Travel Bookers Prefer Hotel Websites

A new study by Criteo and PhoCusWright shows that 41% booked using an airline website or app, vs. 26% who used an OTA. The same was true for hotel bookings. Over 33% choose to book via the hotels website or app whereas only 25% booked through an OTA. The trends are clear as more and more travel bookers shift to brand sites leaving on line travel agents sites.

“Other responses indicated that leisure travelers were more engaged with travel brands than OTAs. When asked if they subscribed to emails or e-newsletters from travel companies, 34% said they subscribed to those from hotels, and 32% were signed up to receive such communications from airlines. Meanwhile, 26% subscribed to OTA emails or e-newsletters.”

UBS research reveals that that travel agencies are losing share of total online travel bookings in the US and by 2019 OTAs will likely account for less than 30% of total online bookings.

“eMarketer estimates that there will be 110.7 million US digital travel bookers this year, representing 52.5% of internet users. Such activity will push digital travel sales up to $167.99 billion.” – See full emarketing article and research findings at http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1012550

Our previous article on this shift to direct booking, showed that “OTAs have minimal loyalty and low brand awareness when come to large chains and brand name hotels.” Clearly hotels are in a good position to start taking back market share and getting more direct bookings.

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