Lead Story

MoT-FHRAI CRS scheme deferred

Praveen K Singh - New Delhi

The Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has deferred the scheme of Central Reservation System (CRS) it had signed with the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) in order to tackle the room shortage in the country.

A highly placed source in the MoT revealed that the scheme which was supposed to commence from July 12, 2007 has been deferred for next few months. The scheme was formalised in order maximise revenues for the hotel industry and the MoT was to earn one per cent on every reservation made through the CRS system.

The CRS scheme is a combination of booking engine and online contracting system where a hotel may manage rates and make allotments for all types of markets such as internet direct customers, travel agents and corporate clients.

The software solutions will be provided by the UK-based Eviivo, which has already been signed by MoT to provide an interface. With this scheme, low category hotels will be able to sell more rooms online. Customarily, the large hotel chains have been benefiting from the rapid increase in online bookings because they have been able to invest large amounts in online booking systems. The scheme, once started, will benefit even the smallest B&B outlet. Eviivo will be involved in installing software application on CRS that will help track room availability by all hotels attached with it.