Category: Hotels

Saint Louis, Missouri – September 13, 2018 –Tripster, an online travel agency featuring over 2,000 shows, attractions, theme parks, activities, tours and hotel packages in 20 destinations throughout the United States and Canada, today announced a partnership with SiteMinder, the global hotel industry’s leading cloud platform.

The partnership will allow hotel users of SiteMinder’s platform to incorporate Tripster into their online distribution strategies and tap into the 2.5 million travelers that plan their vacations with Tripster each year. It will also provide a two-way connection between their hotel management system and their account with Tripster so they can seamlessly manage their dynamic online rates, inventory and reservations in real-time.

“SiteMinder has built a strong presence in markets we have been serving for over a decade,” states John Johnson, CEO of Tripster. “In some markets, nearly 30 percent of our existing hotel relationships have migrated to a SiteMinder solution as they look to minimize the effort of managing their online presence. This partnership with SiteMinder is important for us to not only maintain those relationships but to also grow in new markets.”

Founded in 2006, SiteMinder offers a cloud-based platform used by more than 30,000 hotels to acquire guests from across the globe. Incorporating solutions from channel management to direct bookings, GDS connectivity and pricing intelligence, 2017 saw SiteMinder’s platform generate more than 72 million reservations worth $21 billion in hotel revenue.

Matt Klugman, Director of Sales & Marketing for Vacation Myrtle Beach, which operates 14 popular resorts throughout the Myrtle Beach area, says, “We are excited that Tripster now has a connection with SiteMinder, and we have a seamless booking process that reduces the burden on our staff considerably. This allows us to continually be up-to-date and ultimately book more business.”

About Tripster

Since 2001, Tripster has provided more than 3 million travelers with travel planning and reservation services for ticketed events, world-renowned theme parks, area attractions, tours, theatrical shows, as well as hotels and lodging in 20 destinations across the country. Using a proprietary booking engine, Tripster customers can access first-hand content and reviews to plan, customize, and book entire vacations within a single transaction. In addition, the Company also provides reservation and packaging fulfillment services for destination marketing organizations and travel suppliers through white label versions of their system. Tripster is based in St. Louis MO and currently operates dedicated destination websites in Branson, MO; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN; Myrtle Beach, SC; Williamsburg, VA; New York, NY; San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; Las Vegas, NV; the Hawaiian Islands; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, St. Augustine and Orlando, FL; San Antonio, TX; Sandusky, OH; Charlotte, NC; and Toronto.

About SiteMinder

As the leading cloud platform for hotels, SiteMinder allows hotels to attract, reach and convert guests across the globe. We serve hotels of all sizes with award-winning solutions for independents and groups alike, wherever they are in the world.

SiteMinder’s products include The Channel Manager, the industry’s leading online distribution platform; TheBookingButton, a wholly-branded booking engine for direct bookings via the web, mobile or social; Canvas, the intelligent website creator for independent hoteliers; Prophet, the real-time market intelligence solution that takes the guesswork out of pricing rooms; and GDS by SiteMinder, a single point of entry to a six-figure network of travel agents and the world’s major global distribution systems. With more than 30,000 hotel customers and 600 of the industry’s top connectivity providers as our partners, today we have a presence in more than 160 countries on six continents. For more information, visit www.siteminder.com.

St. Louis, Missouri – January 25, 2017 –Tripster, providing travelers with tickets to theme parks, shows, tours, activities, and attractions for various vacation markets in the U.S., today announces the completion of its API (application program interface) integration with Sabre’s hotel reservation system, Synxis.  The interface enables hotels to dynamically manage rates and inventory on Tripster through their own central reservation system.  This seamless connectivity eliminates extranet management and improves the overall booking experience for travelers.

Sabre, a leading hospitality solutions provider to over 35,000 hotels worldwide, offers its Synxis services in various bundles to hotels to manage anything from central reservations, channel management, and distribution to property management and call center services as well as hotel website booking engines.  The cloud-based, SaaS (software as a service) solution allows hoteliers to connect with multiple channels such as Global Distribution Services, Online Travel Agencies, and call centers, using a simple interface for less-labor intensive channel management.  Of the 35,000 hotels, Sabre boasts that over 125 franchises use their services to manage reservations.

Benefits of this connectivity for Tripster and its hotel partners include improved up time for new hotel products, increased accuracy and dynamic delivery of reservations, and less overall management.  Additionally, hoteliers are able to set rate programs specific to Tripster’s  packaging-based services.  With the Synxis connectivity in place, along with other channel management services like EZ Yield and TravelClick, Tripster now provides hotel partners connectivity with the leading channel management solutions available in the marketplace.

About Tripster

Since 2001, Tripster has provided more than 2.5 million travelers with destination-specific travel planning and reservation services for ticketed events, world-renowned theme parks, adventure activities, tours, theatrical and music shows, plus hotels and lodging. Using a proprietary booking engine, Tripster customers can access first-hand content and reviews to plan and book entire vacations within a single transaction. In addition, the Company also provides destination marketing organizations and travel suppliers reservation and packaging fulfillment services through white label versions of their proprietary system. Tripster is based in St. Louis MO and currently operates dedicated destination websites in Branson, MO; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, TN; Myrtle Beach, SC; Williamsburg, VA; New York, NY; San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA; Chicago, IL; the Hawaiian Islands; St. Augustine and Orlando, FL.

Tripster, an online travel reservation company, is partnering with SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay to sell theme park tickets through its website.

Tripster has been operating 2001 and works directly with other popular attractions in the area, including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort. Since Tripster hosts a wide variety of area lodging and activity tickets, this new partnership allows customers to purchase tickets to SeaWorld and Aquatica in Orlando, and Busch Gardens and Adventure Island in Tampa, along with other travel products in one, convenient location.

“Our goal at Tripster is to make vacation planning simple, saving families time and money,” said John Johnson, President of Tripster. “We work directly with the major attractions in Orlando, so you’ll never have to worry about reliability and service. Plus, we have great ticket prices and all our hotels and lodging are guaranteed lowest prices you will find.”

Tripster’s unique packaging system caters to travel customers looking to bundle lodging and theme park tickets together. This incentivizes hotels on ReserveOrlando.com to offer additional savings to customers through the combo packages. Customers can also purchase standalone tickets. Either way, all Tripster customers can simply print out their SeaWorld and Busch Gardens E-tickets and scan them at the gates of both parks.

“It’s always nice to work with sophisticated reservation companies— like Tripster— that help promote our unique experiences to customers,” said Tim Swan, Vice President of Sales for Florida Parks at Busch Entertainment Corporation. “Making it easier for customers to plan their whole vacation around our theme parks is the exact sort of thing we look for in partnerships.”

Tripster has provided similar solutions for lodging associations and destination marketing organizations in markets like Cocoa Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau, Branson, Missouri; Eureka Springs, Arkansas; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida. Tripster also operates its own consumer booking engines in each of these destinations, as well as services for Polk County, Florida, Table Rock Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, Silver Dollar City and Dollywood.

Earlier this spring, Dollywood introduced their new vacation packages program to aid families during difficult economic times. These money saving packages, developed by reservation technology company, Tripster, were created to combine the award-winning theme parks, Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country, with an assortment of approved Pigeon Forge, Tennessee area lodging, allowing guests to reserve their vacation package with a twenty percent discount in comparison with walk-up prices.

The all-inclusive design of the Dollywood vacation packages allow customers to reserve park tickets and lodging in one convenient, money-saving package— something Tim Berry, Marketing Director of the Dollywood Company, was searching for. “We needed a system to communicate directly with our in-house ticketing system to provide seamless transactions. So, now that Tripster’s system is speaking to ours, we are able to provide our customers a great added value of money-saving, lodging-inclusive packages.”

John Johnson, President of Tripster, added “Even though these are tough times, economically speaking, we felt that by partnering with Dollywood, we could offer families a way to save money and still go on vacation. With our service, you can get your Dollywood tickets and hotel for a lot less money and have the same amount of fun.”

A St. Louis based company, Tripster has provided similar solutions for lodging associations and destination marketing organizations in markets like Branson, Missouri; Eureka Springs, Arkansas; Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee; and Orlando, Florida. Tripster also operates its own consumer booking engines in each of these destinations, as well as services for Polk County, Florida, Table Rock Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, and Springfield, Missouri Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Orlando, Florida is one of America’s premier vacation destinations, but travel consumers have been challenged to find a wide selection of lodging choices when booking their ticketed attractions with one travel company. Travelers often have to search many websites to find trustworthy sources for their ticketed attractions and shows, and then begin yet a new search to find the right lodging choice at the right price. Travelers who would rather work with one trustworthy, professional source for vacation items can now use Tripster.

In October 2006, Tripster, an Internet travel technology company, launched Orlando, providing complete travel packaging for the Central Florida region, offering a la carte packaging functionality and real-time booking. With the special arrangements with Orlando area theme parks, dinner shows, family attractions and many hotels, condos and vacation homes, a travel customer can book their entire vacation with Tripster. The customer can simply print their vouchers straight from their own printer and submit these vouchers at the chosen gates of attractions or hotel front desks in the area, further streamlining vacationers’ travel plans.

“Although Orlando is an international destination that sees over 40 million visitors a year, there are proportionately few points of sale where the traveler can make a complete vacation package that includes lodging and tickets to the many world-renown theme parks and dinner shows,” said John Johnson, President of Tripster. “The booking engine that Tripster is based on has been a proven tool in making peoples’ vacation planning more fun and less stressful for several years, and that experience makes the difference here in Orlando.”

“Of course, Orlando’s core visitor segment is similar to our existing customers in markets we currently serve, so the customers seeking wholesome, family-friendly destinations in the Ozarks and Smoky Mountains will surely enjoy the family fun of Orlando and the Central Florida area as well,” Johnson added.

Tripster, based on the strategies and more than five-year internet-travel experience, succeeds in the market because it places equal emphasis on lodging as well as shows and attractions, unlike the nationally-branded travel websites. “That way, we can convert lodging at a higher rate than the national websites because most travelers are going to Orlando for the attractions and shows,” stated Johnson. “The place they stay, while a part of their vacation is not the reason they are traveling.”

Orlando will add to Tripster’s five-year history of providing over 120,000 orders and $19 million in travel revenues for its destinations and registered travel agents, including many AAA franchises.

“By offering complete itineraries with real availability, families can take the guesswork out of planning their vacations. We have the functionality, ease-of-use, and reliability of the national travel websites but with the charm and flair of the local products,” said Johnson, “The nationally-branded travel sites aren’t equipped to offer travel consumers the variety of ticketed attractions we can when travelers are making their lodging reservations.”

The Pigeon Forge Hotel & Lodging Association (PFHLA) of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, has developed a brand new website that appeals to potential visitors to the area and allows travelers online access to the hotels, motels, cabins, condos and resorts in the organization. The website, www.PigeonForgeLodging.com, features a variety of membership-based services and is accompanied by a system offering vacation reservation solutions for the many visitors to the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee market.

The PFHLA commissioned Tripster, an Internet-based reservation company focused on “drive-to” tourism destinations, to build their new information and fulfillment website. “ReserveDirect gave us the opportunity to enhance our web presence as well as offer additional benefits to our members through the development of our new website and associated booking engine,” said Eric Havlin, President of the PFHLA.

“Until now, the Pigeon Forge area didn’t have one real website where customers could research their trip in one place—people had to search out individual lodging websites,” said John Johnson, President of Tripster. “Since travelers are now so used to comparing multiple products on one website, similar to Travelocity and Expedia, they may be turned off to a vacation destination if they don’t feel confident that they’re seeing a full range of professionally-presented products. So the PFHLA’s move to create this website will benefit its members and the community as a whole.”

In 2005, Tripster launched its own destination reservation system for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The website provides travelers to Pigeon Forge a comprehensive, vacation planning and reservation tool, offering a variety of products such as lodging, entertainment and ticketed attractions.

Tripster also developed similar solutions in other markets, including Branson, Missouri and Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Like with the PFHLA, Tripster’s specialty is in providing lodging associations and destination marketing organizations a variety of web-based services related to membership, marketing and reservations.