Hoteliers say one channel has been almost completely absent during the COVID-19 pandemic—online travel agencies.
Sources said that OTAs share a responsibility for the industry’s recovery after making a great deal of money from selling hotel rooms they never owned.
Oxsana Hospitality has created a quarterly action plan for members to use in their dealings with OTAs during the economic crisis, according to Chairman Al Malik, owner and managing director of Remarkable Hotels and a director of Best Western Hotels (Great Britain).
“The government is helping and brands and banks are making concessions, but OTAs have not said one word of kindness, and certainly offered no concessions. They are a major stakeholder in this industry,” Malik said. “I am not anti-OTA. I recognize they play a major part of our business, but while brands could do more, they have done a lot. OTAs? Nothing.”
Thomas Magnuson, co-founder and CEO of Magnuson Hotels, said they should have asked hoteliers how they could help at the start of the pandemic.
“OTAs are so big, public bodies, beholden to their shareholders,” he said. “They are thinking if they give something away now, they are diluting their profit, so they are not giving anything away. OTAs need to forget that idea right now.”
Nadeem Boghani, owner and chairman of Splendid Hospitality Group, said their silence raises concerns.
“Everyone needs to share the pain, make sacrifices,” he said. “In any partnership, there has to be give-and-take, and the OTAs have been very quiet, silent. A lot of our stock is branded, so often I will rely on the brands to come up with those partnerships. It would have been nice to hear from the OTAs.”
Boghani added if they only offered a 5% discount, owners would be grateful and the gesture would be an encouraging statement.
