Russian hotel OTA Travel.ru (Oktogo) integrates with eRevMax for advanced XML connectivity

Leading Russian online hotel booking agency Oktogo.ru, now rebranded as Travel.ru has completed a two-way direct XML connection with eRevMax for seamless rate and booking management. Hotel companies partnering with Oktogo will now be able to make real-time ARI (Availability, Rates & Inventory) updates and receive bookings generated on these channels through eRevMax solutions directly into their property management system. Travel.ru will also benefit from eRevMax’s Reservation Delivery service, which facilitates automatic transfer of reservations data booked through its site.

Following the 2-way XML interface certification with eRevMax, Travel.ru joins the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem, thereby gaining access to a broader range of hotel product to complement their growth plans across Europe, and can expect to see improved booking conversion on existing accounts. Travel.ru has the largest database of hotels online in the Russian cities, with over 5,000 domestic properties and over 350,000 hotels worldwide.

“We are glad to announce our partnership with eRevMax that shall help grow our hotel network both in Russia and CIS countries. I believe that our hotel partners and customers will also benefit from it, as eRevMax strives to deliver some of the most up-to-date rates and availability to online travel agencies while reducing scope for overbookings,” said Marina Kolesnik, CEO, Travel.ru (formerly Oktogo.ru).

Hotels can leverage Travel.ru for improving market reach in Russia, as the travel site is designed specifically for Russian travelers. Russia is one of the fastest growing online travel markets in Europe and is valued at more than $10 billion in 2013. The website attracts more than 1 million unique visitors each month. This offers immense opportunities for accommodation providers to get in front of a larger traveler base through eRevMax’s sophisticated real-time channel management technologies, making sure they push availability, rates and inventory for improved online revenues.

“To meet the growing demand from Russian travelers Travel.ru is rapidly increasing its supply in the main outbound markets. The partnership with them provides our customers with a more diverse range of distributors through the eRevMax Channel Ecosystem. This integration has already shown positive results and we aim to continue building our advanced channel connections to help the industry match supply with relevant demand in a timely manner,” commented Greg Berman, COO, eRevMax.

The new functionality is available now to all existing accommodation providers of Travel.ru. eRevMax is developing its connectivity solutions to offer sophisticated real-time revenue management functionality to the hospitality industry. This includes solutions for the independent market and scaling up through the Tier One enterprise hotel groups. eRevMax's Channel Eco-System facilitates quality certified connectivity and relationship management services to support complex revenue generation strategies.

About Travel.ru (Oktogo): Travel.ru (Oktogo) is a leading online travel company in Russia. Travel.ru (Oktogo) operates online hotel booking service Oktogo.ru that provides access to more than 5,000 hotels in Russia and 350,000 hotels worldwide. It also owns a leading Russian online travel portal Travel.ru. The total number of monthly users of Travel.ru and Oktogo.ru exceeds 3 million. Oktogo.ru was named the best Internet service in Russia by National Geographic Traveler in 2012.

About eRevMax: eRevMax is the leading provider of online distribution, channel connectivity, market intelligence and revenue management solutions to the hospitality industry. The company delivers its premium hotel channel management product RateTiger, web-based solution SimpleDistribution and its real-time enterprise connectivity gateway, Connect, to the hospitality and travel industry. Incorporated in 2001, eRevMax serves over 20000 properties worldwide with offices and R&D Centres across three continents.