Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 29 (IANS): Six youngsters from an IT firm at the Technopark campus here have developed an application that allows a prospective traveller to interact directly with a hotel through its website, instead of booking online.

Waybeo Technology Solutions, which focuses on unified communication solutions to enterprises, has developed BounzD, an application that opens a telephonic conversation with the front desk of the hotel as soon as a client clicks on 'booking' on its website. The telephone charges are free.

Online visitors, who come across emails, websites, and online advertisements by hotels and tour operators, can speak to them instantly.

BounzD can be configured with existing call center PBXs, PSTN numbers and even online media like Gtalk and Skype.

There has been a sudden increase in the incoming online enquiries after the launch of the application, said Prasad Manjali, vice president of Uday Samudra Leisure Beach Hotel in Kovalam.

"The process of booking a room has become simpler with BounzD as you just have to click on the widget to get instantly connected to the front desk and get your room booked. All this is free. The customer do not have to pay any call charges," said Manjali.

BounzD, is a global inbound communication platform that helps prospective customers to get connected with hotels through their websites from any part of the globe.

Budget hotels depend on online travel agents and pay commission up to 25 percent which they save through BounzD, while luxury hotels save up to 35 percent by direct bookings.

What makes BounzD highly beneficial to those in hospitality business is that the visitor does not need an account, ID or phone to talk and that too without spending any additional money, said the chief executive officer of Waybeo, A.P. Bushairusalam.

"One can speak while browsing through different options and provide a great level of convenience to the customers. Moreover, BounzD never passes the customers data as it does not require data to operate. This helps the customers to keep their credential private as long as they desire," added Bushairusalam.

The procedure to book the room was very simple with BounzD, said Peter Andersson from Sweden, who used the application to book a room at Uday Samudra Hotel, Kovalam.