AccorHotels Ends Its Quest to Be a Booking Engine for Independent Hotels
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Signs that this experiment wasn't going well were already evident. But given that the online travel agencies aren't faring so well, either, at the moment, we wonder: Does this mean there might be something fundamentally wrong with this type of intermediary relationship? How do hotels and online travel agencies need to evolve to survive then?
AccorHotels is ending its online booking platform service for independent hotels after two years. The results didn't meet expectations, and most of AccorHotels customers on its platform tended to book its own properties rather than the independents, the company said.
Two years ago, AccorHotels invited select independent hotels to display their properties on AccorHotels.com to gives its customers more hotel choices, and to provide a new distribution platform for the independents.
"This initiative is no longer relevant in regards to the Group's strategy and its new profile as per today," an AccorHotels spokesperson said. "Results are below expectations and most of AccorHotels.com customers tend to favor AccorHotels branded hotels when looking for accommodations on our platform. AccorHotels has therefore decided to put an end to the marketplace and to focus on the int
