HotelRooms.com, a leading online hotel room reservation website, is focusing on the Middle East, particularly Doha, as a base from which to better grow its portfolio of international hotels.

Moreover, the hotel reservation website has added Warwick International Hotels (WIH) and Steigenberger Hotel Group to its palate of International Groups that include InterContinental, Starwood, and Marriott, among others.

"With the launch of a redesigned website, we looked to HotelRooms as a conduit for introducing travellers to our growing portfolio of owned, managed, and affiliate properties," said Jean-Marie Pebrel, director of sales and marketing Europe at WIH.

"We wanted to test HotelRooms last year with the opening of The Steigenberger Hotel Am Kanzleramt in Berlin, Germany," said Kai Gehrmann, vice president Franchise, Research and Business Excellence at Steigenberger. "And after discovering HotelRooms as our top affiliate after the first few months, we took the decision to add the portfolio."

Along with the new focus on Middle Eastern and Asian markets, HotelRooms.com continues to develop its worldwide presence. Steven Heydt, president of Caribbean-based Elite Island Resorts said: "Our properties have been listed on HotelRooms.com for over five years, and the site continues to be one of our best sources for reaching travellers who are actively seeking luxury and resort properties in our destinations."

As more and more hoteliers embrace the responsive design, finding reliable ways to monitor reservations across PC, mobile, and tablet becomes even more of a challenge. "With most travellers consulting five to 10 websites or more prior to making a booking... and with more than 40 per cent of bookings researched on one device and completed on another, our member hotels are beginning to take a more holistic approach to advertising, where cost-effective, targeted keyword-driven demand generation is playing an increasingly vital role," said Eli Goldstein, vice-president, HotelRooms.com. – TradeArabia News Service