Small and medium-sized businesses that may not have the buying power to negotiate for corporate rates are increasingly turning to online portals that specialise in selling last-minute accommodation at discounted rates, according to Brisbane-based Wotif.com.

Wotif’s proposition is to target travellers looking for short-term bargains as accommodation properties discount their full-rate rooms at the last minute, uploading these rates on the company’s website. Registration is free, but suppliers are charged a fee per transaction.

The company’s CEO, Mr Graeme Wood, claimed hoteliers were finding the business proposition increasingly attractive, saying “this is a market that is difficult for hotels to address, we give them the business that they otherwise would not get”.

Wotif aims to be in a “dominant position” in Asia in the market for last-minute travel deals by end 2005 with half a million room nights booked.

The company plans to use Singapore as its launch pad into South-east Asia and is in the process of setting up shop in the city state. It has already appointed Mr Peter Koh, area manager, South-east Asia, and is looking to fill a senior marketing position and a product development position by year-end.

Mr Wood said Wotif had received bookings of about 30,000 room nights a week since 2000. It has offices in the UK, Canada and New Zealand, and a database of 6,000 hotels worldwide. It celebrates its fourth anniversary this year and has announced a 90 per cent increase in business for its last financial year.

Mr Wood plans to set up offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong by the end of the year or early next year.

He said: “We see Asia as an important market for the next two to three years.

We see that the growth in the region will exceed that of Australia and New Zealand. “Our growth in Australia and New Zealand was fuelled by word of mouth, the challenge is to be able to do the same here. We can spend some money on marketing but because of low margins, we just have to be clever.”