Mobile hotel booking app now in Philippines

CEBU, Philippines – There's a new innovation in the Philippine hotel industry that allows travelers to book location-specific hotel rooms virtually.

Virtual hotel operator NIDA Rooms said in a statement it will be available in most major cities in the Philippines to allow travelers to check for affordable hotel rooms at their preferred sites through a mobile application.

Its partner hotels in the country now sell their rooms through a smartphone mobile app that is deemed non-competitive with traditional online travel agents. NIDA, a subsidiary of Singapore-based GLOBAL Rooms, currently has over 50 partner hotels nationwide.

By the second quarter of 2016, it expects to reach over 1,500 partner hotels in the Philippines particularly in the mid and economy hotel market segments.

The company's country manager, Malou Pangilinan, said that small and medium enterprises will benefit from such concept aimed at business travelers and local tourists.

Its network of hotels in the country is steadily growing, it said.

The NIDA concept was conceived out of the difficulty that some travelers experience in finding hotels that offer consistent essential services at their preferred locations.

Global Rooms Ltd. Chairman Dennis Melka said in the statement: "We've been overwhelmed by institutional investor interest to further scale our footprint globally in countries with low branded penetration in the mid to economy hotel sector." (FREEMAN)