News & Stories
New York. There are an estimated 480 hotel bookings per minute in the United States according to the American Hotel Association. Everybody wants them, so "booking scams" have become popular. Hotels, OTAs, review sites, P2P platforms, third parties, etc. are doing everything to ensure they will secure the highest number of bookings. Playing fair is a detail here. Hoteliers around the world are facing many hurdles on their way. One of them is "booking scams", a nasty practice which continues to spread, ruining the client booking experience and very often the client's relationship with the hotel.
Paris. Watching Airbnb's business behavior for a long time, it becomes obvious that the P2P platform's ultimate weapon in its war against city legislators/regulators and hotel unions has become lobbying. Airbnb tries to influence the "influencers" and decision makers – by presenting its own studies at the United States Conference of Mayors for instance. Former administration officials of the US government have allegedly joined Airbnb trying to turn hosts and guests into unionists and protesters. On the hotel side, CBRE Hotels US has developed an "Airbnb Competition Index" giving the hotel industry a more precise idea about its position.
Amsterdam. After more than a decade comfortably relying on OTAs, hoteliers have realized that they have lost direct contact with their guests. Now Triptease steps in – a tech startup that focuses on helping hoteliers build up the relationship they traditionally had with the customers – precisely, to help them in acquiring and converting direct bookings. Triptease also tracks user behavior in real time and tries to prevent users from leaving the website. Sarah Douag asked Charlie Osmond, co-founder and "Chief Tease" at Triptease about the issue of direct bookings, the tools his company provides and his hopes for the future of independent hotels.
Amsterdam. Booking.com is still unwilling to accept the rate parity ban imposed on the OTA by the German Federal Cartel Office shortly before Christmas. This was revealed by a new inquiry in Amsterdam this week.
Brussels. Last year, HOTREC worked on all fronts to communicate the European hospitality industry's contributions to society as well as represent, promote and defend the sector's interests. The European umbrella Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes won several battles, is still battling for others and will try to do even better this year, hopefully with faster answers from the European institutions. As we start a new year, Sarah Douag asked HOTREC CEO Christian de Barrin to comment on the past actions but mostly to explain the industry's key priorities for 2016: the Digital Single Market, the necessity to level the playing field on the Sharing Economy, the importance of a workable fiscal environment, the impact of terrorist attacks in key European cities, the mixed success of the Hospitality Skills Passport, the need to share hoteliers' expertise cross-border, and how crucial it is to promote the attractiveness of the hospitality sector in order to develop skills and competences.
Chicago. During the Christmas holidays, Hyatt Hotels Corporation notified its customers that it had recently identified malware on computers that operate the payment processing systems for Hyatt-managed locations.
Amsterdam. Airbnb belongs to the new, mighty OTAs in the market. The P2P platform apparently provokes hoteliers more than they are willing to admit. Airbnb has become a symbol of individual travel; therefore, the large OTAs are starting to go for holiday homes and apartments more often. Expedia acquired a suitable provider, TripAdvisor and HRS started their own platforms, Booking.com even went one step further: the giant recently partnered with the time-sharing division of Wyndham. Other hotel chains are also contemplating with the market of rental homes. Everyone wants to occupy every niche today. Because of this, some of them are losing sight of China and the giants from that country. However, Sarah Douag has one eye on everything. The second and last part of her series about the current and fierce OTA dynamics in the market.
Brussels. In the battle for customer attention, hotels are fighting hard to avoid intermediaries and the high commissions that come with them. This week, HOTREC launched a new campaign called "Book Direct".
Amsterdam. Things are moving in the lodging industry. Marriott took over Starwood and these two chains will soon become one mega-group managing 1.1 million rooms. Today, more than ever, size means everything in the industry. It gives power, control over millions of loyal customers, marketing and prices, a global footprint, and last but not least, leverage against OTAs when it comes to distribution costs. Does it mean the bigger a group becomes, the better it can operate without OTAs? An industry insider thinks this is the case and even suggests that more consolidation in the sector could lead to the extinction of OTAs. But OTAs have what it takes to resist. And they grow by M&As in their own business field. Which dynamics drive which OTA? Sarah Douag analyses the current OTA behavior in the market – read about Expedia, Priceline, Sabre, Google, TrustYou and TripAdvisor in a first part today and in a second to follow next Friday, then focused on the holiday homes activities.
London. The Australian business SiteMinder, which was founded a little less than ten years ago, is already able to provide a renowned list of references. As professional channel manager, the business wants to help hoteliers to structure their booking channels and keep them affordable. The hoteliers do not have to pay per booking as the costs depend on the hotel's size. Managing Director Dai Williams introduces the business model and Sarah Douag provides two customer statements.