E-commerce or electronic commerce can be summed up as cashless transactions - buying and selling of goods and services on the Internet. And this is (or should be) a top priority for hotels these days.

The reason is simple to understand - the value of goods and services purchased on the internet has gone up substantially over the last years. And this is very true with what a hotel has to sell - accomodation, meeting rooms, spa packages, restaurant bookings etc.

So where do you start? The key to effective E-commerce has to be a good store front and that is the hotel website. Having an intuitive, easy loading, structured and uncluttered site is critical. The possibility to click and buy at any stage of the website visit is important and so is the availability of live inventory. Then it becomes easier to negotiate arrangements with Online Travel Agents (OTA’s) to sell your products and distribute it further.

While distributing your rates to OTA’s the key area to watch for is rate parity - ensuring that the rates are the same across all channels.

The latest Phocus Wright study on Online Travel in the US year ending 2007, shows that, the trend of consumers utilize hotel websites more often than Online Travel Agents continues. In 2006 the percentage of direct bookings at hotel websites was 59% and the prediction is that this will go up to 65% by 2009. Which naturally means more money for the hotel, but also means that hotels have to work harder for their online share……

While these are travel and buying trends in the US, the most advanced E-commerce market, these are already filtering down into Europe and hoteliers better get their store fronts looking better, easier to use and even more importantly easier to buy.

And dont forget the latest buzz word which is M-commerce for mobile commerce - transactions made through mobile devices such as cell phones, PDA’s and other wireless handheld devices.

Omni Hotels has recently launched a brand wide mobile website which empowers guests to make reservations, review hotel information, browse special offers etc with any handheld wireless device. From what I could find out, it will be up and running in the next months and is not live at the moment.