We can surf the web for hotels by exact terms and conditions. For example, if a person is in a country on a business tour for the first time, they may want the hotel location close to or near their meeting or office address in a bid to save time and money on commuting. People on pleasure trip, on the other hand, may look for a city's tourist attractions first, and choose hotels accordingly.

Location is important, no matter whether guests or tourists are on business or pleasure trips, and all the hotels listed online will provide them with the approximate distance from the city's major points of interest such as the airport, railway station, downtown and tourist spots.

Hotel websites allow a guest to check the rates and accessibility and to make sure that the hotel is within their price bracket. It is particularly important whether people are holiday travellers or on a tight office budget. Online information also allows them to check and compare hotels in terms of location and price range they specify, so they can decide if the quality and facilities offered, as well as the rates, are ideal for their purpose and budget.

Most online-listed hotels in the world today provide a virtual tour or pictures of the rooms, suites and other facilities such as the restaurant or coffee shop, spa or fitness centre, reception area, as well as bars and lounges. This will help guests and tourists know in advance what to expect of their rooms, as well as of the hotel, because most descriptions without photographs sound good in writing, but often disappointing once people check in.

Online booking is a few clicks away from anywhere in the world with access to the internet. With a simple search on Google or another search engine, a person can easily get an entire list of hotels in the city or town of their choice, usually listed according to their ratings or reviews and amenities available. However, if they want to narrow down their search even further, they can do so by keying in location or price range.

Booking a hotel room, if available, can be done instantly. People will need a credit card to reserve their accommodations. Most hotels also offer multi-lingual pages, making it easy for people of different tongues to access the information.

Online hotel booking is the easiest and most efficient way to get the best possible hotel in any given city without having to make a phone call or knowing anything about the city. No matter whether a person is on vacation and so has the time to delve into a location in advance, or on business and have to visit a city in a day's notice, they can find the right hotel with the help of the internet.

The hotel industry is experiencing a boom across the world. The wave has also struck our shoreline. A plethora of new hotels -- some are coming soon -- have opened in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet and Cox's Bazaar. But we are not yet aware of the blessings online hotel-booking system showers down. Many foreign tourists are waiting to visit Bangladesh as part of their yearly itineraries. But the boon of online booking is still elusive to them.

Most of our quality hotels and motels still lag way behind in online service. It seems managers are not aware that it costs them thousands of dollars. Apart from four five-star hotels -- Pan pacific Sonargaon, Hotel Radisson Garden, Hotel Sheraton and Dhaka Westin -- almost all hotels in Bangladesh are not listed on the internet. Online room-booking system is a must if we want to keep pace with the global trend. The picture of the Maldives and Dubai in Asia are really fantastic; they are doing money-spinning hotel business with fine and easy online booking system.

The internet has also made the hotel industry more competitive as people can compare hotels for location, amenities and prices before they make the decision. So a person can usually get great bargains online, no matter whether it is a last-minute booking or made well in advance. The internet has provided the consumers with many options to select and book a hotel at a reasonable price in the right location at any time, day or night. It's high time Bangladesh entered the network.

The author is a faculty of National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation-NTO.