heating oil supplier -- I pay them monthly over the course of the year, building up an account balance, they deduct any charges for oil deliveries from that account balance as they occur.
In the first case, this is a governmental authority, and paying in advance is the only option if I want the convenience of the toll transponder. In the second case, I am dealing with an established company that I've had a long relationship with, and in any case advance payment schemes such as this are regulated by state laws.
In the case of BidRooms, you are a new upstart with no track record. A lot depends on the amount of the initial deposit you require, which you haven't told us. If that amount is relatively small, on a par with what I might risk with any new advertising option, then I might consider it. Of course I would want to see a lot more information about your site design, visitor traffic (or plans to garner traffic), etc..., before making any investment. However, if the deposit amount you require is relatively large, then forget about it, regardless of what other information you might be able to provide. It is just too risky.
 
Heck, we cannot even get innkeepers to sign up for a directory that is free and THEY are in total control of their listing with no other place being advertised on their page. We are an independent lot here in the States (at least the innkeepers are) and we do not cotton to someone telling us what we can do - and giving anyone money to tell US what they are going to do for us in the future? Nope.
 
Everyone send me $50 and I will invest it for you... no really. Yes I have a coffee habit and so it may have a strong ROI.
 
You really should take a closer look at why the booking. com model is so successful. You may also want to take a close look at Airbnb.
 
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