How to choose the right OTA channel ?

Famous OTAs and instructions on choosing the right OTA channel

Here are some popular OTA channels in Vietnam, including familiar names such as Agoda, Traveloka, ... The drawing below is designed based on the OTA channel's operating model and the commission rate each. OTA channel collected for each booking occurred (Note: The commission rate may change according to the policy of the OTA channel, in order to know the most accurate commission rate can be contacted directly or the main website address. the OTA channel I want to use).

 

OTA channel SCALE

COMMISSION LEVEL

Booking.com

 

 

Over 1.5 million room sales per day (worldwide)

 

About 15%

AgodaCooperates in selling rooms for more than 2 million hotels and other properties (worldwide)About 15-20%
Airbnb200 million users and hundreds of thousands of room sales partners worldwideAbout 18%
TravelokaOver 120,000 listing, mainly used by AsiansAbout 15%-23,5%
Luxstay

A large number of homestay rooms are mainly in Vietnam

About 15%
One InventoryOne Inventory Travel agency sales and organization / businessAbout 15%

- Instructions on how to choose a suitable OTA channel:

Every hotel cares about the needs of tourists and the benefits of connecting to OTA channels. But, how do hotel owners choose the best OTA channel? That's a big question for business owners, and there are many OTA channels that help your hotel connect with customers around the globe, increasing sales and booking volumes. If you are wondering how to choose the best OTA, here are a few things you should consider to be effective for your hotel.

Choose the right market, target customer:

Each OTA channel has its own market and customer base, which is really important for hoteliers to understand the customer demographics that OTA channels bring. Identifying your target audience correctly and the target market where your hotel is run can have many benefits, which is crucial for choosing the right OTA channel for your business model. For example, Traveloka is an online travel agency that meets a variety of travel needs on a platform that is very popular with the Asian market, or Booking.com is very popular in the European market. There is also Airbnb which is an interesting channel for budget travelers who like to experience life from sharing residences with each other

.

  • Observe the competition: A simple way to optimize your distribution channel strategy is to find out which OTA channels your competitors are using, to take that as the basis and to select the OTA channel that best suits your property. However, watching your competitors is not necessary, but it can be a suggestion for you to choose an easy and correct OTA channel to avoid choosing an OTA channel that is not suitable for your business.

 

  • OTA channel cost and cost per booking One of the biggest concerns when working with OTA is the commission for OTA channels when successful booking is generated on these online booking channels. Now, each OTA channel has a different commission. For example, Traveloka is about 15% -23.5% or Agoda is about 15% -20%. So when you register, make sure you know how each OTA channel will charge your hotel when booking through it.

 

  • Distribution channel management performance and hotel management system Another reason for you to consider choosing the right OTA channel for your hotel is whether the OTA channel connects to the distribution channel management system (CMS) and Hotel Administration (PMS). The connection between the OTA channels and the CMS, PMS system is critical for the smooth operation of the hotel, the delivery of inventory rooms, and the simplification of the complicated OTA revenue reporting metrics. Moreover, connecting with the above systems will help the hotel list many rooms on many different OTA channels and of course the job will be completely automatically updated.

 

  • OTA performance You need to be sure that the OTA channel you will choose will have a tracking system that records data for your hotel. If you are already using the OTA channel for your hotel, connect with the PMS system, the system will display and report all hotel and customer information in real time through the OTA channel.

The Majestic Hotel is a concrete example (according to Brands.vn), according to an interview published in Brands.vn newspaper “In 2011, the business results of the Majestic hotel showed that guests booked online ( through hotel websites and OTAs) accounts for 35% / total number of guests staying. In terms of revenue, this channel accounts for 20% of total hotel revenue and 35% of total room revenue, a significant increase compared to previous years.

 

Source: Ezcloud

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