BBOTA 2022 v10 08102022 English
BBOTA 2022 v10 08102022 English
BBOTA 2022 v10 08102022 English
to Top Distribution
Channels
1 / BBOTA
Love them or not, online travel agencies (OTAs) play a critical role in
every property’s distribution strategy. According to Phocuswright’s
2020 research report, OTAs captured roughly 64% of online hotel &
lodging bookings and have the visibility and marketing power that
most individual properties cannot achieve on their own.
Working with OTAs isn’t just a matter of signing up and hoping for the
best. To take advantage of the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls, you
need to actively manage your listings, pricing, and inventory and take
a strategic approach to online distribution.
While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in this
document has been obtained from reliable resources, Cloudbeds is not liable for any
loss or damage caused by or resulting from any inaccuracies, errors, omissions, or
outdated data in such information.
04
Choosing a channel manager to support your mix
05
Highest revenue-generating OTAs
06
Highest revenue-generating OTAs by country
07
Highlighted Niche OTAs
08
How channel mixes differ by property type
09
Who owns who?
10
OTA Directory
40%
30%
Contribution
20%
10%
0%
January January January January
2019 2020 2021 2022
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 5
OTAs find new ways to entice
travelers with sustainability badges
and long-term stays
61% of global travelers say the pandemic has made Long-term stays have also become an important
them want to travel more sustainably in the future, selling proposition for OTAs as people have
with more than 73% of travelers more likely to increased flexibility for extended travel with remote
choose accommodations that have implemented work and “workcations” becoming more popular.
sustainability practices. The increasing importance Airbnb’s Q3 2021 earnings report showed that long-
of sustainable travel options has prompted OTAs term stays of 28 days or more are the company’s
such as Booking.com and Expedia to implement new fastest-growing trip length, up 14% from the
sustainability categories and initiatives. previous year. Agoda offers a specialized landing
page called ‘Agoda Long Stay’ where they offer
Properties on Booking.com, for example, can travelers discounted, contract-free rates on stays
choose from 32 sustainability practices verified by longer than 30 days. Long-term stays are beneficial
independent sustainability experts. These properties for property owners as they provide consistent
then receive a “Travel Sustainable Badge” to income and take the pressure off of constantly
display on their listing, informing travelers of their attracting new guests.
sustainability efforts.
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 6
Business travel lags while domestic
leisure travel soars
Travel analysts predict that it will take until 2024
or 2025 for business travel to recover to pre-
pandemic rates — if it ever does. Companies
have realized the efficiencies associated with
remote work and meetings, reducing the need for
business travel.
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 7
OTAs expand to include unique
travel experiences & a full
spectrum of offerings
Deloitte’s 2022 Travel Outlook report identified that younger and
wealthier travelers are leading the return to travel. These demographics
expect unique travel experiences, such as staying in a luxury treehouse
or a converted grain silo in the middle of the desert. Airbnb recently
added 56 new vacation rental categories, including tiny homes, caves,
castles, and yurts. In the first quarter of 2022, nights booked for summer
travel to these unique property types have increased by 80%. In June
2022, Airbnb announced their $10 million OMG! Fund which was created
to finance 100 property owners as they transform their property into
a truly unique travel destination. Hostelworld also recently introduced
“Roamies,” a new group tour option for like-minded travelers who seek
to visit lesser-known spots and interact with local communities.
OTAs have felt the pressure to expand their product offerings to provide
a full-service experience for visitors, including access to flights, tours,
restaurants, activities, and car rentals. Recently, Booking.com and
Hopper expanded into full-service OTAs offering flight, accommodation,
and activity options by utilizing partnerships with travel companies.
Hostelworld has also expanded its offerings to include low-budget
hotels and bed and breakfasts.
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 8
Google Hotel Search disrupts
the OTA space
Google Hotel Search has disrupted the online rates within the Google Hotel search box for free.
travel industry, changing how travelers book their In 2022, this initiative was expanded to include free
vacations. When a traveler enters a property name booking links in both Google Search and Maps,
into Google, the site will return a list of hotel rates meaning that properties now have an added way
from various OTAs on which the property is listed. to capture direct bookings at multiple points on
Clicking on a rate will take a traveler directly to that the Google platform. At Cloudbeds, Google – via
OTA to book. free booking links – has quickly become a top-
performing channel for our hoteliers, ranking as
In 2021, Google introduced free booking links, one of the top revenue-generating channels in
allowing an individual property to list their direct major countries such as the USA and Canada.
Google
Hotel Ads
Google
Hotel Search
Google
Google
Business
Travel
Profile
Google
Flights
Google
Search
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 9
Airbnb’s rapid expansion
Airbnb recorded its best year ever in 2021 with
over $1.5 billion USD in revenue in its fourth quarter.
Its main challenge now is finding hosts to meet
the increasing travel demand. A notable increase
in demand has been for more long-term stays
with Airbnb seeing an increase in monthly and
weekly stays.
• Airbnb Categories
A new way to search that makes it easy
to discover millions of properties across
different categories.
• Split Stays
A feature that provides more options for longer
stays by splitting trips between two properties.
01 A year in review: Top trends influencing the OTA industry Big Book of OTAs / 10
02
Why travelers use
online travel agencies
In the late 1990s, OTAs began to emerge with Priceline.com
(now Booking Holdings), Expedia Groups (as a division of Microsoft),
and Ctrip (now Trip.com) leading the way. These OTAs changed how
travel planning was done by aggregating information from across
the internet into one place for travelers to compare options, pricing,
reviews, and more.
02.
Loyalty Programs
Larger OTAs have loyalty programs that reward travelers for
booking multiple trips through their site, including rooms (or
beds), car rentals, plane tickets, and activities. For example,
Expedia Rewards offers a points-based reward program where
members collect points on eligible bookings and gain access
to exclusive member prices. Rewards members can get instant
access to savings worth 10% or more and encourage members to
work towards gold status.
03.
Price-driven decisions
Online travel agencies are often thought of as the cheapest
place to book and the best place to find package deals. Though
many hotel brands have tried to change this perception by
pushing direct booking campaigns and strategies, OTAs still
benefit from being thought of as low-cost leaders.
05.
Secure global payments & traveler protection
OTAs give travelers the ability to complete safe and secure
payment transactions in their preferred currency. They support
multiple payment methods depending on location, providing
travelers the flexibility that independent properties are often
unable to accommodate, unless they use secure, integrated
payment processing that’s equipped to send hospitality-
enriched data to banks and also supports multiple payment
methods and currencies.
Ensure that your direct channel has the best deals, promotions, and
extra perks, as this is one of the main factors determining whether a
guest will book directly or through an OTA. Consider offering special
packages or add-ons only available to direct bookers – for example,
complimentary bike rentals or free breakfast or parking.
Top channels
Top or Global OTAs such as Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, Agoda,
and Hostelworld should be the foundation of your channel mix. These
OTAs attract hundreds of millions of visitors each month, making
them critical channels to promote your property. However, these
sites also have millions of listings and can charge hefty commission
rates of up to 30%.
Regional channels
Regional OTAs are also an important part of a channel mix as they
help attract domestic travel within your region, which has increased
drastically over the last couple of years due to pandemic travel
restrictions, a rise in remote work, and an unpredictable travel
landscape.
Niche channels
One of the most lucrative strategies for your channel mix is to
include niche channels that target particular audiences. Niche OTAs
today include surf or ski properties, camping or glamping properties,
luxury or boutique properties, and more. Travelers who visit these
sites have very specific desires, and if they find a property that
meets their needs, they are more likely to be repeat guests.
25%
26.8%
Percentage Revenue Lift
20%
21.2%
Properties connected
to six channels
15%
16.7%
saw an average
14.6%
10% revenue increase of
26.8% compared to
5% 7.5%
properties connected
0% to one channel.
2 3 4 5 6+
For properties
with 100+ rooms,
add at least 2
+ 1
Local OTAs Niche OTA
one additional
channel per
section for a total
of 9-10 channels
to further boost
revenue.
2
Global OTAs
2
Target Region OTA
2
+
Local OTAs
Managing reviews
Naturally, as you increase the number of channels your property is
connected to, you’ll also collect more reviews. Positive online reviews
are one of the best tools to convert travelers into guests. On the other
hand, poor reviews can negatively impact your business. Therefore,
you should develop a strategy to manage your online reputation.
Sending out post-stay surveys to gauge guest satisfaction can give
you an opportunity to identify and resolve issues before they become
bad reviews and also help you recognize guests who are willing to
leave you a positive review.
2. Analyze which other channels they connect to. 6. Look for a channel manager that lets you
Does it connect to the largest OTA networks like connect to unlimited channels without a
Airbnb, Expedia, and TripAdvisor? What about per-channel fee and doesn’t add additional
local connections in your area? For example, commission and transaction fees on top of
if you’re in South America, Despegar is an what your OTAs already charge.
important connection.
7. Check online reviews on software review
3. Choose a channel manager that integrates sites and seek a channel manager that’s
with your property management system recognized by the industry. Large OTAs have
and booking engine so your availability and premier/preferred partner programs to
rates are updated in real-time, reducing recognize software partners with high-quality
the possibility of overbookings or losing the technical connections.
opportunity to sell a recently canceled room.
Rank OTA
1 Booking.com
2 Expedia
3 Airbnb
4 Hostelworld
5 Agoda
6 Vrbo
7 Hotelbeds
8 Trip.com
9 Despegar / Decolar
10 Traveloka
Google Hotel Search is slowly climbing the ranks as one of the top-performing channels across several
different countries, while Airbnb has skyrocketed in popularity regardless of country. Agoda, a major
channel for the Asian market, leads in revenue across Thailand and the Philippines.
North America
Canada USA
2 Expedia 2 Expedia
3 Airbnb 3 Airbnb
4 Hostelworld 4 Hostelworld
5 Vrbo 5 Vrbo
6 Agoda 6 Agoda
7 Google Hotel Search 7 HotelTonight
8 Dorms.com 8 HRS
9 Tripadvisor 9 Hotelbeds
10 Hotelbeds 10 Google Hotel Search
Europe
Portugal Spain UK
1 Booking.com
We’ve seen that our hotel customers
2 Google Hotel Search are increasingly adopting Airbnb
as part of their channel mix.
3 Expedia
Airbnb welcomes hotels that
4 Airbnb have a unique, independent
environment and style.
5 Agoda
1 Booking.com 1 Booking.com
4 Expedia 4 Expedia
5 Agoda 5 Vrbo
2 Booking.com
3 Expedia
4 Airbnb
5 Agoda
Also note that aside from OTAs, The Emirates Group/Dnata own subsidiaries
in several categories including air transport, aviation services, flight catering,
ground handling, cargo, and more – not all of which have been included here.
Goibibo TravelDesk
Redbus WebsiteTravel
OperatorHub
10 OTA Directory | Learn more about the leading OTAs Big Book of OTAs / 36
As a reminder, here is the
channel mix recipe you Recipe A: If your property has a niche
should use:
2 1
Global OTAs Target Region OTA
For properties
with 100+ rooms,
add at least
one additional
channel per
+
section for a total
of 9-10 channels
to further boost 2 1
revenue. Local OTAs Niche OTA
2
Global OTAs
2
Target Region OTA
2
+
Local OTAs
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OTA Directory
Category
9flats.com is an innovative online
N/A
marketplace that connects people
who want to rent out a spare
room, flat, or igloo with people Target market segment
who want to stay in more personal City trips, Apartments
accommodations when they travel.
Business model
Website Agency
Category
Top
Category
Airbnb’s accommodation Top
marketplace provides access to 7
million unique places to stay in more
Target market segment
than 100,000 cities and 191 countries
and regions. N/A
Business model
Website
Merchant
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OTA Directory
Category
Niche
Category
Founded in June 2013 and based
Regional
in Taipei. AsiaYo is a room booking
platform offering people a chance
to discover over 60,000 uniquely Target market segment
designed accommodations covering Holiday Homes
60 cities in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan,
Korea and Thailand. Business model
Agency
Website
Category
Atrapalo is an OTA that has become a Regional
reference in the Spanish market and is
currently in the process of expansion
into Latin America. Target market segment
N/A
Website
Business model
Wholesale
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OTA Directory
Category
Anyplace is a long-term stay focussed
Niche
OTA with accommodations tailor-
made for remote workers, digital
nomads, travel nurses, interns, and Target market segment
anyone who wants flexibility and high- Remote workers / Digital nomads
speed internet.
Business model
Website Agency
Category
Niche
Part of the TUI GROUP, atraveo is the
large holiday home market on the
Internet with more than 300,000-holiday Target market segment
homes and apartments in Europe and Holiday Homes
around the world.
Business model
Website Agency
Category
BBPlanet is an easy and rapid online Regional
booking system. Its database offers
a vast range of more than 13500
accommodations in Italy. Target market segment
N/A
Website
Business model
Agency
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OTA Directory
Website
Website
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OTA Directory
Business model
Website
Agency
Category
budgetplaces offers low prices for N/A
centrally located budget hotels,
hostels, apartments, and bed and
Target market segment
breakfasts. Inventory is fed by
Edreams. Budget travelers
Business model
Website
Merchant, Agency
Category
Coliving is a unique opportunity for
Niche
people to live and work with new
partners, colleagues, and friends.
Whether a person needs a home for a Target market segment
week, a month, a year or longer. Remote workers / Digital nomads
Business model
Website
Agency
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OTA Directory
Category
Cozystay is a community marketplace Niche
for people to list, discover, and book
unique appartments and vacation
Target market segment
Rentals around the world.
City trips, apartments
Category
Regional
CVC was founded in 1972 in Sao
Paulo and is now the largest tour Target market segment
operator in Latin America. They
Brazilian travelers
offer accommodations, flights,
cruises, and more.
Business model
Wholesale
Website
Category
Trip.com is a leading Chinese
Regional
provider of travel services including
accommodation reservations,
transportation tickets, package tours, Target market segment
and corporate travel management. Chinese travelers
Business model
Website
Agency
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OTA Directory
Category
Regional
Category
N/A
Dorms.com is all about hostels.
It is a global hostels-only Target market segment
marketplace offering localized
N/A
websites that allow travelers to
browse in their native language.
Business model
Agency
Website
Category
Niche
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OTA Directory
Category
eDreams is one of the world’s N/A
leading online travel agencies and
Europe’s largest flight retailer. They
Target market segment
offer travelers more than 1.7 million
property listings and more than N/A
155,000 flight routes.
Business model
Website Merchant, Agency
Category
Expedia is the parent company
Top
to more than 200 travel booking
sites. They attract millions
of reservations per year for Target market segment
hundreds of thousands of N/A
properties around the world.
Business model
Website Merchant, Agency
Category
Glampinghub is an OTA focused
Niche
on Glamping properties. Glamping,
also known as luxury camping
or glamorous camping, its an Target market segment
experience-based kind of travel that Campers
allows guests to get outside and
enjoy the great outdoors, but without
Business model
the hassles of traditional camping.
Agency
Website
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OTA Directory
Category
Makemytrip, Goibibo, HotelTravel,
Regional
and Easytobook have all rolled
into one single channel - Ingoibibo
making it one of the largest online Target market segment
hotels booking engine in India Indian travelers
and also one of the leading air
aggregators. Business model
Agency
Website
Website
Business model
Wholesale
Category
Google Drives Direct Bookings Like
Top
Never Before
Website
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OTA Directory
Category
Hero Travel is a Sydney-based B2B
Regional
travel marketplace offering travel
agents an all-in-one booking,
payment, and ticketing platform Target market segment
for selling accommodations, N/A
transportation, and tours.
Business model
Merchant
Website
Category
HipCamp is everywhere you want to
Niche
camp. From public parks to private
land, Hipcamp is one of the most
comprehensive guides to camping Target market segment
in the United States. Campers
Business model
Website
Merchant
Category
Holdinn.com platform is an online
Regional
avenue to reach hotels and all
types of accommodation in Saudi
Arabia, which enables its users to Target market segment
search, get the best rate, and book N/A
directly from their hosts.
Business model
Agency
Website
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OTA Directory
Category
HostelsClub is a young and dynamic
Niche
online booking service that enables
thousands of travelers to book all
over the world in an easy, fast and Target market segment
secure way. N/A
Category
Top
Hostelworld is a leading OTA for
hostel-focused accommodations
worldwide. Target market segment
N/A
Website
Business model
Merchant
Category
Hotelbeds is a B2B
Top
accommodation wholesaler that
connects to global premium travel
distributors like tour operators, Target market segment
travel agents, and airlines. N/A
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OTA Directory
Category
Hotels.com® is a provider of hotel
N/A
accommodation worldwide, offering
booking services through its own
network of localized websites and Target market segment
telephone call centers. N/A
Category
N/A
HotelsCombined is a hotel
metasearch engine that provides Target market segment
distribution to thousands of travel
N/A
affiliates.
Business model
Website
Merchant
Category
Regional
HotelTonight is known as the best
place for guests to make last Target market segment
minute reservations.
Last minute travelers
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OTA Directory
Category
Hotelnet has been creating value
GDS
by optimizing online presence and
distribution with digital solutions and
advanced systems. Target market segment
N/A
Website
Business model
GDS
Category
HRS is one of the market leaders in N/A
the global business travel market
and one of the top 3 hotel portals
Target market segment
in Europe.
N/A
Website
Business model
Merchant, Agency
Category
icastelli.net offers a unique collection Niche
of historical hotels all over the world,
providing top service to its clientele, Target market segment
not simply a booking website but a Luxury travelers
Dedicated Club.
Business model
Website Agency
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OTA Directory
Category
Founded in 2001, i-escape curates a Niche
handpicked collection of boutique
hotels, B&Bs, villas, and apartments
Target market segment
for discerning, affluent travelers
worldwide. Luxury travelers & families
Website
formerly Hotusa
Category
GDS
Made up of a pool of companies
from various fields of the tourism Target market segment
sector, Keytel is an online distribution
N/A
company that allows customers to
make hotel bookings online
Business model
GDS
Website
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OTA Directory
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OTA Directory
Category
Niche
Mr & Mrs Smith is a travel club for
hotel lovers, a carefully handpicked Target market segment
collection of the world’s most
Luxury travelers
captivating boutique hotels and villas.
Business model
Website
Merchant
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OTA Directory
Business model
Website Merchant
Business model
Agency
Category
Niche
Website
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OTA Directory
Category
Prestigia.com is an online Niche
booking agency specialized in
luxury, design, and charming
hotels all over the world. Target market segment
Luxury travelers
Website
Business model
Agency
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OTA Directory
Category
Restel is a provider of global tourist GDS
services that offers travel agencies a
wide range of destination products
through a platform that connects
Target market segment
hotels, airlines, transfers, car rental, N/A
and destination activities.
Business model
Website GDS
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OTA Directory
Category
Regional
Website
Category
SpeedyBooker is a fast-growing Regional
online booking engine for B&Bs,
Hotels, Guesthouses, and hostels.
Target market segment
They generate over 60,000
bookings per year. UK travelers
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OTA Directory
Category
Surfholidays.com is an online booking Niche
website founded by surfers to offer
Surf travelers a wide choice of
Target market segment
accommodation and surf lessons in
Surfers
the best surf schools throughout the
world’s top surf towns.
Business model
Website Merchant
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OTA Directory
Category
Thermal is a community of surfers
Niche
who believe our best days on the
water are the result of people who
have dedicated their lives to sharing Target market segment
their passion for surfing with others. Surfers
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OTA Directory
Website
Category
Traveloka is Indonesias largest
Regional
online travel agents. Traveloka
lists hundreds of thousands
of properties across Asia and Target market segment
around the world. N/A
Business model
Merchant
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OTA Directory
Website
Website
Business model
Website Agency
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OTA Directory
Category
With over 2 million bookable
Top
vacation rentals, Vrbo connects
homeowners with families and
vacationers looking for something Target market segment
more than a hotel for their trip. Families
TM
Website
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OTA Directory
Category
With inventory in 791 cities and 89
N/A
countries and growing, wink.travel
supports sales channels everywhere
while delivering on the promise of Target market segment
low cost bookings. N/A
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