Why do you need an Online Travel Agency (OTA)? - Expedia ...

An online travel agency (OTA) is a web-based marketplace that allows consumers to research and book travel products and services, including hotels, flights, ... RespondingtoCOVID-19.Globalrestrictionsontravelareimpactinglivelihoodsacrossourindustry.We’veconsolidatedtheinformation,tools,andpolicyupdatesandcreatedaCOVID-19ResourceCentertohelpguideyourrecoverystrategies.Wesympathizewiththedifficultdecisionsyoumaybefacingandhopeyou,yourstaffandfamiliesremainhealthy. Resources Distributionstrategy What’sAnOnlineTravelAgencyandWhyShouldICare? WhydoyouneedanOnlineTravelAgency(OTA)? WorkingwithanOnlineTravelAgency(OTA)notonlyhelpsyoureachmoretravelersglobally,itallowsyoutoengagethemwhenthey’reresearching,planningandbookingtheirnexttrip.Discoverhowtheywork,whattoolstheyofferandhowtochoosetherightoneforyourbusiness. WhatisanOTA? Anonlinetravelagency(OTA)isaweb-basedmarketplacethatallowsconsumerstoresearchandbooktravelproductsandservices,includinghotels,flights,cars,tours,cruises,activitiesandmore,directlywithtravelsuppliers.Everyday,millionsoftravelersaroundtheworlduseOTAstoplanleisureandbusinesstravel. OTAsprovideaccesstoyourpotentialguestsinlocationsandatvolumesthatwouldbedifficultforyoutoaccessthroughyourownmarketingefforts.Additionally,OTAsprovidemarketinsightsandtoolsfortargetingtravelers,securingandprocessingbookings,communicatingwithguestsandmanagingreviews. HowdohotelsworkwithOTAs? Hotelsofallsizes–includingbed&breakfasts,innsandryokans–signcontractstolisttheirpropertiesonanOTA.Therearenoupfrontfeestolistroomsinthemarketplace.OTAsmakemoneyonlywhenroomsarebooked,collectingapercentageofthetotalvalueofeachsecuredreservation. TheOTAprovidesopportunitiesto showcaseroomsandproperties throughamenitydescriptions,photos,nearbypointsofinterestsandmore.Listingsaredisplayedtotravelerssearchingforplacestostayinyourdestination.Iftheyusefilterstonarrowtheirsearch—e.g.onlylookingforpools,freeWi-Fi,orairconditioning—theOTAwillaligntravelcriteriawiththedetailprovidedbythehotel,displayingthepropertiesthatmatchbest. TheOTAprovidesasecurebookingplatformandisthetraveler’smainpointofcontactforbookingamendmentsandcancellations.Atnocost, OTAsprovideavarietyoftools—fromreal-timeaccesstomarketdatatotoolsformanagingreviews—tohelptheirpartnersbesuccessful. WhyworkwithanOnlineTravelAgency(OTA)? OTAsareincreasinglypopular.Infact,travelerstodayuseOTAs 50%more thanhotelwebsitestocompareleisuretraveloptions.AndthatmeansOTAscanplayanimportantpartinyour distributionstrategy. Here’swhyhotelslikeyoursarechoosingtouseOTAs. Onlinemarketinginvestmentsyoudon’thavetomake EveryyearOTAsspendmillionsofdollarsattractingconsumersfromaroundtheworldtotheironlinetravelmarketplaces.Theirinvestmentinononlineandtvadvertising,billboardsandsponsorships,socialmediaandothermarketingchannelshelpshotelstoengagehard-to-reachtravelerstheycouldn’taffordtoreachotherwise.OTAsgiveyoualowriskopportunitytogrowyourbusiness,especiallyifyouhavelimitedmarketingfunds. Greatervisibilityforyourownwebsite EvidenceshowsthatbeinglistedonanOTAcanbringmoretraffictoyourproperty’sownwebsite,becauseconsumersoftenuseOTAsfortheirsearchbeforebookingdirectly.Thisisknownas“TheBillboardEffect”. A 2011study whichlookedatconsumers’onlinepre-purchasebehaviorfoundthataround75%ofpeoplewhomadedirectreservationswithamajorhotelbrandhadvisitedanOTAwebsitebeforebookingdirectlywiththehotel. Anotherreportin2017 showedthatthe“BillboardEffect”stilloccurs,asmanypeoplestillvisitanOTApriortobookingdirect. Increasedabilitytotargethigh-valueguests Throughtheirlistingtoolsandmarketingprograms,manyOTAscanhelphotelstargetguestswhowillbedelightedwiththeirstayanddriveprofitablegrowth.Possibilitiesrangefrompackagingroomswithflightstoattractguestswhotendtocancelless,totargetingbusinesstravelers,budgetorluxuryguests,familiesorthosefromspecificregions. Marketingprograms canhelpyouachievespecificbusinessgoals,includingmaintaininghigh averagedailyrates(ADRs),drivinglongerstaystoreducecostsorcapturelast-minutebookings.Bestofall,whenyouattracttherightguestsforyourproperty,youincreasethelikelihoodofpositive,glowingreviews. Accesstorichtools,analyticsandinsights OTAsgiveyou freeaccesstomarketdata,competitiveinsights,travelerpreferencesandtoolsthatotherwisecanbecostlytoacquireonyourown.Mostwilloffereasy-to-useanalyticstohelpyoubetterunderstandyour year-over-yearperformance andhowyoucomparetolikepropertiesinyourmarket.Basedontheirdataandthebookingtrendsintheirmarketplace,theymaymakesuggestionstohelpyouimproveyourresultsandoffertipsandresourcestosupportyourdecisionmaking. Dedicatedsupportteams ManyOTAssupporttheirpartners’successthroughregionallybasedaccountteams.Theseindividualshaveextensivemarketknowledge,canshareinsightonregionaltrendsandadviseontacticsthatwillhelpdrivebusinesssuccess.Whenpartnershaveissuesorconcerns,supportteamsand helpcontent isavailable.Additionally,mostOTAsprovidetravelerswithservicewhentheyexperiencechallengesbefore,duringandafteratrip. WhatshouldyouconsiderwhenchoosinganOnlineTravelAgency(OTA)? TherearemanyOTAstochoosefrom,andtheycomeinallshapesandsizes,fromlarge,globalOTAstolocalandniche-interestones.Here’swhattoconsiderwhencomparingOTAoptions. Whoistheiraudience? ManyOTAstargetspecificaudiences.ThinkabouttheregionandsegmentyouwanttotargetandwhetheranOTAcaterstothisaudience.Forexample,ifyouownasmallB&Bmainlycateringtofamilies,youwouldwanttoavoidsigningupwithanOTAwhichmainlytargetsbusinesstravelers. YoucanfindoutmoreaboutanOTA’stargetaudiencebylookingatthepropertieslistedontheirwebsite,orbysimplyaskingarepresentativeattheOTAbefore signingup. Whatistheuserexperienceforguests? Takealookattheirtraveler-facingwebsites(suchasexpedia.com)andgetafeelforwhatthesearching,browsingandbookingexperienceislikeforyourpotentialguests. Ifyoufindtheexperiencedifficultorfrustrating,it’slikelyothertravelerswilltoo.Frustratedtravelersarelikelytolookelsewheretomaketheirbookings. Whatfeaturesdotheyoffertopartners? EveryOTAhasadifferentsetof toolsandanalytics tohelpwithrevenuemanagement,pricingdecisions,andpromotionofyourproperty.SomelargerOTAshavewholeteamsdedicatedtocreatingthesetools,soitisworthassessingwhichOTAsofferthemostusefultoolsforyou. AnotherimportantthingtoconsideriswhetheranOTAintegrateswithyour channelmanager.Thisintegrationwillbeimportanttoyour distributionstrategy,helpingsmoothmanagementofbookingsandeliminatingtheriskofoverbookingerrors. Onceyou’veconsideredalltheseoptionsandfoundtheperfectOTA,it’stimeto signup! Related MeetExpediaGroup Discovermoreaboutourtravelmarketplaceandourcommitmenttoconnectingtravelerswithexceptionalplacestostay.Webringtheworldwithinreach. Praguehotelenjoysgrowthinasaturatedmarket Surroundedby4and5-starcompetitorsinthecity’soldtown,thishistorichotelusesreal-timepricingdataandpackagepromotionstogrowsteadily. DiscoverPartnerCentral Explorethetoolsandinsightsavailabletohelpyoutargettravelers,bookrooms,knowreal-timemarketconditionsandcommunicatewithguests.Takealook!