Hotel vs. OTA Parity Agreements: Does It Have to be a Battle?
-If a love-hate relationship exists in the hospitality industry, it’s between hotels and online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline, among many others. On one hand, OTAs extract sizable commissions, which understandably grate on the hotels that must pay them. On the other, they also produce an enormous amount of bookings, which hotels covet.…
Distribution Strategies – Emerging Challenges for Revenue Managers
-Smart operators recognize that that the role of revenue management is critical to overall financial results, not just top-line performance. In addition to being responsible for the functional aspects of forecasting, pricing and inventory management, today’s revenue management professional is often accountable for managing the distribution efforts for their respective organizations. This poses some challenges, and also…
5 Ways to Entice Travelers to Book Direct
-As we all know, Expedia, Priceline, Hotwire and other online travel agencies (OTAs) are extremely valuable resources for keeping rooms filled. But how do hotel operators keep them from cannibalizing business from customers that might have booked direct in the first place? This is one question I hear all of the time from companies that call me…
