OTAs pushing direct bookings
Booking.com and Expedia looking to organic marketing to reduce reliance on Google in the longer term
Last quarter, both OTAs increased their marketing expenses, highlighting a higher return on investment alongside the rise in direct business, which resulted in a decrease in marketing expenses as a percentage of gross bookings.
Key takeaways
- Expedia continues to see improvements in its B2C marketing efficiency as a result of the benefits that come from the company's ongoing investments in customer loyalty and app members;
- Booking.com is also promoting direct bookings to interact with customers directly and increase customer loyalty, with the likely added benefit of a gradual decrease in expenditures on paid channels;
- Rival Airbnb also increased is marketing spend in Q2, but claims that 90% of its traffic remains direct or unpaid.
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