Solidarity with Hospitality - Book Directly

MU Student project

Tourism and hospitality industry was not prepared for the current Covid-19 pandemic and its ramifications. Both the pandemic and the measures taken to contain it, however, are temporary. It is safe to say that the industry can expect a significant increase in tourism demand once the current restrictions have been lifted. 
The tourism and hospitality industry needs to start planning for the future and attempt to reduce long-term damage from coronavirus. MU Vienna students Darina Pashkovska and Manuel Strasser are already taking steps in the right direction.

In order to highlight the advantages of direct hotel booking, Darina and Manuel started an Instagram project called "Solidarity with Hospitality - Book Directly".
The project grew out of Darina and Manuel´s personal experience in hospitality: “My family owns a hotel, so I´ve been familiar with this industry for quite a long time. Manuel has had several internships at privately owned luxurious hotels such as Schloss Fuschl and Badrutt's Palace as well as 4 years of experience working for Hilton Vienna,” Darina explains.

Darina and Manuel are aware that it might not be easy to change consumer booking habits: “A lot of people are doing their bookings via online travel agents (OTAs).” The convenience of booking online might be one of the reasons why users opt for OTAs. “The situation might change, however, if we manage to provide travelers with benefits of direct booking.”

Darina and Manuel´s plan is to gain 1.000 followers within the first month after the project launch. ”Also, we are planning to have a kind of a lottery for the travellers who book directly, we would like to ask hotels to provide us with the bonuses for those travelers.”

The project launched mid-April already has a number of followers interested in all the opportunities offered by direct hotel booking without any of the risks associated with making reservations via online travel agents.

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Follow Solidarity with Hospitality project on Instagram:
Solidarity with Hospitality - Book Directly