In Q2 of 2016, at the height of “Book Direct” campaigns coordinated by some of the leading hotel groups, brands did see a small shift of leisure travelers to the direct channel and a shift away from OTAs.
BDRC’s 2017 Hotel Guest Survey (HGS) results show the impact of hotels brands’ “Guest Loyalty” rates on booking platform trends.
The data demonstrates that OTAs continue to sustain their share levels while direct booking has recovered somewhat, mostly at the expense of review sites and other channels. The degradation of the hotel review site platform share (i.e. TripAdvisor) towards the end of 2017 appears to have been shared by OTAs and brands.
In Q2 of 2016, at the height of “Book Direct” campaigns coordinated by some of the leading hotel groups, brands did see a small shift of leisure travelers to the direct channel and a shift away from OTAs. “Looking at our Hotel Guest Survey results, these ‘book direct’ campaigns did have an impact in Q2-16, but OTA market share was back at previous levels by Q3-17”, commented Matthew Petrie, President of BDRC Americas.
Comparing booking platform data trends from Q3 of 2015 through Q3 of 2017 suggests that there’s been no material shift in direct bookings: both brands and OTAs are seeing roughly the same booking share percentages that they were in Q3 2015.
Booking platform trend (2015 – 2017): Leisure results
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
