Hoteliers too ambitious about the future of direct bookings?
Skift's Hotel Distribution Outlook 2024 predicts that by 2030, direct digital channels will surpass OTAs as the main distribution method for hotels
According to the Skift survey, hoteliers should ideally aim for a significant increase in digital direct bookings, from 25% to 42% by 2024, while reducing reliance on OTAs from 25% to 13%. However, Max Starkov argues that this "ideal scenario" is unrealistic, especially for independent hotels, which aim to increase direct bookings even more than branded chains.
Key takeaways
- Underinvestment in technology: Hotels allocate only 2.5%-2.75% of net room revenue to technology, including IT staff, compared to Expedia's and Booking's 15%-17%;
- Underinvestment in marketing: Hotel marketing budgets are less than 2.5% of net room revenue, compared to Booking's 36% and Expedia's 54%.
For the full story at Max Starkov
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