Focus on Distribution: Hotels Value Agents, But OTAs Rule
For hotel operators, the costs of selling rooms through traditional travel agencies and travel management companies are far far lower than for rooms booked through mega online travel agencies. And agents deliver a higher-yield customer as well. So why aren’t hotel companies beating down the doors of traditional agencies and TMCs? Hotel operators may prefer working with traditional agents – and do better economically by them – but they feel forced to deal with the big guys. Online travel agencies simply have too much marketing power for hotels not to focus on them. That’s the outlook shared by two top distribution experts – John Burns, president of Hospitality Technology Consulting, and Bonnie Buckhiester, president of Buckhiester Management.
