Hotel association launches new reservation website

AMMAN — When planning holidays, most tourists book their trips online, but booking engines often take a hefty commission on hotel reservations. 

A local association has offered a solution, along with additional services. 

The Jordan Hotels Association (JHA) on Tuesday launched a new website, (www.johotels.org), to serve tourists and the hospitality sector in the Kingdom, offering hotel reservations with minimal commissions. 

Tourists can book hotels directly through the website, but unlike international hotel reservation platforms which charge up to 20 per cent commission, the JHA site charges only 3 per cent, to cover operating costs, according to JHA President Michael Nazzal. 

The website will serve the whole hospitality sector, and its investors, by providing up-to-date statistics on how many tourists are visiting Jordan, how long they are staying and their nationalities, Nazzal told The Jordan Times.

It will also advertise job vacancies in the sector, he added. 

“The most important feature of the website is the reservation platform that is integrated with the Jordan Tourism Board website, www.visitjordan.com, which has 4 million visitors yearly,” said Nazzal.

Hotel guests can leave reviews on the website, or send complaints, Nazzal said, adding that the feature would help improve the industry’s performance. 

At a ceremony to launch the website on Tuesday, website designers gave hotel representatives a visual presentation and training on the site and the booking engine.

The JHA, founded in 1969, works to improve the hospitality sector by protecting hotels’ interests and upgrading their services to international standards, Nazzal said during a speech at the launch. 

“The association monitors hotel standards, helps in hotel classification in Jordan and provides training to hospitality students and employees in cooperation with the Jordan Applied University College of Hospitality and Tourism Education,” the JHA president said.

The university has produced 10,000 graduates over the last 20 years, he added. 

Currently, hotels in Jordan have a capacity of 30,000 rooms, but Nazzal said that figure could double over the next decade, if Jordan is promoted to investors as an attractive destination.