OTAS: Hotels didn't get it then...will they get it now?
The Coronavirus pandemic has created havoc all over the world. Looking back, nothing like this has ever been experienced before. So, there is no way of learning from the past. Nor is there any certainty in predicting the future. For thousands of years, humans have struggled and overcome obstacles. If there is one thing that history has taught us, it’s the fact that we will overcome this, if not sooner… at least later.
Despite the doom and gloom that COVID19 thrust upon us, there are several opportunities to re-group, re-align or call it whatever you like - to set a few things right. For starters, and for those of us in the hotel industry, the solution to break free from the shackles of OTA’s is up for grabs.
Long before COVID-19, I recall someone - himself a general manager of a hotel, writing about his experience at the Dusit Hotels and Resorts in Pattaya, Bangkok. He had checked in with a group of friends to celebrate a birthday. They had all booked rooms on the executive floor at Thai Baht (THB) 5,000/- per night, where the initial booking was made on booking.com. His group had originally planned to stay for two nights, but on the last night (which was a Saturday), one of his friends decided to extend his stay for an additional night.
He thereafter went to the front desk of the executive lounge. The receptionist on duty at the lounge quoted him 7,000 THB for the Sunday night. His friend was surprised as it was 2,000 THB more than what they all had paid before, and more importantly, booking.com was showing 4,600 THB for the same Sunday night. Keeping his cool, he asked the staff if she could offer him the same rate as booking.com. Astonishingly, the receptionist instructed him to book on booking.com.
Here’s a similar example of what happened to me in 2018. Having stayed at this hotel in Singapore for two nights on my way to Melbourne, I wished to stay a night at the same hotel on my return journey which was also via Singapore. I found that the rate offered by Expedia and the hotel on its website, to be the same. So, before leaving the hotel to take my flight to Melbourne, I went over to the hotel’s front desk and this is how the conversation went:-
Me: Should I book with you directly or again online thru Expedia? Staff: Whichever you prefer is alright with us.
I was truly astounded at the absence of pro-activeness from the hotel staff as well as the lack of training / common sense. It is indeed ludicrous to see hotels spending a huge part of their marketing budget on developing their own website to persuade customers to book direct, whilst very little effort is made on training staff to handle the direct customer, when that connection is made. What a waste.
Even more wasteful is the fact that, hotels are willing to forgo the opportunity of avoiding having to pay any commission – which can range between 10 to 25 percent. For example, Booking.com charges between 10-15 percent, whereas Expedia charges between 18-25 percent. To oversimplify the two situations, when you don’t get to book directly with the hotel, where do you go? You go to the OTA channels and for the exact piece of business, these two hotels were willing to pay out 15 to 25 percent to OTA’s.
Hotels have to immediately stop complaining about OTAs if they are unable to implement policies to sensibly address direct requests. In the two examples described above, the response of staff involved, when trained properly, would have been something like, “If you like Mr. XXX, I can handle this personally for you by taking and confirming your booking right now…”
By doing so, several things are put into motion, such as:-
It might come as a surprise to many, but seriously, hoteliers must start believing that their first and most important channel is their hotel’s website. There is no point in spending on a good, responsive website and an efficient, user friendly booking engine if one cannot entice guests to book directly – be it online or personally.
Post COVID is the best time ever to favour your own website with special rates or offers to motivate bookers to book direct.
Ilzaf Keefahs - is a freelance writer who enjoys focusing on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. He delves into the heart of hospitality to figure out both customer service and consumer trends that impact the industry.
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