Skift Take
Independent hoteliers are indeed exploring alternatives to the big online travel agencies, including finding ways to spur more direct bookings, but sometimes it seems like a steep, uphill battle.
Industry consolidation. Online travel agencies playing games with discounting. And a proliferation of dodgy booking sites masquerading as official hotel websites.
From the perspective of officials at independent, boutique or small hotel groups, some of the recent trends in online distribution have been vexing, to say the least.
Skift has been engaged in a running dialogue in recent weeks with one such hotelier about travel industry developments. Referring to online travel agency distribution partners running roughshod over rate agreements, the hotelier, who declined to be identified, says, "We have no control over parity since it is like the Wild West out there with online travel agencies charging whatever they like with no regard for the rate we set for our own hotel."
While the concerns of this hotelier are specific, they reflect ongoing concerns we've heard out of other properties when it comes to managing relationships with online sellers. We explain, below.
Rate Games
In the scheme of things, hoteliers contract with online travel agencies to sell their rooms at set rates and at an established commission. In the first quarter of 2015, however, an Expedia official admitted that the company was reducing its margins at certain times when selling rooms and presumably lowering rates to build loyalty programs and share.
"Whenever you call Expedia to complain about the (discounting) practice, they claim to know nothing about it, and it must be one of their rog
