Destinations Look Beyond Bad White-Label Tech to Drive Bookings Themselves
Skift Take
Destination marketers are skilled at helping travelers plan trips, but they're poor at encouraging transactions. Are they missing a trick by not driving more direct bookings and, thus, helping to level the playing field for the smallest travel suppliers?
Travel Tech Briefing
Editor’s Note: Exclusive reporting on technology’s impact on the travel industry, delivered every Thursday. The briefing will guide executives as they decide if their companies should “build, buy, or partner” to stay ahead.This week, let's do a thought experiment. What if cheap technology has improved so much that destinations could start driving bookings themselves — rather than leave the selling to the online giants?
That's the idea floated by Vinicius Geraldo, a São Paulo-based travel tech executive.
Geraldo believes many destinations, especially in Latin America, are leaving money on the table and they need to become "more transactional."
The websites of destination marketing organizations are often sophisticated. But they have gaps. They're generally ineffective at driving travelers to buy hotel stays. "Most destinations use white-label booking tech that looks dated from 1997," Geraldo said.Consumers gravitate toward the global online travel resellers instead. But those brands tend to spotlight the biggest advertisers. That dynamic disadvantages the smallest suppliers. Think of an independent hotel, which lacks the buying power of a hotel chain. Or think about the p
