Introduction:

In this report, we will look into different aspect of the e- Commerce Transaction Broker, which has become the newest form of business transaction and has grown exponentially since the start of the 21st century.

E-commerce involves the buying and selling of products or services using an electronic payment processor. It can be either a business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer transaction. Business activities take place on the Internet, or more specifically, the Web.

A transaction broker (also referred to as a facilitator, coordinator or contract broker) is not a representative or agent for either the buyer or the seller. The job of a transaction broker is to help both the buyer and the seller by bringing them together with the necessary platform provided where products and services are being traded for value. By doing do, the brokers earned commissions each time a sales transaction is made.

Booking.com (an example of a transaction broker) is established in 1996, and being Europe’s leading online hotel reservations agency.

Purpose: 

Booking.com, part of Priceline.com (Nasdaq:PCLN) clinched a transaction by room nights sold, attracting over 30 million unique visitors each month via the Internet from both leisure and business markets worldwide.

Booking.com offers competitive rates for any type of property, ranging from small independent hotels to a five star luxury. The site is available in 24 languages and offers over 71000 hotels in 71 countries.

Booking.com Visions: 

Booking.com is committed to offering an informative, user-friendly website with competitive rates. Their goal is to provide business and leisure travellers worldwide with a pleasant, efficient and cost-effective way to book hotel accommodations.

Their multilingual customer service team and call centre provide dedicated assistance to all our customers.

Features:

Booking.com has made it possible for customers to contact them at any time of the day at the customer's convenience. It makes use of the Internet's communication capabilities through the display of rooms’ availability for the chosen hotel and chosen dates, display of alternative hotels and e-payment to be done. 

By using a website as its storefront, booking can be carried out the same level of interactions and transactions that occurred on a daily basis within a physical storefront, without requiring to have any face-to-face interaction between the seller and buyer. 

Designs: 

The actual e-commerce transaction is when sale is made. This is where the customer provides his/her financial information- such as credit card information, e-check data, in exchange for the confirmation of the room’s reservation. Upon confirmation, the customers are required to print the electronic confirmation slip where customer does not require a physical receipt from the hotel. This validates the customer’s room reservation.

Strength:

There are several strengths that booking.com had when using e-commerce.

• Convenience

Booking.com is able to make their business mobile, always on the move no matter where the customers are. The customers are able to find the relevant information, make comparison between different hotels, confirm reservation and make payment via online without having to go down to any physical storefront.

• Low Prices

As the market leader in Europe, Booking.com offers you highly competitive hotel rates in both cities and regional destinations – ranging from small family hotels to luxury hotels.

• No reservation fees

Booking.com's reservation service is free of charge. They do not charge you any booking, administration, or cancellation fees.

• Secure booking

Booking.com’s reservation system is secure and the credit card and personal information given will be encrypted. They work to high standards and guarantee customer’s privacy.

• Benefits for hoteliers

More than 100,000 room nights booked every day: Booking.com provides a cost-effective commission based model, a network of over 4500 distribution partners and a personalized account management service to help the owner of the hotel to optimize their revenue.

• Flow of spaces

Booking.com can be reached out to the customers around the world no matter where they are and whatever time zone they are in.

• Operating Expenses

Using e-commerce, Booking.com need not pay the rental and shop’s utilities fees and allows them to operate its business 24/7/365.

Weakness:

While there certainly are many advantages to e-commerce, there are a few shortcomings that should not be overlooked such as:

• Upfront costs for implementing the web site can be staggering especially for a start up company.
• Monthly cash flow is needed for maintenance
• Return on the investment is not guaranteed
• Security worries: e.g. customer fraud, hackers
• Lack of personal interaction with the customer

 We can conclude that e-commerce is a largely uncharted frontier, but today's statistics suggest that the future of business is on the Internet. E-commerce will not replace traditional shopping completely, but will provide a wider selection to both merchants and consumers. Small businesses are at the forefront of this movement because they have so much to gain from the expanding community of worldwide e-commerce. Businesses that use the Web to buy, sell, distribute, and maintain products/services can realize significant cost savings and attract more customers.