A new platform known as Room Key, owned by six of the world’s top hotel groups, will comprise essentially all of the 23,000 hotels in the companies’ combined global brands. It has been established by Marriott International, Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Choice Hotels International and Wyndham Hotel Group –and their respective affiliates.
The roomkey.com site is in beta release at the moment, and is expected to launch officially in March. It will eventually grow to offer independent reviews and the option to compare, plan and share with others such as family and friends.
The endeavor is an attempt to bypass such online ‘middlemen’ as Expedia and Travelocity, whose hotel room sales continue to thrive. According to information from the travel research group PhoCusWright, 31 percent of all hotel rooms booked in the U.S. in 2011 were booked online, up from 29 percent in 2009.
Room Key will not initially extend AAA or AARP discounts, which hotel companies frequently offer on their websites, though it may at some point in the future. And while it will at first be fully aimed at U.S. travelers, an expansion to serving other English-speaking countries is expected eventually.