The breakthrough comes after it and its technology partner, Trust International, implemented a direct interface with with TL-Lincoln, a Japanese hotel booking switch by Seanuts Co., Ltd.

This also makes Trust the first centralized reservation service (CRS) to offer a direct connect with TL-Lincoln, providing direct access and connectivity between hotel groups and major Japanese travel portals, including several of Japan’s largest online travel agencies (OTA), such as Rakuten, Jalan and Ikyu.

Last August, Solare became a Trust customer and was the first customer of its newly-launched Japanese version of yourVoyager CRS, including domestic internet booking engine distribution that integrates with Solare’s property management systems (PMS).

The partnership with Trust gave it direct connectivity with international OTAs such as Expedia, said Jack Tan, CIO of Solare. “Prior to that, we had to update on every website manually.”

This latest direct connect with TL-Lincoln, layered on top of the international connectivity, makes Solare “the first and only hotel chain in Japan that has this unique integration,” said Tan.

He added, “Solare has joined a new generation as far as inventory and price distribution systems are concerned. This integration allows us to bring all our hotels into a single strategy, update prices and availability on a real-time basis for inventory and rate parity across all our domestic and international distribution channels, ease the manual pressure on hotels and take full advantage of the efficiency of the services we are offering our guests.”

Tan said rate and inventory parity had always been an issue for Solare, as well as other hotel groups, and this takes a lot of the headache away.

He said that Solare, which owns, manages and franchises 70 hotels in Japan, intends to grow the share of business coming through its own branded website from 30% to 50%. This integration, he said, would give customers confidence and trust to book with Solare.

“Our goal is to achieve rate and inventory parity and to grow our direct business. This is why we have invested so much time and resource into building this platform,” he said.

Tan said the next initiative with Trust was to establish connectivity to Groupon so that “when it’s off season and when we need to do something, we can offer hotel deals”.

Asked if he wished he had this connectivity now, because domestic business in Japan remains sluggish and international inbound business has virtually disappeared, Tan said, “I am not sure with the current conditions that slashing rates is the answer. Right now, it’s more the environment and fear that’s putting travellers off.”

He said that hotels were seeing a slow uptake in domestic travel “but it’s still very slow”. As such, the group was doing destination campaigns such as to Okinawa and Sapporo.

Another initiative that it’s understood to be working on with Trust is connectivity to Google Places which would allow its hotel and its rates to be found directly on Google searches.

Tan said it was too early to comment on this initiative but he agreed there were now more direct channels for hotel to be engaged in when trying to attract the new customer searching online either through the web or mobile.

When asked what building the domestic interface to TL-Lincoln cost, Tan said, it was built jointly by Solare, Trust and Seanuts. “Everybody saw the value in investing the time and resource into building the platform for the future.”

For Solare, it also gives the group a competitive edge in negotiating management and franchise contracts as it expands its network.

Kim Jun Hong, CEO of Seanuts, said, “This TL-Lincoln/Trust CRS solution brings a significant positive change to Solare hotels in how they manage the various distribution channels easily and effectively. Seanut’s partnership with an international company such as Trust International further solidifies our commitment to the suite of products we deliver to the hospitality industry in Japan.”

Said Richard Wiegmann, managing director, Trust International, “Trust International continues to expand in the Asia Pacific market, building on the industry’s first truly comprehensive Japanese CRS with hotelier Solare, and now adding direct interfaces with important portals like TL Lincoln.

“This again delivers on our promise to develop direct interfaces between hotel groups and prominent travel portals throughout the world. As we connect hoteliers with more international sales channels, it gives them the competitive advantage they need in this market.”