distribution

OTAs are not your marketing partners. They are competitors for the guest relationship. They capture email, own the loyalty data, and retarget your guests

Rate parity is framed as a pricing policy. It is enforced as a contractual obligation. What it actually functions as, in the luxury segment, is a structural brake

The unintended consequences we’re seeing now are a direct result of decisions made without fully understanding the complexity of hotel distribution

This comes down to commercial ownership. The strongest-performing hotels are not necessarily the ones with the widest OTA exposure

Guests have always compared options before booking. The difference is that technology has made the process dramatically easier

The question is not whether AI affects distribution; it already does. It is how deliberately hotels choose to compete in this new front line of visibility

In a world where AI is shaping every travel decision, distribution is no longer just about visibility. It is your most powerful lever for protecting profit

Instability reshapes travel behaviour. Hotels must revisit source markets, recalibrate pricing, and adjust distribution strategies with speed

The role of the website as an interface will be threatened as it faces increasing competition from conversational channels that operate outside a browser

A hotel displacement analysis helps bring structure to complexity, as outlined below in the discussion of three key factors that should inform your approach