Branded Websites Lose Ground With Hotel Shoppers

The economic downturn has erased the pre-recession gains made by hotels' branded websites, as market pressures have increased reliance on online travel agencies (OTAs), new research from PhoCusWright reports. With occupancy still below 2007 levels and sluggish ADR growth, OTAs will grow at twice the rate of hotel websites in 2010.

“Hotels took control of margins and vastly improved their branded website strategies to secure an online channel share of 59 percent in 2008. As the recession hit, value-conscious consumers flocked to the mass-market OTA channel," the report said. "The result: supplier website share of hotel bookings is expected to shrink to 54 percent in 2010. OTAs and hotel websites will settle into similar growth patterns in 2011 and 2012 as hotels gain more control over OTA inventory."

PhoCusWright's U.S. Online Travel Overview Tenth Edition: Hotels and Lodging provides in-depth analysis of lodging challenges and opportunities, with market sizing and growth forecasts through 2012. To put the segment-specific trends in perspective, the report includes a robust overview of the U.S. travel market.

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