Omni Hotels & Resorts has become the first luxury hotel brand to offer a “courtesy hold” functionality for reservations made through mobile devices. The new feature allows guests to hold a reservation at the quoted rate for up to 24 hours without booking.
This new 24-hour mobile hold function gives guests additional flexibility to research locations and vacation packages available online at omnihotels.com and lock in the rates for up to 24 hours without credit card confirmation, payment or penalty.
To hold, customers simply enter name, email and phone number and have the option to “finalize” online at omnihotels.com. Omni will also send an email reminder, and if the reservation is not confirmed within the 24-hour time period, the reservation is automatically released with no charge to the guest.
“We are constantly working to enhance the digital guest experience,” said Tom Santora, chief marketing officer for Omni Hotels & Resorts. “In doing so, we needed to address the lower conversion rates on mobile and to overcome the obstacle of completing a reservation on a mobile device. As a result, we added this functionality, which has been very well received by our guests.”
Omni’s customer data indicates that nearly 50 percent of guests research hotel reservations options from their mobile device or tablet, and then finalize their room reservations later from their desktop computers. The new reservation hold feature caters to that behavior, making it easier for guests to find and hold their reservation to book within 24 hours.
The new service is one more example of Omni’s history of providing guests with access to information and services via a mobile platform. In 2008, the brand was among the first to enable a brand-wide mobile check-in, and then in 2013, Omni was one of the first hotel groups to add its loyalty program to Google Wallet.
