Houston TX, January 29 2025 – Hotel technology specialist SHR has today launched the next generation of its booking engine, specifically designed to reduce booking abandonment by keeping guests fully immersed in a branded booking experience.
Building on SHR’s existing booking engine, the new embedded booking engine continues to deliver SHR’s advanced personalization tools within the guest journey, but now with less friction, improved data collection and a consistent brand experience.
Unlike traditional booking engines that redirect users to external sites, an embedded booking engine integrates directly with the operator’s own website. This reduces friction and delays at a critical point in the guest journey, where booking abandonment is most common. An earlier study found that bookings in the hotel and lodging industry are abandoned 78.3% of the time, with the problem most acute on mobiles where redirections are more obvious to users (85.6% vs 73.1% for desktop)1.
An EBE creates a seamless branded journey for guests, keeping them fully immersed in the hotel’s brand throughout their experience. By design, it ensures visual consistency and trust without requiring any extra effort from the hotel, ultimately creating a better user experience while generating more trust and higher conversions.
SHR’s EBE delivers the full functionality of a powerful booking platform, but in a modern, user-friendly modal design. With features like multi-property search, real-time availability updates, and upselling options, hotels can showcase everything they have to offer and capture more revenue per guest.
Voucher integration and promotional tools simplify running campaigns, while the platform’s flexible design caters to both independent properties and large hotel groups looking to present their entire portfolio.
The announcement comes at a time when hotels are looking to execute a balanced booking strategy — reducing overreliance on online travel agencies (OTAs) while maintaining strong partnerships with them. Guests are also increasingly choosing to book directly, drawn by the personalized experiences and exclusive discounts often offered through hotel websites. With direct bookings projected to surpass OTA bookings by 20302, SHR’s Embedded Booking Engine equips hoteliers with the tools to embrace this trend and drive more bookings straight from their websites.
Rodrigo Jimenez, CEO of SHR, said: “Guests today expect a booking experience that feels as seamless and straightforward as shopping online, with minimal effort and maximum convenience. At the same time, hotels are under increasing pressure to find solutions that drive conversions while supporting a balanced booking strategy, reducing overreliance on OTAs without compromising these important partnerships and maintaining greater control over their revenue.
“Our Embedded Booking Engine bridges this gap, giving hotels the ability to offer a smooth, feature-rich booking journey that meets the expectations of modern, one-click travelers. It’s not just about simplifying the booking process, it’s about empowering hotels to take ownership of their digital presence. By offering a booking experience that aligns with modern guest expectations, hotels can build trust, encourage repeat stays, and stand out in a crowded market.”
Founded in 2004, SHR (an Access Company) is a global specialist technology and service provider to the hotel sector. Through a full suite of tools and services, SHR helps over 2,000 hoteliers globally maximize revenue by optimizing all aspects of the booking and retention ecosystem. To learn more about SHR, visit www.shrgroup.com.