Up until the dot-com era, hotel distribution channels were traditionally the same, with travel agents and tour operators playing an important role, along with global distribution systems (GDS) for bigger properties and hotel brands. But the past fifteen years have seen the emergence and increasing importance of online travel agencies, better known as OTAs: Expedia, Booking.com, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. While operators were happy at first to get new or incremental business from these partners, many are now cringing with the commission levels paid out, especially when customers could have, or should have, booked directly with the property. Join Frederic Gonzalo with Gonzo Marketing and look at a brief history of the online distribution landscape in travel, the online duopoly of Expedia and Priceline, what role TripAdvisor has in this new ecosystem and practical tips on how tourism operators can take back control and compete on even grounds.

1. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
OTAs: Friends or Foes ?
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

2. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
Agenda
1. Evolution of the travel distribution
landscape
2. Prevalence of Online Travel Agencies
3. What role for TripAdvisor?
4. Google, beyond a search engine
5. Tips to fight back!
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

3. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
1. Evolution of travel distribution
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

4. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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1. Evolution of travel distribution
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

6. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
Average travel sites: 38
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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1. Evolution of travel distribution
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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2. Prevalence of OTAs
Source: Skift Report, 2013
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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2. Prevalence of OTAs
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Expedia
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Priceline
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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An Evolving Landscape
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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And Evolving Behaviors
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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The Year of Mobile
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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The Year of Mobile
For more on this: The Multiscreen Evolution of Travel Decisions
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Not to mention sharing platforms…
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Or even…
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Good to know…
According to RateGain, between December 2011 and February 2012:
• 60-87% of 3-stars hotels were cheaper on OTA sites
• 75-93% of 4-stars hotels were cheaper on OTA sites
• 69-86% of 5-stars hotels were cheaper on OTA sites
Source: TravelClick, Q2, 2014 Report
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

19. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
Good to know…
56% of online hotel reservations come from search engines:
33% come through organic search (SEO)
23% come from paid search (SEM)
Source: HeBS, 2013
“On average, more than 42% of room nights for
independent hotels are reserved via the online channel.
Unfortunately, only 24% of these roomnights come via the
hotel website, while more than 76% percent are made
through OTAs” Source: STR, HSMAI Foundation
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Pros & Cons of OTAs
PROs
• Incremental Sales & Revenues
• Marketing Clout
• Billboard Effect
CONs
• Rate Parity & Integrity
• Advertising Rights (AdWords)
• Loyalty to OTA brand
• Commission levels
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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3. What role for TripAdvisor ?
• Over 280M unique visitors monthly
• 170 million reviews written by 62 million
active users
• 77% of users consult TripAdvisor for
accommodations!
• Direct relationship between your TA
ranking and RevPAR
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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TripConnect
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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3. What role for TripAdvisor ?
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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3. What role for TripAdvisor ?
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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3. What role for TripAdvisor ?
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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4. Google, beyond search
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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4. Google, beyond search
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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4. Google, beyond search
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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4. Google, beyond search
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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5. Tips to fight back!
1. Build & maintain a solid email database
2. Replicate OTA best practices online
3. Automate communications to clients
4. Create unique packages exclusive to your site
5. Have a warranty and let it be known!
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

31. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
A solid email database
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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OTA Best Practices
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Automate communications
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

35. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
Create unique packages
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

36. TIANS Tourism Summit 2014
Highlight a warranty
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Bonus Tip: Chat Service
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com

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Questions? Comments?
Email: frederic@gonzomarketing.biz or 418.951.5488
By @gonzogonzo “OTAs, Friends or Foes?” www.fredericgonzalo.com