Business | Technology
Booking a hotel made easier through new technology
Users will be able to rate hotels according to stars and price range.
- By Scott Shuey, Chief Reporter
- Published: 00:14 January 3, 2009
- Image Credit:
Dubai: Trying to book a hotel online can be a bit of a guessing game. Pictures can be deceiving and locations a bit vague. You never know just what you're getting until you show up.
Combining Google Maps and photo website Flickr with a hotel booking systems, Seeyourhotel.com attempts to give users a better idea of just where they'll be staying on there next holiday or business trip.
The site is easy to use. You just enter in some basic information - you can enter everything from a airport to a street address - of where you want to stay. The site will then return a Google map with all the hotels in that area. Move your cursor over the hotel, and you'll get the name, the number of stars and a price range. You can also narrow your search by setting a range for prices and the number of stars.
If you want more information, just click on the hotel. The website will open a new window that shows you pictures - usually from user photos on Flickr and not just the photos the hotel wants you to see - reviews, and can even show you the hotel's availability. If you find a hotel you like, you can book directly the site.
If you want a review of the hotel, the site will show you a brief review, if there is one, from TripAdvisor.com. You can follow the link for more reviews.
Benefit
The real advantage with this site is how it works with Google Maps, which allows you to zoom in and out, see nearby attractions, and even see the local terrain.
I'm always a little suspicious of travel websites since they tend to only show popular hotels located at major tourism destination, but I was able to locate hotel in every price range all over the world, including here in the UAE. The site doesn't include every hotel, but the number of hotel is impressive.
Innovation: Online tour guide
- Name: SeeYourHotelURL: www.seeyourhotel.com
- What it does: gives you information on hotels all over the world
- Easy of use: simple
- Cost: free
More from Technology
More from Business
Business Editor's choice
-
‘Wrong Way' Krugman
The source of our economic malfunction lies with government-mandated bank regulations
-
Greek exit could make Eurozone stronger
Departure will show limits of bailouts and allow remaining members to act much more like a unit
-
UAE upholds values of free trade
Recently released statistics confirm an established fact, namely that of the UAE embracing the free trade principle in general and imports in particular
