The struggle to persuade guests to book direct instead of through an online travel agency is ongoing, but hoteliers have a number of factors working in their favor.
Hotel brands fight valiantly against the online travel agencies in an attempt to sway consumers to book direct through their proprietary channels.
It’s going to take an industrywide, two-pronged attack, however. On one front, the industry must lobby for legislation to prevent third-party booking sites from misrepresenting themselves as the brand channel.
Fortunately, that’s already happening. The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s ongoing strategic offense targets beltway influencers. Recently, the AHLA successfully campaigned the Federal Trade Commission, which found and charged a third-party reservation center for deceiving consumers into believing they’re booking directly with a hotel. The ruling of the FTC bans the misrepresentation of a hotel’s identity, now requiring clear disclosure of third-party OTA status and a compliance report.
Consumers are speaking up. According to Research & Polling, 88% of consumers desire transparency in hotel booking. Media Day NY & DC has found that 72% of consumers want the government to enforce laws on these third-party affiliates. The AHLA has partnered with several consumer protection advocate groups, such as the Better Business Bureau, to educate consumers on how to avoid misleading and fraudulent sites. The AHLA is applauded for its efforts and results. It is off to a good start.
Simultaneously, several of the major hotel companies have taken the OTAs head on, launching national advertising and media campaigns educating the consumer on the benefits of booking direct with a lowest-price guarantee. Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and IHG kicked off book-direct efforts in 2016.
In addition to the lowest-price guarantee, the brands have turned to their elite loyalty programs and conceived a slew of exclusive guest perks for their reward members in an effort to sidestep the OTA and increase their direct bookings. These programs appear to be making headwinds.
