First Hotels franchise joins HotelREZ to boost demand and direct business

Travel Daily News

2 days ago

First Hotels franchise expands partnership with HotelREZ, adding 20 properties to boost GDS visibility, direct bookings, and international market reach.
LONDON – First Hotels franchise has joined HotelREZ to drive strategic growth, supporting regional expansion for direct, GDS, and corporate business with enhanced international visibility.
Extending its partnership with the world's leading and fastest growing hotel representation company, the Scandinavian-based hotel group has added a further 20 properties to the HotelREZ roster. In joining forces with HotelREZ as its distribution partner and booking technology supplier, First Hotels franchise will improve demand opportunity and reduce the cost of bookings, while providing a better booking experience.
With properties in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, First Hotels franchise group follows First Hotels Collection, which has been successfully collaborating with HotelREZ since 2023. As a result of this deal, HotelREZ is now representing all 57 properties in its portfolio of hotels and apartments.
First Hotels will benefit from the HotelREZ GDS chain-code, with full connectivity, marketing and sales support. This includes REZBooker, the HotelREZ booking engine, which is embedded into the First Hotels website and property branded pages for direct-to-consumer bookings.
First Hotels will also be engaging with the HotelREZ Niche Marketing programme – developed to enhance members' international visibility and drive incremental revenue as a free, commission-based programme. To further boost visibility, the group is also investing in metasearch coverage on search portals Trivago, Kayak, Tripadvisor and Google. Included in the partnership, the portfolio will feature as a new addition to the Best Loved Hotels consumer brand for leisure agency business and consumer bookings.
Percy Henriksson, CCO, First Hotels said: 'With a 20-year strong track record of delivering results, HotelREZ has already proven to be a great partner for us. The team has given us the confidence to expand our market presence and drive growth through our direct channels, as well as raise our visibility on the GDS. We see immense value investing further in other HotelREZ best-in-class systems, specifically to improve our loyalty scheme through CRM integration with the booking engine. In addition, HotelREZ has a valuable network of TMC and consortia partners, plus knowledge and experience to support RFPs, which are key for generating high-value corporate demand.'
Daniel Simmons, CCO of HotelREZ, said: 'We're so pleased to welcome the entire First Hotels franchise to HotelREZ. It's a wonderful group of three and four star properties that has huge potential for further growth. We see direct business and high-value bookings via enhanced visibility on the GDS as being especially strong opportunities. We're looking forward to developing some solid strategies and results, and bringing new opportunities to First Hotels to help facilitate the growth of the franchise.'
As part of the HotelREZ membership, all First Hotels franchise properties qualify for World Rainbow Hotels, the world's only GDS-enabled LGBTQ+ global hotel consortia. World Rainbow Hotels proudly showcases exceptional LGBTQ+ friendly properties, selected for their commitment to inclusivity and their unique appeal.
HotelREZ draws on its vast experience and connections across the hospitality sector to provide distribution, revenue, sales and marketing services, and consultancy, alongside key technology to drive bookings. With more than 2,500 customers, HotelREZ tailors solutions and advice by gaining in-depth knowledge of its members to drive results.