Online Travel Agencies – A Brief Introduction - ColorWhistle

An online travel agency (OTA) arranges and sells accommodations, tours, transportation and trips on an online platform for travelers. They are third parties who ... SkiptocontentOnlineTravelAgencies–ABriefIntroductionHome»OnlineTravelAgencies–ABriefIntroductionTravelNovember15,2021Theroleofanonlinetravelagency(OTA)isbecomingincreasinglyimportantintheaccommodationindustryastheyprovideaconvenientwayfortravelerstoarrangetheirstay.Fromthecomfortoftheirhome,travelerscancomparehotelpricesandbookthemovertheinternet. Inthisblog,wearegoingtodiscusswhatanOTAis,bestOTAplatforms,todeveloptravelwebsiteandhowtodoitrightandmore.Ready?Let’sgo.WhatAreOnlineTravelAgencies?Anonlinetravelagency(OTA)arrangesandsellsaccommodations,tours,transportationandtripsonanonlineplatformfortravelers.Theyarethirdpartieswhosellservicesonbehalfofothercompanies.Usually,theseOTAsoffermanybenefitswithaddedconveniencewithmoreofaself-serviceapproach.Theyalsoincludeabuilt-inbookingsystemwhichallowsinstantbookings.HowDoOnlineTravelAgenciesWork?OTAsgenerallyworkontwomodels.Theyare,1.MerchantModelInthismodel,hotelssellroomstoOTAsatadiscountedorwholesaleprice.Then,theOTAsellsthemtothecustomeratamarkupprice2.AgencyModelThisisacommission-basedmodelwhereOTAsactsasadistributionpartner.OTAsreceivefullcommissionafterthestayhastakenplace.Thehoteldirectlyreceivesthepaymentfromtheendcustomeranddoesnotwaitforthepaymenttransferfromthird-partydistributors.WhatAretheBenefitsofPartneringwithOnlineTravelAgencies?Inoneword–exposure!Onlinetravelagentsgetthousandsofwebsitevisitorsfromallovertheworld.Plus,theyhavepositionedthemselvesasanauthorityoneverythingrelatedtotravel.So,peopletrusttherecommendationtheyreceivefromOTAs.BylistinginOTAs,accommodationbusinesseslikehotelsnotonlyreachavastsetofaudiencebutwillalsofindtheirserviceamongmanyotherreputablesourcesofinformation.Inaddition,hotelsthatarelistedonOTAscanalsobenefitfromwhatisreferredtoasthe‘billboardeffect’.ThismeansthatOTAsprovideaformofadvertisingforserviceproviderssuchashotelsontheirplatforms.Oncetheusergainsthisawareness,theymayevengotothewebsiteofthatparticularhoteltomakeadirectbooking.WhatAretheAdvantagesandDisadvantagesofSellingThroughOnlineTravelAgents?AccommodationbusinesseslikehotelsandB&BshaveprosandconsofgettinglistedinOTAs.Let’stakealookatthem.AdvantagesOfOnlineTravelAgentsLow-costmethodofsellingaccommodationservicesReducedonlinemarketingspendasOTAsinvestinadvertisingtoattractpotentialcustomersImpartialreviewsgivecustomerstheconfidencetobookUserscaneasilycomparevariousaccommodationcostsatoneplaceDigitalMarketingPackages-HowToBuildOne!DisadvantagesOfOnlineTravelAgentsCommissionratesarechargedoneverysale.Itcanrangebetween10-15%ofthegrosscostRestrictivecancellationtermsEvenifaccommodationbusinessesuseOTAs,theneedfortheirownwebsiteandbookingenginedoesnotgoawayInvestmentinabalancedmulti-channelstrategymaybeneededtoboostsalesOnlineTravelIndustry101EventhoughOTAscanhelptofillyourrooms,accommodationbusinessesmusttrytomaximizerevenuethroughtheirownwebsite.Consistentworkonsearchengineoptimizationtacticsandotherdigitalmarketingtechniquesisamust.Accommodationbusinessesmustfocusoncustomerretentiontechniquesanddirectlytargettheirexistingcustomersthroughemailsanddirectmarketing.HowToStartAnOnlineTravelAgency?Travelagenciesnolongerinformcustomersabouttheavailabilityofflightsandrooms.Theyissueroomsandgetacommissionfromtherespectiveaccommodationbusinesses.ThatiswhymostofthenewtravelbusinessesfollowtheOTAmodel.IfyouplantoentertheOTAarena,youcanspecializeinpilgrimages,leisuretravel,businesstraveloranyniche.But,focusingonhoweffectivelyyouofferthingsisthekeytosuccess.HereAreSomePointsYouHaveToConsiderWhenStartingAnOnlineTravelAgency.Registerthenameofyouragencyandifapplicable,takealicenseasperyourlocallawsTrytogetamembershipinIATAoranyotherreputedtravelorganizationGainmoreknowledgeaboutthetravelindustryandparticularlytheniceyouwanttoconcentrateGetyourtravelwebsitedesignedbyaprofessionalcompanylikeColorWhistleOfferdealsthatfocusonaspecificgeography.FocusingonaparticularnichewillalsobringmoresuccessPublicizeyourbusinessintheonlinespaceUtilizethepowerofbloggingCreateagoodsocialmediapresenceWhyDoPeopleUseOnlineTravelAgencies? HereAreSomeOfTheMainReasonsTheyPreferOTA’s.FewOTAsofferrewardprogramswhichcanbeusedforfuturetravelneedsSpecialrateswhichcannotbefoundelsewhereSomeOTAsmayhavegenerouscancellationpolicies.Forexample,PricelinedoesnotofferanypenaltyiftheusercancelstheticketuntiltheendofthenextbusinessdayMostusersmaynothaveanideaonwheretobookotherthananOTAOTAsmakeiteasytocomparedifferentratesWhoAretheTopOnlineTravelAgents?1.Booking.comBooking.comisoneofthelargestaccommodationswebsiteswhichhasnowexpandedtosmallermarketssuchasfamily-operatedbedandbreakfast,vacationrentalsandself-cateringapartments.InterestingstatisticsEveryday,1,550,000nightsarebooked68%ofnightsbookedcamefromfamiliesandcouples42%ofnightsbookedcamefromuniqueplacessuchashomesandapartments38%ofreviewsaregivenbyguestswhichareusefulforothertravelers75%ofnightsbookedcomefromguestswhobookedmorethan5times2.Expedia’sHotels.comExpedia’sHotels.comisapopularbrandwhichhasaglobalaudienceandattractsdiversetravelers.ThecompanygainedmorepowerintheindustrybyacquiringTravelocity.InterestingstatisticsGetsover675millionmonthlysitevisitsOperatesin70+countriesand40+languagesAttracts75millionmonthlyflightshoppers3.AirbnbAirbnbrevolutionizedthetravelaccommodationindustrybyintroducinghome-sharing.Thewebsitehasdiverselistingsandtravelersgetasenseofsafetyastheycanknowtheirguest’sidentity.Interestingstatistics2.9millionhostsarepresentonAirbnbAverageof800kstayseachnight14knewhostsjoineverymonthApartfromthesemajorOTAs,therearemanysmallonessuchasOneTravel,Vayama,Tripsta,TravelMerry,ExploreTrip,Kiss&Fly,Webjet,GoToGate,Travelgenio,Bookairfare,Fareboom,Skybooker,Travel2be,OneTwoTrip!,andeBookers.WhatTheFutureHoldsforOnlineTravelAgencies?Itisclearthat,inthenearfuture,accommodationbusinessesarenotabouttobackdownfromOTAs.Theyareenjoyingthebillboardeffectandtryingtheirbesttoretainwebsitevisitorsandconvertthemintodirectbooking. Sure,thereisacostinvolved.Theupsideofthisisthataccommodationbusinessesareworkinghardtocreatealoyalcustomerbasethatwillcontinuetoseekdirectbookings.ThechancesofOTAssufferinginthelongrunareprettyslim.SmalleraccommodationbusinesseshavealottogainfromtheexposuretheyreceivethroughOTAs.Plus,alargeportionoftheyoungergenerationprefersOTAs.Sotheirmarketwillcontinuetogrow.Ifyouneedanyhelptodesign,developormarketanOTAwebsite,contactourtravelwebdesignanddevelopmentexpertsatColorWhistle. Wecancreateanamazingwebsitewithbeautifuldesignscombinedwithdynamiccontentsuchasliveratesandspecialoffers.Contactustodayforyourfreebusinessanalysisandconsultation.MoreTravelRelatedResourcesHowtoBuildaTravelAggregatorWebsite11EssentialTravelWebsiteFeaturesWhatisGDS?–ASimpleGuideForNewTravelAgenciesRelatedPostsHowtoRedesignaWebsiteWithoutLosingSEO?MythsaboutWebsiteDevelopment,Design,andWebApplicationInsurtechWebsitesandInsurtechMarketingTechniques–AQuickRound-upLikedThisArticle?Wehavealotmorewherethatcamefrom!Join13,753subscriberswhostayaheadofthepack.Thisisrequired.Yes!SubscribeByenteringyouremail,youagreetoourTermsandConditionsandPrivacyPolicy.AbouttheAuthor-AnjanaAnjanaisafull-timeCopywriteratColorWhistlemanagingcontent-relatedprojects.Shewritesaboutwebsitetechnologies,digitalmarketing,andindustriessuchastravel.Plus,shehasanunhealthyaddictiontowardsonlinemarketing,watchingcrimeshows,andchocolates.ShareyourthoughtsCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName* 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