Online travel agents, data related issues and a skills shortage of revenue managers are all impacting pricing strategies in the hotel industry.
Why are hotels sleepwalking into a state of increased OTA dependency?
To break the spell of OTA booking dominance, hotels must use a holistic approach which takes advantage of the latest technology to improve your hotel in three ways: data collection, online user experience and guest communication.
The OTA duopoly: Priceline vs Expedia
The OTA duopoly means that hotels must realign their online strategies and tactics to make sure they make the most of their owned media before relying too much on external sources.
How consumers move between online travel sites on their purchase path
The options continue to grow for consumers looking to book trips online, making gaining their attention and influencing their decisions further up the marketing funnel more competitive.
OTAs and the billboard effect
Hoteliers shouldn’t rely too heavily on OTAs, even though there are still benefits to be reaped from the correlation between visibility on an OTA site and uplift in direct bookings.
Four factors changing the landscape of online bookings
There are certainly some key developments happening this year that should keep a couple of hotel and hospitality marketers awake at night.
Ever-more powerful OTAs remain heavy burden on hotel profit margins
Furthermore, many OTAs are launching their own loyalty programmes taking them into direct battle with hotel group loyalty schemes and threatening one of the unique selling points some hotel brands offer their customers.
OTAs: Friend or foe?
With their growing distribution market share, online travel agencies are key players in the travel & hospitality marketing landscape. Here’s a look at the grievances about OTAs as well as a consideration of their benefits.
The fight against the OTAs starts at check In
Taking the time to develop and maintain guest relationships is the best tool any hotelier has against the OTAs. If handled successfully, the commissions paid to the OTAs can be a one time customer acquisition fee and the hotel now owns the relationship and any future reservations from that guest.
Why OTAs are wonderful
CitizenM COO Michael Levie thinks OTAs are brilliant. They’re providing a wonderful service and use their data to be close to guests.
