Weather 
Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau Deploys New Technology to
Drive Business to Local Hotels
Ontario, Calif., May 11, 2009
– The Ontario Convention and Visitors Bureau
nabbed 45 room bookings in the first week of its licensing the latest in hotel
reservation technology from Jack Rabbit Systems. The Ontario Convention and
Visitors Bureau is the first in Inland Southern California to deploy the new
hotel discount booking technology. Tourists and business travelers may book
hotel rooms at a discount right off of the Ontario Convention and Visitors
Bureau's home page at www.ontariocc.com.
"Wise deployment of technology is one of the ways we are trying to help
travelers save during this recession," said Bob Brown,
Ontario Convention Center General Manager and Ontario Convention and Visitors
Bureau CEO. "Coupled with our overall destination value, we recommend this
on-line reservation service as a money saving tip for tourists and business
travelers alike."
Jack Rabbit Systems is a "book direct system; the idea is to take Web traffic
directly to hotel sites without a middle man," said Stephen Meade, Jack Rabbit
Systems West Coast Sales Manager. "This saves people a lot of time and money."
Third-party middle men add a layer of cost to bookings, Meade said. When a hotel
deals with a third party it will sell the price of the room at a deep discount
to the third party and then they will sell it at a marked-up price, he added.
Directly reserving with hotels cuts out third-party commission fees and saves
money.
The system also indexes hotels with availability so that customers don't have to
sift through pages of hotels that may or may not have open rooms. People won't
have to click six or seven times to find what they are looking for, Meade said.
The Visitors Bureau launched the technology April 8. In the first week, users
booked 45 rooms at local hotels.
For more information about the Ontario Convention Center, operated by
Philadelphia-based SMG, visit
www.ontariocc.com. For more information about Santa Fe-based Jack Rabbit
Systems visit
www.jackrabbitsystems.com.
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