Most people don’t just go to various online travel sites shopping around for the best price on the hotel they’ve already decided on — they go to travel sites to figure out where to stay in the first place.
For hotel chains to shift consumers to book direct, they need to:
- Show consumers the product that best meets their needs
- Offer consumers the best price on that product
- Give them the best user experience
Hotel chains want to avoid the high commissions these sites charge, and they’ve begun to address one piece of it — price.
Hotel Chains Are Aggressively Fighting the High Costs of Selling Through Expedia, Orbitz, and Hotels.com
Major chains now (sometimes) offer lower rates if you book direct on their websites than if you book through an online travel agency site like Expedia. The discounts are generally 2% – 10%, but usually closer to 2%.
