Triptease is in the business of helping Hotel to get more direct booking. It offers cost compare services for hotel website that will show all rates across Online Travel Agent (OTA) channels. In its studies it has found that travellers prefer booking direct. Here is what they say:

“When guests see price parity, surely they will still book through an OTA that they know and have used before?” Nope. We’ve heard this question a lot so thought we’d take you through how guests really react to OTA prices.

It goes without saying that as a value-conscious marketplace, consumers will almost always go for the cheapest option when booking any form of travel or accommodation. But when consumers are presented the same offering for the same price, which do they choose? Research by Koddi shows that if the hotel price is the same price as the OTA, 65% of consumers would choose to book directly with the hotel.”

Even Without Best Rates Travelers Prefer Booking Direct

“The same experiment also proved that even in scenarios where there isn’t price parity, consumers still prefer to book direct. Where there is a 1% difference in price (with hotels being more expensive) 63% of consumers will still choose the hotel. Where there is a 10% difference in price (again, with hotels being more expensive), 51% of consumers will still choose to book directly with the hotel. So why, when it’s not even cheaper, do so many consumers still prefer to book direct? There are a number of reasons.”

Source: “But if the price is the same, I’ll book at the OTA” – said no one, ever. – Triptease

Authors Note:

I’ll share this finding on how to get even with OTAs. First most travelers who book on OTAs will check out your hotel website. So it is vital that you convince them that booking direct offers the best value. And that does not always mean best price:

Its a good idea to have  a dedicated page of the Benefits of booking direct. In addition you should add a blog on why book direct. In the villa resort examples linked here the special offer for booking-direct is reiterated on the villa pages, the FAQ index as well as throughout the website.