That’s one of the takeaway’s from the “TravelClick North America Distribution Review, Second Quarter 2014.”
Rounding out the Q1 numbers by channel for individual leisure travelers (not groups) and business travelers (including large managed travel programs), the global distribution system channel (travel agents) increased reservations 2.9%, hotel direct numbers (phone calls directly to the property and walk-ins) declined 0.4%, and phone calls to hotels’ 800 numbers (Central Reservation Office) dipped 0.9%.
The ground gained by online travel agencies during the first quarter isn’t necessarily a terrible thing for hotels, even though the online travel agency channel is an expensive one for the hotel industry. That’s because online travel agencies’ average daily rates (ADR) in Q1 jumped 7.9%, the highest increase among all of the distribution channels, including brand.com.
Read full story at: http://skift.com/2014/05/16/online-travel-agency-hotel-bookings-grew-faster-than-hotels-own-websites-in-q1/
