5 reasons why it doesn’t matter that Travelport has the world’s largest collection of hotels

With the addition of properties from Hotelzon and Tourico Holidays, Travelport Rooms and More for travel agents now has arguably the largest collection of hotels, 340,000, in the world, and it wants the world to be impressed by this.

But Booking.com, the largest consumer online hotel-booking company, with its 236,000 properties, assuredly isn’t running scared, and Travelport’s massive collection of properties isn’t going to change the way most people book hotels.

In fact, Booking.com participates in Rooms and More, as do Agoda, Hotels.com, Expedia Affiliate Network, Venere, Hostelworld, Hotelsclub, Hotelclub, Fastbooking, Medhotels, Miki Travel, Trans Hotel and other intermediaries.

But, here are five reasons why this admittedly large aggregation effort isn’t a game-changer and won’t threaten the likes of Booking.com or Expedia:

1. Travel agent tool

Travelport Rooms and More is a booking tool for travel agents so consumers don’t get visibility into the property and pricing choices.

2. Commissions and service fees

Travel agents receive commission for the bookings, and can use their own tools outside the Rooms and More environment to tack on additional service fees.

3. No same-day bookings

Despite the hotel-booking trend through smartphones and tablets, and the propensity for many travelers to book hotels at the last minute, Rooms and More doesn’t enable travel agents to make same-day bookings.

4. No reservation changes

Travel agents can’t make changes to hotel reservations on Rooms and More — they have to cancel the booking and make a new one to alter the booking.

5. Won’t speak volumes

As a travel agent tool, Rooms and More isn’t going to reserve rooms in the volumes that online hotel booking companies will.

Meanwhile, Rooms and More is skewed toward travel agents with Travelport relationships, although it is open to travel professionals who have contracts with other global distribution systems, as well.

In the travel agent world, Rooms and More’s stockpiling of 340,000 properties can turn into a competitive advantage, although the GDS world still is largely about airline tickets.

But, for most consumers looking for their next hotel or vacation package deal — like Booking.com, Rooms and More doesn’t handle packages — the amassing of 340,000 hotels doesn’t change things much.