In the hotel industry, OTA (Online Travel Agency) refers to a digital platform that offers the ability to book accommodations, flights, and vacation packages quickly and easily. On OTAs, users can compare prices and offers from various hotels, view images, reviews, detailed service information, and directly book their stay. The most popular OTAs include Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and Hotels.com.
The idea that simply being present on major OTAs is enough to ensure effective mapping on online distribution channels is often a misunderstanding.
The contract setup, which usually involves considerable effort (many pages filled with information to update, fact sheets to complete, and clauses to sign), is just the initial, minimal step in collaborating with an online portal. Following this, training (phone or video) is required to understand the website’s back-office (the so-called “extranet”) and to set up the hotel’s complex sales structure.
This setup is the most crucial phase in the sales process as it involves defining room categories, creating rate plans, activating promotions, setting discount rates, applying restrictions (e.g., minimum-stay requirements for specific periods or dates), and differentiating cancellation policies. Each option requires careful analysis and resource allocation, forming a critical component for optimizing sales. Additionally, selling “ancillary” services related to other hotel departments can provide a valuable income stream.
When adding descriptive text, content, and images/videos, the potential appeal to the end consumer should never be overlooked: since hotel sales are service-based rather than tangible goods, it’s essential to present the product content truthfully while highlighting its most attractive features and communicating them effectively.
Once the offer is defined and sales activated on the channel, the greatest challenge lies in operational management. Certain tasks must be performed daily, starting with monitoring and updating the room contingents available for sale.
The room availability on the portal should not directly match the actual unsold rooms for the reference date; contingents should be calibrated and updated in consultation with the Revenue Manager, adjusting the sales rate or opening/closing specific rate products based on sales performance. Selling all available rooms at the same rate for one night often signals poor or nonexistent pricing management.
A helpful tool to support the daily management of rates and availability is the Channel Manager.
Lastly, periodic monitoring of results by individual channel and product (rate plan or room category) is essential. Understanding what has been sold, through which channels, and to which target markets is crucial.
Statistics from the Channel Manager or the OTAs’ extranet are valuable for such reviews, yet we strongly recommend regular discussions with the Market Manager, who can provide more information on the sales performance of the destination and competitive set.
In conclusion, being on OTAs is only the starting point for effective mapping on distribution channels. A careful analysis of sales options, setting cancellation policies and promotions, along with the daily management of contingents and pricing, are fundamental activities for optimizing hotel sales. Constant result monitoring is essential to understand what works, what doesn’t, and to make adjustments to the sales plan as needed.