Why Some Hotels Refuse to List on Booking Platforms (And What That Means for Travelers)

Why are some hotels simply refusing to list on popular booking platforms? What does it mean for global travellers? These are pertinent questions worth answering since the direct bookings vs. OTAs or booking platforms debate has been raging on for a while now. Let’s take a look at these aspects in slightly more detail below.

Reasons Behind Hotels Avoiding Booking Platform Listings

So, what can be the probable reasons why hotels avoid listing on booking platforms? Certain premium city stays, such as serviced apartments in Paris, often focus on direct customer engagement and therefore bypass third-party platforms to provide a more personalized and cost-effective booking experience. Here’s taking a look at some of them.

• Hotels don’t want to pay high commissions to booking platforms which eat into their overall revenues
• Listing on platforms means giving up some control over room availability, pricing, and customer interactions
• Direct bookings enable hotels to build stronger and more fulfilling relationships with guests, while personalizing their experiences even more
• Direct bookings also lead to higher revenues and profits per room, freeing up room for hotels to offer special offers or discounts to customers
• Some hotels may not also have the resources or technological tools to manage listings across multiple listing platforms
• There are many hotels that cater directly to particular demographics like business travellers/corporate groups. Sometimes they feel that booking platforms do not reach out to these audiences as effectively.
• Some hotels also fear issues like overbooking, particularly when it does not have proper channel management infrastructure in place.

OTA & Direct Booking Simplified For You

Now that you’ve got an idea of some probable reasons why some hotels avoid listing on booking platforms, it’s time to wade slightly deeper into the OTA and direct booking debate. Here are some key points worth noting in each case:

OTA-

• An OTA (online travel agency) is a digital platform enabling travellers to search for, book, and compare accommodations, rentals, and flights. OTAs usually facilitate bookings for leisure travellers, while business travellers mostly use specific corporate booking engines or TMCs (travel management companies).
• Some examples include Hotels.com, Airbnb, Expedia Group, Trip.com, and so on. They enable property owners to market themselves and enable customers to book their rooms through these platforms.
• OTAs charge commissions on hotel rooms booked through them, usually varying between 5-30%.
• Many also charge a commission for ranking some hotels higher in search results or showing them in featured listings.
• They have vast and wide customer bases, while enabling travellers to view and compare multiple stays. They also ensure a more efficient and streamlined booking procedure while allowing multiple payment methods for guests as well.

Direct Booking-

• Direct bookings are when guests book their stays through the hotel’s official website, phone, or visiting in person.
• There is no middleman or platform involved and the hotel team directly deals with guests.
• Hotels can save money on OTA commissions, while using the money to improve guest facilities and services, offer better rates and offers/discounts, and so on.
• Direct bookings also help hotels gather more data on guest preferences, handle special requests efficiently, and communicate directly without delays.
• They can empower guests to pick their bed or room type, offer loyalty discounts, and also combine room stays with meals/tours in exclusive packages.

Do Hotels Need Both OTAs and Direct Bookings?

Most industry experts feel that a healthy balance of both OTAs and direct bookings is required. The latter helps hotels manage costs of new bookings better, while also helping them grow their loyalty programs and build personalized experiences for guests and overall brand affinity.

When hotel rooms are not booked and stay empty, there is a major opportunity cost in this scenario. With OTAs, hotels can lower their inventory of non-booked rooms to boost revenues, particularly in off-seasons. So, choosing the right balance of both can be beneficial for a hotel or serviced apartment.

What It Means for Travellers If Some Hotels Avoid Listing on Booking Platforms

Even though both OTAs or online booking platforms and direct bookings are necessary for hotels, let’s assume some of them still stay away from the former. What does this mean for travellers then? Here’s the probable answer:

• If a hotel avoids listing on a popular online booking platform, it may be harder to find for travellers, especially when comparing prices and features. This limits options for customers at one level.
• Hotels that do not depend on online platforms may not always offer the same promotions, offers, and discounts as others that depend on the same. It may lead to higher prices while booking these hotels.
• There will be lower flexibility, particularly for international travellers. Direct bookings may not always enable payments in foreign currencies and transactions in their languages.
• It will be tougher to compare amenities and reviews in case a hotel does not have any listing on a popular online booking platform.
• There is also potential for overbooking, since glitches and errors in the hotel system may occur, particularly if the property is not listed on any online booking platform.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, OTAs and direct bookings both have their own sets of pros and cons for hotels. Yet, there will always be some hotels that shy away from listing on well-known online booking platforms. From saving revenues to preferring direct customer handling and even controlling and building their brand identity, there are multiple reasons behind these decisions. However, it does limit the choices of travellers in terms of comparing prices, reviews, and properties, while making these hotels harder to find as well. Hence, there are two sides to the coin as you will clearly see here.

Direct bookings may lead to more personalization and higher revenues for hotels, which they can plough back into customer loyalty programs, discounts, exclusive packages, better amenities, upgrades, and the like. Yet, the absence of some hotels on online booking platforms does inconvenience the customer to some extent. It’s thus a matter of choice, although it can again be said that listing on online booking platforms and maintaining direct booking channels simultaneously is the need of the hour today for the best possible outcomes for all parties.