You would think hoteliers would have learned a few things from their foray with Travelweb in the early 2000s but, as Room Key shows, they obviously did not.
From direct booking wars and political instability (hello, Brexit) to figuring out what customers really want and handling issues of labor, these hotel executives have a lot on their minds these days.
The $100 billion industry vacation rental sector could be going into over-drive as it attracts growing interest from investors, major hospitality brands and travelers seeking alternate accommodations.
Hotels are getting more people to join their loyalty programs than ever before. Now they just need to raise their engagement levels to keep them coming back — booking direct, as they'd prefer.
On hotels' direct-booking rates, one of the major chains is already talking to traditional travel agencies about handing them over. In addition, Choice Hotels, for one, is signaling that better deals from online travel agencies could go a long way toward ending its boycott in distributing loyalty-member rates. If every person has a price, then so indeed do hotel chains.