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The inaugural Amadeus survey on Asia Pacific hotel distribution trends shows that travel agents believe the ease of booking hotel inventory is on a near par with hotel price, when it comes to selecting accommodation for clients.
Amadeus, a leading travel technology partner and transaction processor for the global travel and tourism industry, revealed the research findings at the Web in Travel Conference, which commenced in Singapore today. The survey examines travel agents’ and travellers’ perspectives on the hotel selection and booking process, and provides direction for bridging the gap between agents and hoteliers. The comprehensive survey is the largest ever conducted by Amadeus in Asia Pacific and examined the views of more than 700 travel agents across eight countries in the region.
According to the hotel distribution research, travel agents continue to view price as a key consideration when selecting hotels. However, the ease of booking a hotel was also at the top of the list of criteria, with some markets listing it above price as their top priority.
The survey also examined the factors that influence travellers’ purchase behaviour and found, perhaps surprisingly, that consumers listed hotel location as their main priority, surpassing even price. Brand loyalty was ranked the least important factor across the region.
Kartikeya Tripathi, Regional Director, Hotel Distribution, Amadeus, Asia Pacific said, “This is the first time Amadeus has conducted such a survey in Asia Pacific and the results have been enlightening, to say the least. The recently released Amadeus Travel Gold Rush 2020 report outlines that Asia will account for one-third of global travel spend by 2020 and travellers will demand more personalised services. Accordingly, the role of travel agents will change and Amadeus is dedicated to understanding and meeting these evolving needs.”
"Aside from travel agents, the results also help us to better understand the end customer’s key purchase triggers, and enable us to better align our efforts to meet the distribution needs of hoteliers.”
The Amadeus Asia Pacific hotel distribution survey also revealed that corporate travel forms less than 40 per cent of overall bookings for travel agents across Asia Pacific.
“Servicing the needs of corporate travellers is a priority for many travel agents in the region. While this will continue to be a focus agents must also recognise the significant revenue generation opportunities that will come from working closely with leisure travellers. As consumers become increasingly focused on holistic travel experiences, this will create fresh opportunities for travel agents to provide additional service by bringing together the fragmented components of a typical journey,” said Kartikeya.
“Amadeus is fully committed to supporting travel agents with solutions such as the Amadeus Hotel Store to help them operate more efficiently and deliver better service to their customers and at the same time provide them with the right opportunities to grow their revenue streams. This survey has made travel agents’ needs clearer to us, and will go a long way in helping us provide them with the right level of support,” Kartikeya concluded.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
