Articles tagged “online travel agencies”

Online travel agencies are taking market share when it comes to hotel bookings for leisure and business travelers, but hotels' own direct channels still dominate, and travel agencies are still well ahead, too, if the TravelClick numbers are to be believed.

With 1,000 customers signed up for its open-booking platform, and 5,000 new clients enrolled in all its products over the last year, Concur is getting increasingly mainstream in the corporate travel industry. That's a challenge for establishment companies such as American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel and BCD, which must pay heed to the insurgent.

The rise of metasearch as led to consumers comparison shopping in big ways, the shopping cart abandonment numbers are in line with that.

Travelers' expectations for connectivity will only intensify in 2014. Hotel brands that don't adopt quickly risk becoming obsolete while others that cater to guests' digital needs remain relevant.

This complaining from hotels is like the movie "Groundhog Day." How many times are we going to hear the same refrain? The OTAs are going to be a vital distribution channel for hotels for years to come, although smart hotels will make adjustments and seek to reduce their dependence on Expedia and Booking.com.

Online booking websites are more popular than travel agencies, branded bookings, and deals websites; however, meta-search's 10 percent jump this year indicates the growing sector could soon become a more formidable competitor.

American Express, other mega travel agencies and their corporate clients aren't going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle with badges and leader boards. There is a lot of turf-protection going on here.

A nationwide tax U.S. is an idea that will never happen, but booking sites would love to have some overall clarity on taxation, even if it costs users a bit more on each booking.

HotelTonight blazed a trail in the U.S. as a first-mover in same-day, mobile hotel bookings. Although it has strong financial backing, achieving the same rate of success abroad may be a lot more problematic.

Very few consumers have ever said "I'm going to go find a hotel on RoomKey.com," but they have been confused when the webpage pops up after they leave a hotel site. This may make partners happy, but it seems like there are more efficient ways to do this.