The reciprocal relationship between hotels and online travel agents (OTAs) is well understood but it would be a mistake to think that there exists an unchanging status quo.
Hoteliers need to know that there have been some big shifts in spending patterns in the past year as OTAs seek to claim market share and, ultimately, redefine the role they play in the hospitality landscape.
The most important tactic for those trying to get heads into beds has always been to avoid paying for the same guest twice, while the business model of the OTAs is to make sure every hotel pays for every guest, every time. This tension defines the relationship that sees both sides jostle to own the guest record, the guest journey and repeat bookings
These businesses depend on each other, and there’s no getting away from that. The hotels need a wide audience, exposure and lead generation, while OTAs need inventory. It’s a bond that will never be broken but what is up for grabs is the share of total revenue each is able to claim.
A significant portion of their income is reinvested in marketing which, on some level, benefits the hotels themselves. In the past, the degree to which a hotel is dependent on OTA channels has been relatively static — governed predominantly by supply and demand — but hotels and OTAs are now finding new ways to increase their share of leads, ‘own the guest’ and grow their own revenues. Central to this arms race are established strategies like revenue & customer relationship management (CRM) as well as novel solutions such as personalisation, which creates custom guest journeys, content, upsells and inventory depending on who the customer is and what they’re interested in.
The battle remains one of lead generation and guest acquisition, and it’s the financial firepower available to OTAs that is really starting to alter the dynamics of the hospitality market in a way that hasn’t been seen before. While hotels do benefit from exposure in the biggest marketplaces on earth, what should concern hoteliers is the point at which they lose sight of the horizon and it becomes disproportionately expensive to do business outside of OTA ecosystems.
If you want to get ahead and stay there, the four watchwords of acquisition, retention, referral and remarketing must be maximized. In our 2024 Hotel Industry Trends Report, we’ll show you just how fast the landscape is changing, what trends represent the biggest threats to revenue share and what hoteliers can do about it.
Our data is based on analysis of over 50 million room nights across more than 2,000 international hotels that are currently using one or multiple Allora products and services, all designed to help hotels and resorts optimize their revenue generation and boost their bottom line.
The reciprocal relationship between hotels and online travel agents (OTAs) is well understood but it would be a mistake to think that there exists an unchanging status quo.
Hoteliers need to know that there have been some big shifts in spending patterns in the past year as OTAs seek to claim market share and, ultimately, redefine the role they play in the hospitality landscape.
The most important tactic for those trying to get heads into beds has always been to avoid paying for the same guest twice, while the business model of the OTAs is to make sure every hotel pays for every guest, every time. This tension defines the relationship that sees both sides jostle to own the guest record, the guest journey and repeat bookings
These businesses depend on each other, and there’s no getting away from that. The hotels need a wide audience, exposure and lead generation, while OTAs need inventory. It’s a bond that will never be broken but what is up for grabs is the share of total revenue each is able to claim.
A significant portion of their income is reinvested in marketing which, on some level, benefits the hotels themselves. In the past, the degree to which a hotel is dependent on OTA channels has been relatively static — governed predominantly by supply and demand — but hotels and OTAs are now finding new ways to increase their share of leads, ‘own the guest’ and grow their own revenues. Central to this arms race are established strategies like revenue & customer relationship management (CRM) as well as novel solutions such as personalisation, which creates custom guest journeys, content, upsells and inventory depending on who the customer is and what they’re interested in.
The battle remains one of lead generation and guest acquisition, and it’s the financial firepower available to OTAs that is really starting to alter the dynamics of the hospitality market in a way that hasn’t been seen before. While hotels do benefit from exposure in the biggest marketplaces on earth, what should concern hoteliers is the point at which they lose sight of the horizon and it becomes disproportionately expensive to do business outside of OTA ecosystems.
If you want to get ahead and stay there, the four watchwords of acquisition, retention, referral and remarketing must be maximized. In our 2024 Hotel Industry Trends Report, we’ll show you just how fast the landscape is changing, what trends represent the biggest threats to revenue share and what hoteliers can do about it.
Our data is based on analysis of over 50 million room nights across more than 2,000 international hotels that are currently using one or multiple Allora products and services, all designed to help hotels and resorts optimize their revenue generation and boost their bottom line.
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