When a hotel is listed on Expedia.com or Travelocity.com, it receives reservations not only through that channel, but it also gains reservations through other channels, such as its own website or telephone reservations. According to a hotel internet marketing study by Cornell assistant professor Chris K. Anderson, this "billboard effect" increases both reservation levels and average daily rate. He calculates the value of the billboard effect in a new report from Cornell's Center for Hospitality Research, "The Billboard Effect: Online Travel Agent Impact on Non-OTA Reservation Volume." This travel research is available at no charge at .

"The online travel agents (OTA) argue that they give hotels visibility, in addition to channeling reservations to them," Anderson explained. "I wanted my travel research to test the value of that visibility. For the four hotels I tested, the increase in total reservations ranged from 7.5 to 26 percent, not including those received from the OTA. This study adds another perspective to the relationship between OTAs and hotel chains, especially given the current disagreement between Choice Hotels and Expedia."

Expedia.com and JHM Hotels cooperated in this hotel internet marketing experiment by sharing data and allowing an unusual listing pattern for the four hotels. Each was listed for a period of time on Expedia, and then each hotel was removed totally from the site. Those hotels recorded excess bookings through other channels when they were listed on the Expedia site—indicating that they had gained visibility even if guests eventually booked through another channel. Average daily rates for the test hotels in the travel research were slightly higher during the times that the hotels were listed on Expedia.

Meet and interact with Professor Anderson, an active member of the executive education faculty, at the School of Hotel Administration, when he presents sessions in the Professional Development Program: .

Thanks to the support of the CHR partners listed below, all publications posted on the center's website are available free of charge, at .

About the Center for Hospitality Research

The purpose of the Center for Hospitality Research is to enable and conduct research of significance to the global hospitality and related service industries. CHR also works to improve the connections between academe and industry, continuing the School of Hotel Administration's long-standing tradition of service to the hospitality industry. Founded in 1992, CHR remains the industry's foremost creator and distributor of timely research, all of which is posted at no charge for all to use. In addition to its industry advisory board, CHR convenes several industry roundtables each year for the purpose of identifying new issues affecting the hospitality industry.

Center Members: Accenture • Access Point Financial, Inc. • Barclaycard US • Cvent • Davis & Gilbert LLP • Deloitte & Touche USA LLP • DerbySoft • Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts • Fox Rothschild LLP • Hilton Worldwide • Host Hotels & Resorts • Hyatt Hotels Corporation • IDeaS Revenue Solutions • InterContinental Hotels Group • Jumeirah Group • Marriott International • NTT DATA • Preferred Hotels & Resorts • priceline.com • PwC • The Rainmaker Group • RateGain • ReviewPro • Revinate • Sabre Hospitality Solutions • STR • Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces • Tata Consultancy Services • Wipro EcoEnergy • Wyndham Hotel Group

Glenn Withiam
607.255.3025
CHR