The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has taken online travel agents (OTAs) to task in the past week over how hotel rooms are displayed to customers, according to BBC News.
NB: This is an article from Welcome Anywhere
This news arrives in the wake of claims that some of the leading sites which offer booking capabilities are misleading consumers when it comes to the availability of rooms.
An investigation by the CMA into this issue is ongoing and, thus far, the sites which are suffering the regulator’s scrutiny have not been singled out. Complaints raised by investigators relate to the fact that rooms are apparently sometimes ordered according to the level of commission that hotels pay OTAs. This (it’s assumed) means that the rank a room achieves isn’t always related to its quality or suitability, making results less relevant for guests.
There are also other concerns being aired, covering everything from the transparency of the way discounts are handled to the ‘hidden’ fees that only come to light further into the booking journey.
This is a hot topic for the CMA and the industry at large, since it estimates that around 70 per cent of consumers who compare hotel rooms online do so via an OTA.
Of course, it could be argued that OTAs have also done a vast amount to help consumers get better prices for hotel rooms, while also empowering providers of accommodation with a means of boosting their visibility, introducing new business and increasing bookings.
The latest findings of this investigation are a timely reminder that OTAs now face increasing pressure to operate fairly and that the same goals should apply to independent hotels. This all relates to the guest experience, after all – and that’s what really matters.
Putting guests first
The most important thing to remember when navigating the choppy waters of online booking is that customers need to be thought of above all else and beyond any issues you might have with OTAs.
For example, if you plough all of your efforts into perfecting your listings with popular OTAs, while neglecting your hotel’s website, then winning those all-important direct bookings will be much harder.
Of course, you can’t rely on direct bookings and shun OTAs altogether, since they’re crucial to alerting customers to your hotel’s existence in the first place, such is their dominance on Google and continual investment in what many would argue is the best online booking experience.
Essentially you need to strike a balance between a well-honed OTA presence and a compelling on-site experience for people who want to book with your hotel directly.
A big part of this is about building trust and making sure that guests don’t necessarily need to book a room with you through an OTA to get the best deal. Loyalty programs for guests who regularly stay with you can help here, but most of all you need to focus on delivering rate parity across every platform on which you advertise rooms.
This is tough with the level of competitiveness that exists on OTAs, as well as the unavoidable costs of commission. Thankfully, with regulators cracking down on anti-competitive practices, the ability to combine an OTA presence with successful direct booking strategies will potentially become easier for independent hotels.
Wrapping up
OTAs are here to stay and still offer significant value as marketing channels for hotels, so independent operators must learn to leverage them as best they can, whilst optimising direct booking and keeping on the right side of regulators.
