Cali net news
Calinet Ltd acquires HotelReviewScotland.com
ringing technical acumen together with Scotland’s best-loved hotel review websitE
Calinet Ltd, Scotland’s leading hotel and tourism Internet services company has today completed a £250,000 acquisition of Scotland’s popular and fully independent hotel review website, HotelReviewScotland.com (HRS.com). The deal, rolled out over 18 months to ensure a seamless integration of the two companies, was officially completed on XX November 2006.
Operating since 1998, Calinet Ltd is regarded as having one of the most prolific networks on the Internet in tourism. Calinet’s expert online knowledge, technical resources and contacts within the industry will position HRS.com to grow significantly over the next 12 months. Calinet project a growth for HRS.com of at least 15% for 2007.
HRS.com will continue to operate as a ‘guaranteed editorially independent’ hotel guide and awards business, led by the same editorial staff. Established in 2001, HRS.com has grown to be the number one online resource for accommodation in Scotland. With offices in Edinburgh and Loch Rannoch, HRS.com has become a leader in the Scottish tourism market. This is largely due to its unique consumer and industry focused operations strategy. Unlike other hotel search websites, HRS.com does not operate a commission based booking system. Instead, the consumer is able to link directly to the hotel website in order to take advantage of the best deals the hotel has to offer.
Robert Gilmour, Managing Director of Calinet said ‘We are thrilled to have formally joined forces with HotelReviewScotland.com and are excited about the obvious synergy between us and the opportunity for future development. Calinet and HRS.com have a shared passion and vision for the Scottish hotel and tourism market. Our unique and comprehensive melding of skills, experience and resources will allow us to, in the short term, double visitors to the HRS.com website. In the long term, we want to build the Scottish tourism market to be world class and ahead of its time.’
Gary McLean, founder and editor of HRS.com agrees ‘Our previous and continuing success is due to our strong relationships with hotel owners and the quality and expertise of our independent, unbiased reviewers. Each year, we visit every hotel in our membership and personally meet with the owners. We know all of our members personally and we know what is important in their individual businesses.’
He added ‘All our reviewers are members of the British Guild of Travel Writers. They are all based in and have an extensive knowledge of Scotland. Our passion for Scotland and close relationships with our members means that the consumer gets more accurate information and access to the best possible deal on accommodation.’
The completion of today’s acquisition of HRS.com is a result of several years of collaboration for the Scottish hotel and tourism industry, and both companies desire and drive to cultivate and develop the independent tourism market in Scotland.
Calinet
Calinet Ltd has a long-established history of partnering with independent organisations across Scotland and the UK to further promote Scottish tourism. In addition to HotelReviewScotland.com, Calinet have partner relationships with destinationscotland.com, Vital Scotland, 360 Innovative, Navarino Services, and Source Tourism Solutions. (www.calinet.co.uk)
HotelReviewScotland.com
In August 2006, HotelReviewScotland.com attracted 70,000 unique visitors. This is an increase from 45,000 unique visitors in August 2005.
Each year, HotelReviewScotland.com give out the foremost prestigious award for hotels in Scotland – The Scottish Hotel of the Year Award. The call for nominations for the 2007 awards opened on 1 September 2006 and closed on the 7 November. Public online voting commenced on 7 November and will close on 7 February 2007. In 2006, over 25,000 votes were cast online and by postcard.
For hotel information and reviews in Scotland go www.hotelreviewscotland.com
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