While some hoteliers have started questioning the OTAs’ role in the hospitality industry, many still see them as the golden path to higher occupancy and survival. Don’t get us wrong, the OTAs are undoubtedly an important channel to attract first-time guests.
But a newly booked first-time guest is at the point in a customer relationship where the hotelier simply cannot afford to just close her eyes and smile. Once that first-time booking is done, the OTA should have played out its role, and it should be time for you to start getting to know the guest and help her form new habits for the next booking. Missing the opportunity to maintain the dialogue with the guest implies that you prefer to fight for the guest on the OTAs’ terms next time as well – instead of fighting on your own terms, focusing your efforts on better service and price.
While the OTAs thrive from this guest disloyalty (with silent acceptance from many hoteliers), taking a closer look at the guest communication can help you alleviate most of the pains that come with growing OTA dominance.
The Facts
There has been a lot of buzz lately about OTAs and the booking war against hotels. The buzz is growing as fast as the the percentage of OTA bookings are. According to KalibriLabs, In 2011, there were 4.3 room nights booked directly for every indirectly booked room night. In 2015, however, that number dropped to 2.7 direct room nights for every one indirectly booked room night – a nearly 40 percent drop. Ultimately, 2016 was the first year when OTA lodging bookings in the US exceeded total hotel website gross bookings.
The main goal of these organisations is to sell hoteliers the idea that OTAs are a great showcase for their businesses and, therefore, an aid to increase sells. In one study, hotel website bookings increased anywhere from eight to 26 percent due to the “billboard effect” of hotels simply being listed on a popular OTA site. The truth is that OTAs are today a “necessary evil” and a hotel that is not present in OTAs is a nobody.
