PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – The Expedia group, one of the world’s largest online travel companies, today (Jan. 15th) announced the opening of offices in Punta Cana and Santo Domingo, the company’s first local offices in the Dominican Republic.
“As one of the Expedia group’s top producing destinations within the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic is an in-demand market with 305 hotel partners,” said Demetrius Canton, Director of Lodging Partner Services for the Caribbean, the Expedia group. “While we have the technology and marketing tools to help our partners on a global level, we feel strongly that we are best equipped to assist our partners in these efforts when we are present in their local marketplace.”
Expedia local market managers provide valuable market insight to hotel partners so they can set their distribution strategy. Market managers can help identify opportunities to better fill rooms at the right rate by suggesting targeted promotions. They can also help hoteliers understand market forces at play, such as the growth of mobile, so that hoteliers can make adjustments to get at least their fair share of demand.
“With six team members now based in the Dominican Republic, Expedia has further enhanced our ability to effectively serve our partners and support the continued growth of this important destination,” said Miriam Hernandez, Area Manager for the Caribbean, the Expedia group.
The Dominican Republic thrives in package bookings, which are bookings that combine components like flights and hotel. Package bookings represent the majority of the travel demand in recent years, with Punta Cana being one of the leading Expedia package destinations in the world. Package bookings generally feature twice as long length of stay, twice the booking window and half the cancellation rate of a standalone (i.e. hotel only) booking.
Expedia formed 150 new partnerships in the Dominican Republic in 2014, adding more properties to its portfolio, to support tourism growth in the region. By working with Expedia group, hotels in the Caribbean gain exposure to the more than 150 websites in more than 70 countries worldwide, in addition to a myriad of mobile sites and apps, from brands such as Expedia®, Hotels.com®, Hotwire®, Egencia®, Expedia® Affiliate Network and Venere®.
Located within the MASA Business District building, the Punta Cana office is currently being managed by two employees. The Santo Domingo office is located within the Novocentro Tower, Ensanche Naco and managed by four employees.
