2008

7 May 2008

HRS cooperates with Iberostar Hotels

HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE has expanded its portfolio on the Spanish market through a new cooperation agreement. HRS is the first online booking system to add the Spanish hotel brand Iberostar to its database through direct, non-GDS-based cooperation. Collaboration with HRS is a premiere for Iberostar. Up to now, its hotels have been sold almost exclusively through agents. Iberostar currently has 91 hotels worldwide. Its 35 hotels in Spain will be bookable on HRS from May 2008 onwards. Cooperation between all Iberostar hotels and HRS is planned for this autumn.

4 December 2008

Novasys and HRS announce strategic partnership

The phrase that pays for all users of card-based services is "dynamic content". Novasys, one of the leading providers of GIS (geographic information system) technology, and HRS, Europe's leading online hotel reservation portal, have agreed to a strategic partnership in this area. The agreed provision of dynamic hotel data goes far beyond the usual blend of traffic information, weather services and point-of-interest information on sights and petrol stations, etc. The aim of the collaboration is to provide direct access in the future to HRS's range of hotels via all Internet-based card services and telephone directories. This will mean that hotel rooms will never be more than a click away – even for people who are travelling.

25 November 2008

More attractive in every way: HRS hotel portal relaunched

The new HRS Web site has gone online. Users can now enjoy a fresher design and even better functions. All aspects of the Web site have been given a thorough overhaul, starting with the homepage, which has been completely redesigned, thereby highlighting the portal nature of HRS yet further. There are also innovative new filter and map functions. The overhaul was based on extensive customer feedback and user satisfaction surveys on Europe's leading online hotel-finding service, which currently registers some 100 million visits a month and has an average of 5.5 million users.

12 November 2008

Tele Atlas joins forces with HRS

Tele Atlas, a globally leading provider of digital street maps and dynamic content for navigation and location-based solutions, and HRS, Europe's leading online hotel reservation portal, announced today that they have reached an agreement on the provision of the HRS worldwide database of more than 230,000 hotels to Tele Atlas digital maps users. Thanks to this collaboration, application developers and device manufacturers now have access to data on HRS hotels and hotel evaluations in the form of Tele Atlas maps. This data can then be integrated into many different navigation systems, providing customers with a better, accurate, content-rich navigation solution.

25 September 2008

HRS wins Business Travel Show Innovation Award 2008

HRS has received the highest accolade for innovative business ideas and their successful implementation: it has been presented with the Business Travel Show Innovation Award 2008. The prize honours the development of a globally unique service by Europe's leading hotel booking portal. Thanks to the innovative Send2Car function, HRS customers who book accommodation online can now send key hotel data such as the address and contact details from the HRS Web site directly to their satellite navigation system at the click of a mouse button. This service earned HRS praise in the "innovation value", "efficiency increasing" and "sustainability" categories in particular.

9 September 2008

The latest service from HRS: the fastest route to your hotel

HRS.de now offers even more customer service. Thanks to a cooperation agreement with the BMW Group, it's easier than ever before for guests who book their accommodation through Europe's largest hotel portal to find the way to their room. The details and address of the booked hotel can be sent from the HRS Web site directly to a BMW so that it can be accessed and used by the in-car navigation system and telephone.

1 September 2008

Protecting staff abroad when disaster strikes: HRS cooperates with International SOS

In a case of collaboration in the name of security, International SOS, a global leader in medical and security assistance, and HRS, Europe's leading electronic hotel reservation system, are now cooperating on risk management for business travellers. The systems of the two partners will henceforth exchange information across a new interface, thereby supporting and facilitating integrated risk management for business travellers by their employers. International SOS's Traveler Locator Service will now use the interface to HRS to also obtain information about hotel reservations made through HRS. This will enable travel managers or corporate security officers to find out where staff are located abroad and whether they may be threatened by natural disasters or crisis situations.

4 June 2008

One million hotel evaluations on HRS.de

HRS hotel evaluations offer unique added value. Customers of HRS have posted more than a million individual hotel evaluations to the HRS site, providing fellow travellers with a valuable point of reference when choosing hotels. This means that the total number of evaluations on Europe's largest online hotel portal has more than doubled in just one year.

21 May 2008

Service à la HRS: hotline now available around the clock

HRS is known for its exemplary services. Customers can now contact the hotel experts at HRS around the clock – even by telephone. Whereas many other online service providers are difficult to contact by telephone at the best of times, personal availability is of central importance at HRS. Customers can reach the Cologne-based hotel experts 24 hours a day by calling +49 (0)221 2077 600 or +49 (0)1805 477 000 (EUR 0.14 per minute from a German fixed line number). These numbers are also prominently displayed on the HRS homepage.

7 May 2008

HRS cooperates with Iberostar Hotels

HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE has expanded its portfolio on the Spanish market through a new cooperation agreement. HRS is the first online booking system to add the Spanish hotel brand Iberostar to its database through direct, non-GDS-based cooperation. Collaboration with HRS is a premiere for Iberostar. Up to now, its hotels have been sold almost exclusively through agents. Iberostar currently has 91 hotels worldwide. Its 35 hotels in Spain will be bookable on HRS from May 2008 onwards. Cooperation between all Iberostar hotels and HRS is planned for this autumn.

2 May 2008

HRS integrates Accor Group hotels through a direct interface

HRS has integrated the hotels of the Accor Group, comprising the Sofitel, Pullmann, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, All Seasons and Ibis brands, into its system. As a result, the previous range of 225,000 hotels on offer has been expanded by 2800.

This latest move by Europe's leading hotel reservation system means that HRS maintains a direct interface with the central reservation systems (CRS) of three of the world's largest hotel chains. In addition to Accor Group hotels, users of HRS have access to, amongst others, the 570,000 rooms of the InterContinental Hotels Group and 225 Hilton hotels, all of which can be booked directly via an electronic interface.

9 April 2008

Five stars for only 1 euro! HRS launches two-stage hotel special

Following the great success of the "Majorca for 1 euro" campaign in the summer of 2007, HRS once again offered hotels in all categories for just 1 euro - although this time the hotels were worldwide. During a test run on 9 April 2008, 600 nights' accommodation were sold for 1 euro each. The main campaign was launched a few weeks later on 23 April 2008, with more than 1000 nights up for grabs. The campaign, which was accompanied by extensive advertising in the print and online media, was an enormous success. In both instances, all the accommodation was snapped up in a very short time.

5 March 2008

Presented by Former German President Richard von Weizsäcker

HRS receives Travel Industry Club's BEST PRACTICE AWARD 2008

HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE has received the highest accolade for an innovative business idea and its resolute and successful implementation: the Best Practice Award 2008, sponsored by the Travel Industry Club. HRS won the prize for developing a program which enables conferences to be booked directly online. Users of this innovation can reserve between 10 and 20 hotel rooms and a suitable meeting room online at daily best-buy rates.

5 March 2008

Austro-German alliance on international online tourism:

HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE buys majority stake in Austrian tourism portal Tiscover

Two of Europe's most important players in the international online tourism sector have entered into a far-reaching alliance. Cologne-based HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE Robert Ragge GmbH has bought a majority of the shares in Tiscover AG of Austria and its subsidiaries, Tiscover Deutschland GmbH in Munich, Tiscover Italia Srl in Trento and Tiscover UK Ltd. in Crawley (West Sussex). The two parties have agreed not to divulge the purchase price. The move helps HRS to significantly entrench its position as one of the world's leading online travel companies and Europe's market leader for online hotel reservation.

Tiscover is an international information, travel and booking platform founded in 1991 and based in Innsbruck. It is by far the largest and most popular tourism portal in Austria, and used as a platform for presenting everything from rooms in private homes to 5-star hotels and entire holiday regions. In addition to its domestic activities, Tiscover AG has always been known well beyond the Austrian borders as the number one provider of online travel portal creation and management services for national travel destinations including Scotland and Montenegro as well as regional travel destinations.

5 March 2008

HRS and Scandlines join forces

One of Europe's largest ferry companies and Europe's leading hotel reservation company have agreed to work together even more closely. Travellers using the Scandlines Web site (www.scandlines.de) can now not only book their ferry crossing but also comfortably and easily reserve a hotel room through HRS at the same time. Scandlines passengers therefore now have direct online access to more than 225,000 hotels worldwide and can benefit from the latest price and service innovations on HRS.

3 March 2008

HRS cooperates with TomTom

HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE, Europe's largest online hotel booking platform, and TomTom, the world's leading provider of navigation products and services, have entered into a cooperation agreement that will enable data on hotels booked through the HRS Web site to be sent directly to TomTom navigation systems.

29 February 2008

NAVIGON integrates HRS hotel searching into its navigation system

Thanks to extensive collaboration between HRS - HOTEL RESERVATION SERVICE and NAVIGON, the huge choice of hotels and information on facilities and special features will be made available on all NAVIGON navigation devices.

What's more, the information in the HRS database of at present 225,000 hotels will be integrated into the current family of products by NAVIGON, one of the world's leading navigation solution providers, over the next few months.

18 February 2008

HRS and the Regus Group agree to cooperate

HRS, Europe's market leader in online hotel booking, and the Regus Group, the world's leading provider of flexible workplace solutions, have agreed to enter into a global partnership. Thanks to this cooperation, Regus customers not only have direct access to HRS's worldwide electronic hotel reservation system and more than 225,000 bookable hotels at www.regus.com/hrs.

24 January 2008

HRS wins renowned Business Traveller Award 2007

The hotel booking specialist has been presented with the renowned Business Traveller Award for the fourth year in succession and in two separate categories. Europe's leading online hotel reservation portal came top in both the 'Best Internet Offer 2007 Travel Providers' category and the overall 'Best Internet Offer 2007' category.

3 January 2008

HRS picks up Buying Business Travel Diamond Award

HRS has received a major honour. The hotel booking specialist has been presented with the Buying Business Travel Diamond Award 2008 in the 'Best Hotel Booking Engine' category. The winners of this coveted annual industry award are chosen by the readers English business travel magazine Buying Business Travel.

2 January 2008

HRS is 'Most Popular Travel Web Site of 2007'

For the second year in succession, HRS is the proud winner of the competition to find the 'Most Popular Travel Web Site'. Between 1 November and 10 December 2007, more than 550,000 people cast their vote online. HRS comfortably beat its competitors, and is therefore now at eye level with online greats like YouTube (the winner of the 'Most Popular Video Site' category), Google (the winner of the 'Best Search and Find Site' category) and web.de (the winner of the 'Most Popular Portal Site' category).