HOTREC Online Distribution Channels Analysis 2016

HOTREC (the Confederation of National Hotel and Restaurant Associations in Europe), of which our Association is also a member, has analyzed and published, with the support of the Institute of Tourism of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland, its "Online Distribution Channels Survey" conducted through its member associations with 2,200 participating hotels.

The key findings of the study are as follows;

While hotels' dependence on Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) is on the rise (the OTA share of overnight stays rose from 19.3% in 2013 to 22.3% in 2015), the rate of reservations hotels receive directly has declined (falling from 59.4% to 55.2%). Small hotels with fewer than 20 rooms are far more dependent on OTAs than chain hotels.

Priceline (Booking.com) still maintains its lead in the OTA market with a 63% share, followed by Expedia with 16.8% and HRS with 11.9%.

Most hoteliers in Europe (91.5%) stated that there was no decrease in OTA commission rates following the removal of the parity clauses in OTA contracts achieved in the summer of 2015.

The results of the study show that OTAs' market shares are steadily increasing while hotels' own channels are declining. The dominance of 2-3 large OTAs in the online distribution market, against roughly 200,000 hotels across Europe -- 75% of which are micro-enterprises employing fewer than 10 people -- creates a major imbalance.

The full study is attached,

  Click to download the HOTREC Online Distribution Channels Analysis 2016.