Online travel agents (OTAs) and hotels have a love-hate relationship. While hotels cannot deny the value they get from OTAs, they also can't ignore OTAs eating into their share of the revenue.
OTAs became mainstream in the early 2000s when hotel tech was in its infancy. Major OTAs such as Booking.com, Expedia, Agoda, and more recently Airbnb take the responsibility of marketing and advertising properties so that hotels can focus on what they do best: provide hospitality services. In return for visibility and booking convenience, OTAs charge a commission for each booking.
The partnership between OTAs and independent hotels started on the right foot but it has recently skewed in favor of OTAs. According to a Market Sampler survey, 41% of travelers use OTAs while only 29% of travelers book directly. Young travelers are overwhelmingly in favor of OTAs which makes customer acquisition a more difficult job for hotels.
OTAs justify their popularity by charging heavily from hotels. Depending on conditions, OTAs can charge up to 30% commission per booking! Hotels argue that commission rates are too high and OTAs put sponsored hotels at the top of search results, making smaller properties fight for scraps. On top of that, lack of brand identity, inventory mismatch, and customer anonymity have made the partnerships unsustainable.
To see how hotels can stand on their own in competitive markets, it's important to understand what OTAs do better than hotels:
Hoteliers can still make a mark on their own by following simple steps:
Analyze the reasons why travelers trust OTAs over booking directly with you and try to close the gaps. The major issue that plagues legacy and small properties is the lack of a responsive, well-made, and SEO-optimised website populated with authentic content, media, and reviews. Invest in your online assets along with social media pages to build trust and coherent brand identity.
Lack of price transparency is one of the main reasons why travelers stick to OTAs. Add in the broken booking engines and you have almost no chance to compete.
Restructure your pricing strategy and make it consistent across the board. Next, invest in a modern booking engine that's reliable and seamless to make sure customers feel safe putting their payment information. Add markup with the OTA prices and advertise the advantages of booking directly through the app or website.
There's a good chance you've listed your property on multiple OTA websites. Simultaneous booking and cancellations will strain your inventory so the best way to update real-time availability is by using a channel manager.
A lot of hotels have also found success in holding back the OTA canceled rooms and retargeting users with cheaper quotes. Whatever your inventory strategy might be, a channel manager can help!
Retaining customers and banking on referrals are better than acquiring customers via OTAs. When travelers arrive at your hotel, go out of your way to create a personalized experience for them. Be proactive with suggestions and offer unique discounts to improve brand loyalty.
A contactless mobile app can help you do just that. MyCONECT's hotel guest app comes with virtual check-in/check-out, mobile keys, in-room services, chat support, valet parking, and much more. By using contactless technology you can map a consistent guest journey which will help you get ahead of OTAs.