Hotel Revenue Management – Online Travel Agents (OTA’s)

This video posted by Hotel Revenue Management

Online travel agencies emerged in the 1990s, using the internet’s extensive reach to aggregate global travel supply into a single place so consumers could book their own travel online. These self-service tools reshaped the hotel industry and the way travel was researched and booked, as the general public could now easily plan their trips and reserve their airfare, accommodations, and tours on their own rather than rely on a physical travel agent.

Sites such as Expedia.com, Booking.com, Airbnb, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor are often consumers’ first stop when researching and booking their next trip. These sites offer value to consumers at all stages of the buying process: problem/need recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision, and post-purchase behavior.

Properties of all types and sizes can connect to multiple OTAs through an integrated channel manager. A channel manager shares room inventory and rates from your property management system (PMS) to your booking engine and OTAs. This properties streamline hotel operations and increase occupancy across channels.

An online travel agency (OTA) is a web-based marketplace that allows consumers to research and book travel products and services, including hotels, flights, cars, tours, cruises, activities and more, directly with travel suppliers. Every day, millions of travelers around the world use OTAs to plan leisure and business travel.