Love them or not, online travel agencies (OTAs) play a critical role in every property’s distribution strategy.
NB: This is a guide from Cloudbeds, one of our Expert Partners
According to Phocuswright’s 2020 research report, OTAs captured roughly 64% of online hotel & lodging bookings and have the visibility and marketing power that most individual properties cannot achieve on their own.
Working with OTAs isn’t just a matter of signing up and hoping for the best. To take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls, you need to actively manage your listings, pricing, and inventory and take a strategic approach to online distribution.
If done correctly, adopting the right OTAs as part of your distribution strategy can actually help drive direct bookings through the “billboard effect.” Building a comprehensive channel mix incorporating different types of OTAs will ensure you reach your target audience and secure a steady stream of reservations.
See which OTAs dominate globally, regionally, and across property types based on Cloudbeds customer data, and how properties like yours use OTAs as part of their distribution strategy.
At Cloudbeds, we know the world of OTAs and distribution channels can be complex. We’ve created this guide to help demystify this process and explain how to create a recipe for success when working with third-party distribution channels.
